Zarand Landscape Corridor: Restoring Romania’s Ecological Connectivity

Fauna & Flora is working alongside local communities, conservationists, and policymakers to secure and restore this essential corridor, ensuring that both wildlife and people can thrive in harmony.

The Challenge

The Zarand Wildlife Corridor is a critical ecological link between the Western Carpathians and the Southern Carpathians, ensuring the free movement of bears, wolves, and lynx across the landscape. Without intervention, habitat fragmentation and human-wildlife conflict threaten the survival of these species and the ecological balance of the region.

The natural connections for wildlife between Romania’s mountain ranges are disappearing due to deforestation, infrastructure expansion that does not consider environmental measures, and inappropriate land use, such as agriculture intensification and abandonment. Without passage, large carnivores struggle to find food, mates, and consistent and safe territories, leading to increased human-wildlife conflict and isolated populations at risk of decline.

Human activities, including the construction of roads and railways that do not consider environmental impact, further restrict the movement of wildlife. If these pressures continue, Romania’s large carnivore populations will face dwindling genetic diversity and an uncertain future.