High Nature Value farmlands:

Recognising the importance of South East

European landscapes
CASE STUDY REPORT

Galai (Romania)

WWF-DCP/EFNCP, 2008

High Nature Value farmlands:

Recognising the importance of South East European landscapes
CASE STUDY REPORT
Galai (Romania)

This report is produced as part of collaboration between the European Forum on Nature
Conservation and Pastoralism (EFNCP) and WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme (WWFDCP). Both organisations recognise the importance of certain farming systems for nature
conservation. Between 2006 and 2008 a project was executed aiming at finding out at a local
scale where agriculture overlaps with areas of High Nature Value in order to understand better
the relation between both. The project consisted of six local workshops, three each in Bulgaria
(Strandzha, Rusenski Lom and Western Stara Planina) and Romania (Sibiu, Mehedini and
Galai), and a reporting seminar in Brussels. After concentrating on the ecological aspects, the
workshops analysed the socio-economical needs of local farmers and identified where policy
can be improved. In this way the project linked the developing concept of High Nature Value
farming to the reality of farming and considered the practicalities of implementing the EU
commitments on identifying and supporting HNV farming in different local situations. All
findings were reported to relevant bodies from local to European level.
This project has been made possible by a grant from the Government of The Netherlands, BBIMatra programme

Prepared by:
Raluca Barbu, WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme Romania
Raluca Dan, WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme Romania
Koen De Rijck, WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme
Yanka Kazakova, WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme
With input from:
Guy Beaufoy, European Forum on Nature Conservation and Pastoralism
Maria Contoman, "Lower Danube" University of Galai
Teodor Glavan, Romanian Ornithological Society
Gwyn Jones, European Forum on Nature Conservation and Pastoralism
Mirela Leonte and Stelian Chivu, Centre for Ecological Consultancy Galai

Published in August 2008 by WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme and European Forum on

Nature Conservation and Pastoralism (EFNCP)
Available for downloading from http://www.panda.org/dcpo and http://www.efncp.org

All photos by Koen De Rijck (2007-2008), except #3-5 from unspecified internet pages and
#6 from Lower Prut Natural Park archive. More photos available at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vlahi_volunteer/sets/72157604662223663/

I.

INTRODUCTION

Galai is a county (NUTS III level) in the East of Romania, situated in the Moldavian region
and in the Pannonian biogeographical zone. The county has a total area of 4,466 km and
about 600000 inhabitants, giving an average population density of 134 per km. Agriculture
and fisheries are the main economic sectors, with metallurgy, textile and ship building the
main industries of the county. The county is situated in the lowlands, between the River Prut
in the East and the River Siret in the West and South-West, both of which flow into the
Danube, which forms the South-East boundary of the county.
The Prut River, which rises in the northern Carpathians, has a long floodplain; most of the
settlements are located on the natural river terrace which rises to the west (the east bank is in
the Republic of Moldova). To the north the county is hilly with more varied relief. Overall,
the region still hosts patches of grasslands of high nature value where grazing takes place as
well as extremely intensive arable fields of cereals and energy crops.

Map 1: Relief map of Romania

Map 2: Relief map of Galai County

II.

NATURE VALUES

The overall diversity of fauna of Galai County contains over 240 bird species, 26 mammals,
13 reptiles, 14 amphibians and 35 fish.
The project focused on the Lower Prut Floodplain which is also a Natural Park, and its
adjoining territories. The Natural Park was established in 2004 and consists of a long, narrow
stretch (122 km 8247 ha) of floodplains and natural and artificial lakes along the Romanian
riverbank of the Prut river in Galai county. In the South of Galai county, the Natural Park
extends to the rivers confluence with the Danube making a connection with the Danube
Delta Biosphere Reserve. In this way, the Lower Prut Floodplain Natural Park is a major
corridor for bird migration towards Northern and Western Europe.

