Who we are

“Romontana” Association was established in the year 2000 as a non-governmental, multi-sectoral, with the aim to support the overall development of mountain areas in Romania.

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Almost 18 years of activity!

“Romontana” aims to stimulate all sectors that influence the sustainable development of rural and urban communities in the mountain areas of Romania in a strategic, long-term vision and in harmony with European policies for the mountain areas. “Romontana” creates a framework for public debate on topics of general interest related to the mountain area and ensures a correct and balanced information of the population. “Romontana” develops and advances to the governmental sector and the political environment concrete proposals to improve legislation, development strategies and all actions that affect our daily lives in one way or another.

The objectives of the association are achieved through specific projects and activities that address one or more areas of activity such as sustainable development in the mountain area (tourism, forestry, agriculture, cultural and natural heritage etc.), community development, environmental protection, entrepreneurship, vocational training and training, etc.

“Romontana” has acquired extensive experience in the implementation of rural development projects and in policy and strategy mountain supporting the central government, regional and local. Between 2000 and 2006 “Romontana” has implemented several small-scale projects in cooperation with Euromontana (European Association of Mountain Regions) and SAB (Swiss Association of Mountain Regions) funded by SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation) and numerous local development projects. In the period 2006 – 2017 “Romontana” implemented as beneficiary or as partner several international cooperation projects between Romania, Ukraine and Republic of Moldova such as “ECO-CARPATHIANS – Eco-Business Development in Border Carpathians as Chance for Better Economic Competitiveness” (MIS ETC 1603), “Education for sustainable rural development in mountain areas through agritourism – Kiss of the Mountains” (RO 2004/016-942.01.01.06), “The integration of border regions in rural and green tourism development”, “Environment Plus – reducing the impact of waste on the environment. Solutions and cross-border issues”, “Management and intervention consortium for protection of surface waters in the border region Romania – Ukraine CTMI”, “Move4Nature – Develop training tools Education for Sustainable Development in the Carpathians – educational guidance of Schools in the Carpathians” etc.

The most substantial projects of “Romontana” implemented during the last years 2013 – 2017 have been financed by grants from EU funds, EEA Grants and Swiss-Romanian Cooperation Programme, namely: “InRuTou – Innovation in Rural Tourism”, “Greenovation Challenge – forming competences for innovation in sustainable development for youth”, “Sustainable agriculture models for the Romanian mountain area” and “Strengthening the capacities of forest owners associations for sustainable forest management”.

“Romontana” has also relevant experience in organizing events such as national and international conferences, seminars, workshops, courses, exhibitions, fairs and other similar events.

“Romontana” together with other stakeholders acting in the best interest of the sustainable development of mountain areas in Romania have made a significant contribution to the development of “National Strategic Guidelines for Sustainable Development of the Mountain Areas (2014-2020)” approved by the Government of Romania through a Memorandum in May 2014. “Romontana” is in permanent dialogue with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mountain Area Agency and other institutions dealing with the implementation and monitoring of the outcomes of this strategic document.

At international level “Romontana” is member in some of the largest and most relevant organizations that address sustainable development of the mountain regions, such as: “Euromontana” – European Association of Mountain Regions, FAO – Mountain Parthership and the World Rural Forum. “Romontana” is also partner of dialogue and implementation of the Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP Vienna).