Writtle University College’s Professor Peter Hobson has participated in an International Seminar and Excursion Workshop in the Republic of Moldova. The event, which took place on September 15th to 20th 2019, discussed issues affecting Lower Prutis. The scientific reserve was founded in 1991 and consists of more than 1600 hectares in the Cahul District.
Professor Hobson said: “the workshop brought together experts from the Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Germany, of which I was privileged to be part of, in an effort of international collaboration to assess the very urgent environmental problems facing the Lower Prut Biosphere Reserve.”
Lower Prut and Beleu Lake have rich fauna and flora, particularly aquatic biodiversity, including White and Dalmatian Pelicans, but serious conflicts of land use are threatening the ecosystem. Widespread soil erosion and oil pollution are currently impacting upon the lake.
The workshop offered training to students at the State University of Moldova in the use of a systematic situation analysis to identify threats and risks to the biodiversity of the biosphere reserve.