In September 2018, an extremely important project was launched to address several significant issues: the lack of a comprehensive and accurate inventory of species and habitats of community or national interest within several protected areas along the Mureș River.

Moreover, biodiversity had been adversely affected by human activities carried out along the river, many of which proved destructive. These included: water pollution caused by the absence of wastewater treatment plants, chemical fertilisers used in agriculture, gravel sorting stations, the capture and killing of protected fish species, the lack of trees along the riverbanks and streams, gravel extraction, the drainage of wetlands, and more.

The Milvus Group, in partnership with ProPark – Foundation for Protected Areas, committed to completing management plans for the respective sites by March 2021 (the project’s initial deadline), in order to ensure that the Mureș River is protected, does not deteriorate, and that its habitats are restored or properly maintained.

The activities carried out included:

• Mapping and inventorying species in the protected areas covered by the project;
• Assessing the physical and chemical parameters influencing the water quality of the Mureș River;
• Evaluating anthropogenic factors and other threatening factors;
• Meetings with fishermen and fishing organisations;
• Environmental education activities in schools within the four sites.

In 2021, the four management plans were finalised and submitted to the competent authorities; however, due to the reorganisation of certain state institutions, their approval only took place recently.

The project was funded through the Large Infrastructure Operational Programme, Priority Axis 4 – Environmental protection through biodiversity conservation measures, air quality monitoring, and the decontamination of historically polluted sites, Specific Objective 4.1: Increasing the level of protection and conservation of biodiversity and restoring degraded ecosystems. The total value of the project amounted to 6,358,394.47 lei and it was carried out in partnership with ProPark – Foundation for Protected Areas.