The whole territory of the Lower Prut Floodplain Natural Park is included in the European
Natura 2000 network as a Special Protection Area under the EU Bird Directive and (except
for the Brates Lake) as a Site of Community Interest under the EU Habitat Directive.
Vulnerable habitats in the Natural Park are riparian forests, muddy river banks, fishponds and
natural lakes, water meadows and low altitude grasslands. They host important populations of
nesting, migrating and wintering bird species. From the total number of bird species from the
Lower Prut zone (239 species), 50 species are included in the Romanian Vertebrate Red Data
Book (2005). The Park hosts many bird species protected at EU level, as well as some species
threatened at global level. These include Dalmatian Pelican (Pelicanus crispus), White-tailed
Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug), Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila
pomarina), Corncrake (Crex crex), Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis), Purple Heron
(Ardea purpurea) and Black Stork (Ciconia nigra).
Beside the Lower Prut Floodplain Natural Park, a further 5 SPAs and 12 SCIs are proposed
for designation in the county.

Picture 1: Grazed wetlands on the Lower Prut floodplain Picture 2: Typical Galai landscape with low, soft
rolling hills. Note sandy pastures in background

Three bird species which are present in the county and relevant for open, usually farmed
landscapes are Corncrake (Crex crex) a world-threatened bird of rich grasslands, Redfooted Falcon (Falco vespertinus) a bird of prey using open country with some trees and
water nearby, and Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor) a bird of open small-scale lowlands.
The three bird species are focal species in the Romanian agri-environmental measure
Important grasslands for bird species (see further down). Other species occurring in Galai
county on open, usually farmed habitats are European Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus
citellus) and Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus), both EU priority species.

Corncrake (Crex crex)

Habitat: rich grasslands, especially in the
floodplain, crops areas: clover, lucerne,
cereals.
Nest: on ground, in rich pastures and cereals.
Food: insects & their larvae, seeds, young
plants.
Threats: intensive agriculture, damage of
natural pastures, mechanized farming
practices (mowing), hunting etc. Also
substitution of cereal by maize.
Picture 3: Corncrake (Crex crex)
Measures for conservation: maintenance
of wet grasslands in the floodplain.
Number of individuals in the area: 30 40.

Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus)

Habitat: forest edges, flooded forest, trees along the
roads, group of trees in the plain areas.
Food: insects, frogs, lizards and sometimes small birds.
Threats: increase of human impact, deterioration of nest
conditions, decrease of food resources.
Population trend: decrease of numbers at local level
Number of individuals in the area: 20 30

Picture 4: Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus)

Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor)

Habitat: forest edge, flooded forest, open
spaces with shrubs and trees, mosaics of arable
land with pastures, trees along the roads.
Food: insects, snails, mice and sometimes small
birds.
Threats: increase of human pressure,
deterioration of nest conditions, decrease of
food resources.
Population trend: increase of numbers at local
level
Number of individuals in the area: 80 120

Picture 5: Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor)

III.

LAND USE AND FARMING IN GALAI

Agriculture is the main land use in Galai county

representing 80% of its total area. The majority
(81%) is arable land while grasslands (pastures
and meadows) cover 12 %, followed by vineyards
(5%) and orchards (0,5%) (Table 1). The share of
vineyards and orchards shows a decrease of 16%
and 25% respectively. This is due to the land
restitution when many owners cleared their lands
and converted them to arable. The national
statistics do not reveal the share of abandoned
lands which is estimated to be equally distributed
among all land use classes.

Agricultural Land Use in Galati County (2006)

12%

0%
5%
0%

Pastures
Meadows
Vineyard
Orchards
Arable

83%

Table 1: Land use in Galai county (ha)

