A Vision Statement for the Danube Delta Region (2030) - the Danube Delta and Its Neighboring Area
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A Vision Statement for the Danube Delta Region (2030) Danube Delta Integrated Sustainable Development Strategy September 15th 2014 Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through OPTA 2007-2013 A Vision Statement for the Danube Delta Region (2030) - The Danube Delta and its Neighboring Area Vision for the Danube Delta (the Biosphere Reserve area): A “living delta” (an area where people live and work) with balanced support for the environment and the community; a healthy, sustainable local economy - mainly based on nature and culture tourism; and with an inclusive planning process (residents, governments, businesses). Vision for the Neighboring Area: A vibrant, modern agricultural and small enterprise area, with a network of urban service centers and a tourism sector that is integrated with the attractions of the area and the Delta. Together they form the Vision for the Danube Delta Region (2030): An attractive area – with precious biodiversity and vibrant, small/medium scale (artisanal and modern) businesses - where people live in harmony with nature; integrating economic activities of tourism, farming and fishery; and supported by urban service centers. Two strategic objectives are derived from this vision: Strategic Objective 1: Conserve the unique environmental assets through scientifically-guided environmental management, and through empowerment of local communities to be proactive guardians of this unique global heritage. Strategic Objective 2: Develop a sustainable, green local economy capitalizing on the area’s comparative advantages, supported by improved services. 2 Acknowledgements This report aims to reflect: (i) the views of the communities in the Danube Delta study area as expressed during 10 consultative visioning workshops; (ii) input from national government representatives and NGOs; and (iii) views of the World Bank’s study team. This team was led by Toshiaki Keicho (Task Team Leader) and Anna Gueorguieva (Co-Task Team Leader) and included Casandra Bischoff (lead facilitator), Bianca Moldovean (data analysis), Ioana Irimia (workshop facilitation support), and Andrei Zambor (workshop facilitation support), with assistance from Argentina Stamm and Cristina Zirimis. The report benefited from comments and guidance by Sumila Gulyani, Mats Andersson, Cesar Niculescu, Gabriel Ionita, Agi Kiss, Paula Restrepo Cadavid, Milena Nikolova, Randall Brummett, and Jian Xie. The study team would like to thank the communities, local authorities, Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration, Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority, Danube Delta Biosphere Research Institute, Tulcea and Constanta County Councils, NGOs, and other stakeholders, for their engagement and inputs. 3 A Vision Statement for the Danube Delta Region (2030) Danube Delta Integrated Sustainable Development Strategy Table of Contents 1. Background........................................................................................................................................... 6 2. Vision Statements ................................................................................................................................ 6 3. Overview of the visioning process ....................................................................................................... 8 What is a vision?................................................................................................................................... 8 What is visioning? ................................................................................................................................ 9 The link between the Diagnostic Report and the visioning process .................................................... 9 Choice of workshop venues, outreach activities and selection of participants ................................... 9 Facilitation method ............................................................................................................................ 10 The link between workshop results and the final Vision statements ................................................ 11 Balancing the different views into one statement ............................................................................. 12 4. Stakeholder analysis ........................................................................................................................... 13 5. Demographic Snapshot of Participants .............................................................................................. 14 6. Development scenarios Context ........................................................................................................ 17 What are scenarios? ........................................................................................................................... 17 What are the different categories of scenarios? ............................................................................... 17 What are vision scenarios? ................................................................................................................ 18 What are the drivers of change defining the scenarios? ................................................................... 18 7. The Danube Delta 2030 Scenarios ..................................................................................................... 20 Scenario A: The Nature Sanctuary Scenario-- a wild nature reserve ................................................. 22 Scenario B: “A living Delta” Scenario -- the sustainable life ............................................................... 23 Scenario C: The Bigger the Better – a usable nature reserve ............................................................ 23 8. “Technical” Expert Vision for Environmental Management and Tourism ......................................... 24 Environmental Management “Technical” Vision ............................................................................... 24 Tourism “Technical” Vision ................................................................................................................ 25 9. Selected Scenarios by the Stakeholders............................................................................................. 26 10. Stakeholder View of Needed Policy and Institutional Reforms ......................................................... 27 11. How can the Delta (the biosphere reserve) - particularly the Core Delta - and the Neighboring Area support each other?.................................................................................................................................... 29 4 12. Next Steps .......................................................................................................................................... 30 Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 31 Annex I ............................................................................................................................................... 31 Annex II .............................................................................................................................................. 33 Annex III ............................................................................................................................................. 35 Annex IV ............................................................................................................................................ 36 Annex V .............................................................................................................................................. 37 Annex VI ............................................................................................................................................. 39 Annex VII ............................................................................................................................................ 42 Annex VIII ........................................................................................................................................... 43 Annex IX .............................................................................................................................................. 44 Annex X ............................................................................................................................................... 46 Figures Figure 1: Age distribution of the participants and the underlying population of the region ..................... 14 Figure 2: Distribution of participants by workshop .................................................................................... 15 Figure 3: Gender distribution of the participants ....................................................................................... 16 Figure 4: Occupations of workshop participants ........................................................................................ 16 Figure 5. The 3 scenarios represent a spectrum of development outcomes. ............................................ 21 Figure 6: Map of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDBR) ................................................................. 31 Figure 7: Study Area - core Delta (yellow) and Neighboring Area (green) ................................................. 32 Tables Table 1: Local community vision statements .............................................................................................. 12 Table