Within the project, we set up the foundation for Armenis, a community that hosts the second bison rewilding site in Romania to become a hub for applied ecology. We also intend to make conservation activities a subject of interest to a wider public and a driving engine for ecotourism. The research station set up in Feneş is used for practice, experience exchanges, events and also as an information hub on nature conservation by practitioners from various areas relevant to the project. In the former cultural center of Fenes, we created accommodation and boarding facilities and desks for 6 people, a library, a kitchen and a meeting area, as a result of several months of creative upcycling work with over 50 volunteers from across the country and from the community. The initiative was recognized as the environmental volunteering project of the year at the National Volunteering Gala.
At the core of the monitoring activities lies a complex protocol in order to observe the impact of bison on the ecosystem of the area. The resulting data has been used to establish management measures for wilderness areas. Future researchers will develop professionally by observing a population of 30 free bison undergoing a rewilding process.
The Information Center of Armenis has become one of the most innovative visitor center, which hosts one of the largest holodeck holograms in Europe and two interactive installations built on the border of art and technology, that showcase scientific data about the bison in an interactive manner. The installations offer quality “”infotainment”” to visitors and help them to become aware of the importance of biodiversity and nature conservation. The visitor center is the starting point for organized bison tracking tours and guests have a multidisciplinary learning experience, both in the heart of nature and with the help of technology. The infrastructure developed within the project, the human capacity increased by the presence of practitioners, the generated content and the notoriety built through the activities, created the conditions for a first start-up in ecotourism to take shape in the Bison Hillock.
The incubation workshop, “Hackweek for Conservation”” has put WWF Romania on the global map of innovative conservation initiatives and has opened channels of communication with leading practitioners around the world. The built and tested prototypes of real-time trackers for bison, provided information and credibility for a new funded project that continues the hardware development of the device. The efforts carried out throughout the project have positioned WWF Romania as a second potential area for the formation of a “”Panda Lab”” – a network of innovation departments attached to a WWF office, based on a successful model implemented in Australia.
Executive AgencyWWF-Danube Carpathian Programme RomaniaPartnersBison Hillock Association (AMZA), Armenis | Romanian Organization for User Rights Association | Town Hall Armenis, Caras Severin CountyContract NumberCSM 18ComponentEnvironmentCountyBucharestImplementation areaLocalThematic areaSustainable rural developmentImplementation period15.01.2016-14.01.2018Budget of the project (CHF)88,548Swiss Contribution (CHF)74,984Project websiteN/AExecutive Agency websitewww.wwf.ro
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