Year
1990

Arable
290 564

Pastures
42 663

Meadows
548

Vineyards
22 877

Orchards
2 307

1995

290 630

43 564

597

21 801

2 214

2000

292 229

43 580

598

20 368

1 979

2006

293 237

43 663

656

19 316

1 716

Source: http://www.Galai.insse.ro/main.php

The area of Lower Prut Floodplain Natural Park covers 1 municipality and 9 communities
with 23 villages. The settlements are generally placed on the mountain sides and the terrace
platforms thus avoiding the floodplain areas.
The total area of these settlements is 65 481 ha of which 53 368 ha (81%) are agricultural
land (Table 2). Even on the floodplains the main land use is still arable, mainly for cereals but
increasingly for energy crops. The pastures represent 12.8% of the area and are located
mostly outside the floodplains of the Prut river on the higher ground. Hay meadows on the
floodplains make up only 0.4% of the total land use. Other remaining floodplain grasslands
are used for grazing by sheep and cattle when river levels are low.
The average farm size in the county is 3.06ha, but in some communities it is as high as
5.93ha. Most of these farm holdings are subsistence and semi-subsistence in character. In
some cases, they form small privately managed associations.
Vineyards and wine production are also an important part of the economy of the region.

Table 2: Agriculture area in the settlements around Lower Prut Nature Park
Areas
ha
%
Arable lands
43 216
81.0
Grasslands
6 827
12.8
Hay-meadows on floodplains
207
0.4
Vineyards and vine nurseries
2 990
5.6
Orchards and trees nurseries
128
0.2
TOTAL
53 368
100

Forests cover 4996 ha and are used mostly for fire wood and construction material. The
forested areas are under strong pressure and their total territory is decreasing in the last two
decades.
Livestock farming
Cattle decreased significantly after the end of the State cooperative farms in the area. The
capacity of the available land to sustain animal breeding is still calculated on the basis of the
total forage area and/or total grassland. This approach masks the clear distinction between
intensive and extensive systems. However from the statistical data that is available for some
of the communities we can see where the intensive cooperative farms were and still are based
(table 3). The village of Vntori even after a ten-fold reduction in the number of animals is
still the most intensive location for cattle breeding. On the other hand the village of Oancea
has preserved almost the same structure of its cattle farms. The high intensity there is
explained by the small area of pastures and hay meadows rather than the large number of
animals.
Table 3: Indicator cattle per 100 ha grasslands (1985 - 2003)
Community
1985
1995
2003
Cavadineti
Suceveni
Oancea
Vldeti
Mstcani
Folteti
Frumuia
Tuluceti
Vntori

220.13
251.44
50.83
193.10
267.64
1355.45
909.92
1774.74
4068.18

56.74
70.60
78.55
74.85
119.31
118.59
115.81
232.70
301.75

67.15
44.50
43.11
77.94
120.52
67.59
75.38
376.52
444.69

Source: The National Institute of Statistics

The number of sheep in the proximity of the Lower Prut Floodplain Natural Park has
fluctuated somewhat. During the decade after 1990 their number almost halved. However, by
2005 the number of sheep had returned to the pre-1990 level. This positive trend is due to the
fact that sheep are more flexible and less capital-intensive than cattle, yielding a diversity of
products (cheese, meat, skin, wool); and there is a growing demand for lamb both within
Romania and for export. The industrial use of wool is significantly reduced and most of it is
used in the household. The other products (dairy or meat) are sold on the local or regional
markets. The community of Mastacani has the highest sheep density: 141.73 sheep per 100
ha in 2003.

Table 4: Number of sheep around the Nature Park

Animals/year
1990
1999
Sheep total number
43 592
26 730

2005
43 800

Source: The National Institute of Statistics

Horses and donkeys are reported as important not only as providers of traction in subsistence
farming, but also as important elements in the local diet. Furthermore, donkey breeding is
currently a profitable activity as the demand on the Italian market is extremely high.

IV.

