Romania is losing agricultural land every year, especially in Dolj County, an area known as the 'Sahara of Oltenia'. According to the new Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu: "Over 100,000 hectares have turned into desert or are about to become desertified," particularly in the south of the country. According to a specialist report, the south of the country has an arid area of approximately 80,000 hectares, but official estimates reach 100,000 hectares. One third of Romania's territory is in areas at risk of desertification.
Why are fertile soils turning into desert?
The main reason is climate change: prolonged droughts, higher temperatures, rainfall deficit. Massive deforestation has also contributed: forest belts, essential for stabilizing the land, have been destroyed in recent decades. In addition, wind erosion has made sand dunes advance year after year, affecting productive agricultural land. And unfortunately much of the irrigation systems built during communist times was abandoned and destroyed after 1989. Official studies show that in Romania, the risk of desertification affects one third of its land area, with losses in the south amounting to around 1,000 ha per year.
Impact
The degradation process directly affects the agricultural sector, as it results into losses for farmers and rural communities. Many can no longer grow key crops such as wheat, maize, sunflower. Population also tends to migrate to cities due to economic difficulties.
The solution envisaged by authorities is reforestation
Recently appointed Minister of Environment, Water and Forestry Diana Buzoianu says that the "obvious" solution is reforestation. In the Poiana Mare area (Dolj), approximately 9,000 ha of forest have already been planted through the NRRP programme, with this area set to double next year. Former Environment Minister Mircea Fechet emphasizes that reforestation is the only solution recommended by experts: costs per hectare, compensation—everything to make the project attractive to landowners.
National anti-desertification strategy
The strategic documents envisage measures such as: the creation of protective forest belts (on approximately 56,000 ha) to cover vulnerable land in Oltenia, Dobrogea, and the south-eastern Romanian Plain; rehabilitation of irrigation systems, reservoirs, and water wells; monitoring of millions of hectares, certification, environmental and social measures to consolidate degraded land. Funding is available through EU instruments (NRRP and CAP Strategic Plan) for actions such as initial planting, reforestation, nurseries, and irrigation.
Contribution of the farming community
The agri sector should access as much as possible the available funds and it should have an active participation in planting, monitoring, and managing the new forests. Also, it could become more open to the adoption of conservative agricultural practices, such as crop rotation, efficient irrigation, agroforestry, and hedgerows. Indeed, an increasingly promoted solution is agroforestry. In this system, farmers combine crops with rows of trees, reducing thus erosion, retaining moisture, and improving biodiversity. These methods are becoming extremely relevant especially for the south of the country, where strong winds, prolonged drought, and the lack of forest cover accelerate land degradation. According to experts, agroforestry not only slows down the process of desertification, but also provides a possibly sustainable model for the Romanian agriculture, one that could provide both economic and environmental benefits.
A phenomenon needing attention from stakeholders
The degradation of over 100,000 ha in Romania represents a big loss of agricultural potential, biodiversity, and for food security, therefore requiring the attention of all stakeholders involved: national and local authorities, the agri-business sector, research and education, NGOs and local communities. Reforestation should be considered a strategic investment aimed at recovering land, protecting communities, and reviving agriculture. Therefore, planting trees should become a “must-do” activity rather than just a “nice-to-do”.