The mayor of Rosia Montana has firmly disapproved of the status of UNESCO protected area, claiming that it would lead to more bureaucracy and costs for the locals – while not mentioning the opportunities brought by the same UNESCO status.
Adrian Cioroianau, Romania’s delegate at UNESCO, argued in favour of the benefits generated by the UNESCO status of the area – furthermore adding that the mining with traditional technology is anyways banned in Europe and new technologies may be compatible with the UNESCO status as only parts of the mining projects are covered by the UNESCO protection. A state can decide to withdraw the UNESCO status to a protected area, and Romania may decide in the future this if ‘green’ mining technologies are developed.
The petty politics comments abounded. Dacian Ciolos, who as a prime minister has constantly avoided submitting Rosia Montana file to UNESCO (one of his ministers did it, on the last day of his mandate), cheered the decision as “the greatest present for my birthday”. President Klaus Iohannis, who also avoided the topic, applauded the decision, recommending the “sustainable development” of the area.
Source: Romania – Insider