HIGH NATURE VALUE FARMLANDS IN GALAI

The area is very representative of the intensively managed territories in the lowlands of the
Lower Danube. It is a mixture of alluvial and (on higher grounds) sandy grasslands, mosaic
gardens near the villages as well as vast areas of intensively managed agriculture fields in the
floodplain.
The area around the Lower Prut Nature Park has the following types of High Nature Value
farmlands:
1) HNV Type 1: Semi-natural grasslands:
-

Extensive grazing taking place in the floodplain grasslands of the Lower Prut;
Extensive grazing taking place on the pastures situated on the higher grounds of the
county (< 300 m) and generally nearby the villages.
In general livestock keepers are divided into two types. The first is the village sheep keeper:
in each community there are about 2 or 3 collective sheep flocks (sometimes mixed with
goats) using the surrounding lands, especially grasslands and stubble fields. Each flock has its
shepherds nominated by the community. Typically these flocks graze on communal land,
although not exclusively. The other type of user is the individual farmer with larger herds of
cattle or sheep who is able to manage the flocks separately from the community flocks. They
have an agreement with the community administration on which communal land they can
use. Individual farmers in the floodplain often have extensive private grazing lands too. In
general there are no conflicts of land use in the region.
The highest concentrations of the three focal birds Corncrake (Crex crex), Red-footed Falcon
(Falco vespertinus) and Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor) in Galai County can be found in
and around the HNV Type 1 grasslands in the floodplain. However, the birds are not confined
to the grassland habitats. Corncrake makes use of cereal cropland as well, while Red-footed
Falcon and Lesser Grey Shrike make use of forest patches in the floodplain for nesting and
feeding.
2) HNV Type 2: Mosaic of small-scale cropland, grasslands and perennial crops:
-

Mostly represented by the small mosaics formed by vineyards, orchards, small strips
of grasslands near lowland villages
This is the HNV type for which we have the least specific information due to the fact that it is
mostly considered as village gardens with very small parcels. For example in the village of
Mastacani the village gardens are 10% of the total agriculture land. In practice every villager
has his/her parcels there. Most of them would have animals as well, so in this sense they are
also farmers. However, the purpose of their management is purely subsistence with some
produce going to the local market in rare occasions.

3) HNV Type 3: Habitats of species of European importance

-

The majority of the farmlands in Galai: intensively managed, fertilised and often
drained arable croplands in the Lower Prut floodplain as well as overgrazed or
intensively mowed grasslands.
The main issue with this type of HNV farmland in Galai is the presence of bird species of
high conservation value associated with these intensive farmlands. This type of HNV
farmland does not exhibit the HNV characteristics such as presence of semi-natural
vegetation at large scale, diversity of land cover and overall low-intensive land use. Hence
there is no or little relation between the farming system and the presence of rare species.
Typical bird species of high conservation value are migrating waterfowl feeding on highly
nutritious crops such as winter wheat e.g. Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus)
and Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis). Also raptors such as Saker Falcon (Falco
cherrug) and Montagus Harrier (Circus pygargus) make use of HNV Type 3 farmlands as
well as HNV Type 1 grasslands in and around the floodplain.

Picture 6: Patches of forests and HNV Type 1

grasslands in the Lower Prut Natural Park

V.

Picture 7: Intensively farmed, drained arable farmland

near the city of Galai (Type 3 HNV farmland)

CASE STUDY FARMS

Two farms were visited during the workshop in Galai in April 2008.
A.

Farm of Ivan Angelica, village of Mastacani

The dairy farm is situated in the floodplains of the Lower Prut River. Mr. Angelica manages a
total of 50 ha of which 25 ha are his land and 25 ha are rented. The farmer produces silage,
maize, lucerne and oats on 30 ha, the other 20 ha are haymaking lands.
He has 44 dairy cows and 8 calves which are kept in a semi-intensive system. The farm itself
is located in a former cooperative building (there are another 4 or 5 farmers in the same
locality). The cooperative area is fenced and thus animals are only taken on the grasslands
within the boundaries of the fences. The farm is surrounded by intensively managed cereal
fields and thus it is almost impossible for the farmer to reach other grasslands even if he
wanted. Hay is stored in a neighbouring facility and is given to animals on a daily basis
together with other feed.

This farm itself did not appear to be HNV, although patches of grassland in the surrounding
landscape probably were semi-natural and therefore of interest. In some cases they might be
used by this farmer, although the main users probably are village sheep flocks.
The milk produced on the farm is sold to a milk processor. In terms of meeting hygiene
requirements for the dairy production the farm would need significant investments.

