Holcim Romania

Context

The Gligoreşti mining perimeter (Cluj county, Romania) is located at the confluence of two major rivers Arieş and Mureş.

The project

Upon a detailed landscape analyse, together with complex biodiversity studies, a new pioneering concept was proposed for the ecological restoration of a S&G pits in Holcim Romania. The company proposed the creation of a complex of wetland habitats, hosting biodiversity, entailing also the capacity to create premises for a number of alternative socio-economic activities and therefore boosting development of the local communities.

The complex of wetlands is containing riverine habitats, riparian woodlands, marshlands, reed-beds and water-tables on about 250 ha.

Results

In only few years of experimental practice, more than 125 species of plants were recorded, installed subsequent natural vegetation succession, valuable species of fauna colonized the newly established habitats.

An overall improvement of local environmental factors, mainly water is expected and the survey is still on-going. Therefore the principles of the EU Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC are also fully met. Additional environmental issues and risks were tackled and solved due to the services offered by wetland systems: catastrophic floods, local episodes of draught, pollution waves are supposed to decrease in amplitude and frequency.