Biologist, Expert of Ecological Reconstruction Marian Tudor, Director of the Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development in Tulcea (DDNI, Romania) visited the Faculty of Water Sciences of the Ludovika University of Public Service in the framework of the Ludovika Scholars Program (LSP) between 18 and 22 November 2024.
The professor's program started at the Ludovika Campus in Budapest, where he attended the Department of Water and Environmental Policy. The LSP scholarship holder presented that his institute is actively involved in the ecological rehabilitation of the Danube Delta. He explained that the rehabilitation of former agricultural areas and fish ponds – immediately after the change of the political regime in Romania – was particularly successful. The researcher visited the Algology Laboratory of the Department of Aquatic Environmental Sciences.
The program of the guest professor continued at the Campus in Baja, where he gave a lecture with the title “Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Romania”. In his speech he presented the results of a very interesting survey which revealed the awareness of the general public in relation to climate induced problems and their willingness to participate in mitigation actions.
At the biologist's second presentation, the attendees could hear about the ecological restoration of degraded wetlands in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve in Romania. After speaking about the international importance of the protection of the largest riverine delta of Europe and a short introduction to the protected areas, he explained how the reconstruction measures helped the flora and fauna of the delta to gain back significant areas which were previously drained for human economical development. He also presented the legal and institutional framework of wetland management in Romania and illustrated his speech with spectacular images.
The professor’s stay in Baja ended with an informal professional discussion, where the participating researchers reviewed the subject areas of possible research collaboration and projects.