Picture 8: Cattle grazing on species-poor grassland in

the fenced-off area next to the cooperative building

B.

Picture 9: Species-rich hay from nearby floodplain

meadows, part of the daily diet of the cattle

Farm of Radu Gheorghe, town of Trgu Bujor

The farm of Radu Gheorghe is situated in the more hilly areas of Galai county nearby the
town of Trgu Bujor. The farmer manages a total of 39.5 ha of which 27 ha are leased from
the commune. The majority of the land is used for grazing and hay-making. Lucerne is
produced on 4 ha.
Mr. Gheorghe has 360 sheep. The herd is mixed of the breeds urcan and igaie. The
average grazing density on his farm is about 9 sheep/ha which is relatively intensive (0.91.35LU/ha). Both actual grazing densities and specific biodiversity data are missing to
determine whether this is a HNV farming system. As semi-natural vegetation is present at
large scale (see picture 10), a move to a less intensive grazing regime would most probably
increase biodiversity on his farm. Mr. Gheorghe produces both milk and cheese and sells
them on the market of Trgu Bujor.

Picture 10: Sheep/goat grazing near Trgu Bujor on

semi-natural (wet) grasslands (HNV Type 1). Glimpse
of Type 2 HNV farmland in background

Picture 11: HNV Type 1 semi-natural grasslands in

fore- (alluvial) and background (sandy) near Trgu
Bujor

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C.

Village of Mastacani

In the case of Galai, the team decided to take a closer look not only at the farm level
situation but also at the village level. This was mostly justified by the two types of users of
common land and the need to see what would be the level of intensity for the grazing of the
common lands.
The total agriculture land in the village of Mastacani is 6504 ha. The village gardens extend
to 602 ha and the grasslands to 880 ha. The other 5022 ha is made up of arable land.
The privately owned grasslands are 580 ha, the municipal ones are 180 ha. There are also 120
ha of reforested land which used to be grazed but due to land slides was reforested.
Table 5: Number of animals in Mastacani (2008)
Animals
Numbers
Cattle
1142
Sheep
9105
Goats
377
Horses
765
Pigs
950
Poultry
31870
Beehives
50

Land Use in Mastacani village, Galati

14%
9%

Arable land
Village gardens
Grasslands
77%

There are two groups of grazing animals in Mastacani:

- Farmers animals: animals graze on the farmers own pasture or on common pastures.
There are 33 registered farmers dealing with sheep and/or goat breeding and 3 farmers
engaged in cattle breeding.
- Local peoples animals (villagers who have 1 or 2 cows or under 10 sheep): animals
graze on common pastures or on former irrigation canals or wooded land.
The officially declared grazing density is as follows:
- Sheep and/or goats:
12-15 animals per ha
- Cattle or horses:
5 animals per ha
The grazing density in either group of animals is extremely high according to these (official)
figures. Information is missing about the actual grazing density and the importance of feed
concentrates in the diet of the animals. Given the serious lack of grassland resources in the
region overgrazing is inevitably going to cause serious problems on the last remaining areas
of nature value in the county. Furthermore, more and more land is being used for energy
crops production, so at some point the costs of the concentrated forage for the animals is
going to be too high for many of the farmers.

VI.

POLICY ASPECTS

The Galai case brings to light the necessity to complete the Agri-Environment Programme
with measures supporting intensively farmed HNV lands, the reintroduction of the measure
concerning protection of riparian habitats (initially proposed to be included in the AgriEnvironment Programme), regulating the grazing period/practices in the case of wet

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grasslands around important bird areas; as well as to extend the HNV grasslands package to
new areas.
Remarkable for its high number of bird species depending for nesting, migration and feeding
on farmlands, the studied area has a very poor coverage by the measures meant to provide
compensatory payments and financial support.
Although Corncrake, Red-footed Falcon and Lesser Grey Shrike are the bird species included
in HNV package 3 Important grasslands for bird species, Galai County is not among the
eligible areas. Furthermore, the measure is meant to start as a pilot for introducing the Natura
2000 payments in 2010 and is going to be extended every year to new eligible areas. This
measure is offering 101 euro/ha/year. Together with the Romanian Ornithological Society
WWF-DCP has started to prepare the justification for introducing Galai on the list of eligible
areas.
Grasslands in the area are representative examples of HNV farmland in non-montane
Romania. However, there is not sufficient data and knowledge to clearly understand the
relation between biodiversity and farming in the different habitats in and around the Lower
Prut Natural Park. Therefore it is difficult to point out which farmlands are valuable from
nature conservation point of view and which not. Nevertheless, it is unfortunate that the
remaining patches of natural vegetation in the region are being abandoned from the policy
perspective. Farmers involved in sheep grazing are under the pressure of meeting more and
more standards and at the same time have very limited grazing resources. Their operations
are significantly threatened due to the fact that most of the support is provided on an areabasis and thus on the one hand they need to buy external feed for their animals, and on the
other they cannot get available public funding.
Currently, their main support comes from the national payment per animal (10 euro/sheep)
and the SAPS payment of 50 euro/ha.
The high fragmentation of land ownership and the poverty of local farmers constitute the
main gaps in formulating a coherent planning of the region of the Park, but also in applying
for direct payments and agri-environment measures (eligibility criteria: minimum 1 ha of land
comprised of parcels of min 0.3 ha).
There is one measure for arable farmers in the agri-environment programme: the package for
winter green cover. There is a list of crops recommended and the biomass has to be
incorporated into the soil by March of the following year at the latest. This measure has a
secondary benefit of helping to combat the serious soil erosion of arable lands in the area.
There is also a poor level of knowledge among farmers regarding good agriculture practices
and about farming in general, which has led to soil erosion, overgrazing and inappropriate
drainage.
A scheme combining vocational training with the development of a more locally-based
agriculture consultancy service would contribute for a better understanding of the
responsibility that farmers have for maintaining the landscape and biodiversity, but equally
for increasing the competitiveness of farming through improving the farming practices.

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VII. RECOMMENDATIONS
The main recommendations from the Galai workshop are related to the national agrienvironmental programme.
1.
Identification of HNV farmland
Collect baseline information of farmland with some nature values such as the actual intensity
of land use and link this with ecological requirements of certain indicator or focal species. A
better understanding of the relation between farming and biodiversity can be used to design
better support to improve the HNV quality in Galai and other lowland and non-montane
areas.
2.
National agri-environmental programme and its local implementation
Extending the areas of HNV package 3 Important grasslands for bird species to new
areas, and especially areas with recognized nature values as IBAs, Natura 2000, etc.

Introduce a HNV package for grasslands under the pressure of overgrazing and
target it to the lowland areas of Romania. Due to the natural suitability for intensive
production the last remaining grassland areas in the lowlands are important patches of
(high) nature value and critical habitats/refuges for many flora and fauna species.

Reintroduce a measure for managing riparian habitats. This measure should also be
targeted at lowland river basins as well as floodplains and support the introduction of
more extensive forms of land management in these areas.

3.
Training and advisory services to farmers
The need to provide intensive training and advice to farmers at the lowest possible level was
once again confirmed during the local workshop. It is very important that sufficient technical
knowledge and capacity is available to farmers and they do not have to travel tens of
kilometres to get it. The advice and training should not only focus on the application process
(which all agree is important) but also on everyday management of the farm in terms of
adaptation to new (hygiene) requirements, GAEC, nature values, and economic management.

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EFNCP is a Europe-wide network which raises

awareness of the importance of low-intensity
farming for nature conservation and aims to
improve the way public policies respond to the
needs of these farming systems.

European Forum on Nature

Conservation and Pastoralism
info@efncp.org
www.efncp.org

WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the

planet's natural environment and to build a future
in which humans live in harmony with nature

WWF International
Danube-Carpathian Programme
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