Ruxandra Ionce

The ecological state of water bodies fundamentally influences quality of the ecosystem services provided and consequentially the wellbeing of the population benefitting fomr these services. Mountain areas are complex social-ecological systems particularly vulnerable to risks, as they are characterized by specific environmental conditions where even small changes can have a significant impact on both the environment and human communities. For the present paper, the northern slope of the Calimani Mountains related to the Siret hydrographic basin was taken as a case study. The economic, social, and ecological value of ecosystem services, in this case water resources, have been analysed and quantified, considering the current conditions given by climate change and specific anthropic pressures exerted on the environment. A series of sustainable development indicators provided by water resources were calculated and estimated. The supply of ecosystem services with their ecological, economic, and social value, which aquatic resources provide for human communities, were determined and quantified. A series of indicators of sustainable development as well as indicators of ecosystem services provided by water resources in the study area were calculated and estimated.

Article 1 - Volume 32/1 - 2022 Download article PDF Issue 1 - Vol.32/2022 Paper title: Analysing a major risk factor for the quality of the Bistrița River: mining activities in the Suceava County Author(s): Ruxandra IONCE Doctoral School of Geosciences, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Iassy, Romania Pages: 1 - 13 Publishing date: 21

LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) is a useful tool in decision-making for most businesses that opt for sustainability and offers the possibility to compare different products, processes, and value chain scenarios, both real and hypothetical. Coupled with S-ROI (Sustainable Return on Investment), the LCA has a great potential in using available data for existing mining sites in the North-East Region of Romania to assess the economic, social and environmental benefits of certain sustainability measures on a local and regional level. The article will explore this approach of combining the two methodologies: LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) and S-ROI (Sustainable Return on Investment), with necessary adjustments according to the characteristics of the local mining activities, to show key investment areas that can improve the value chain of copper exploitation and preparation in the mining perimeter Mănăila. The case of the copper mine in Mănăila offers a great opportunity to apply the current LICYMIN (Life Cycle of Mining) research and to use available Ecoinvent data for the copper ore by comparing the current value chain scenario with a proposed scenario that includes a different location for a mining ore preparation unit, closer to the quarry. The results will give an insight into the potential social and economic impact (the measure can translate into a higher local employment rate, better social stability, lower transportation costs, etc.) as well as the environmental impact (reduction of GHG emission, pollution, and energy efficiency) of the suggested changes.

During the summer season 2018 and 2019, natural hazards (namely, floods and wildfires) have occurred at some of the most popular tourist destinations in Greece, endangering tourists’ safety and vacation quality. These have influenced tourists’ perception of Greece as a “potentially risky destination”, causing a decrease in the number of tourists willing to visit this country. However, the current study assumes that some tourists will show more courageous travel behavior in the aftermath of natural hazards, while others will remain cautious when deciding to travel to risky destinations. Therefore, the questionnaire on a sample group of 431 respondents from Serbia and Romania was conducted to explore the factors influencing such differences. The study aims to explore whether tourists’ individual characteristics influence tourism worries and tourist behavior based on perceived risks. The study also intends to analyze the moderating role of tourists’ nationality, considering the relationship between personality and tourist behavior based on the perceived risk. The findings provide evidence that not only tourists’ personality but also sociodemographic characteristics influence tourism worries and tourist behavior based on the perceived risk. Additionally, the study is the first to explore and confirm the role of nationality in tourist behavior based on the perceived risk, as well as the moderation role of nationality in regression between tourist’s personality and behavior based on the perception of risk. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in the paper.

Romanian environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGO) have to deal with a lot of issues when performing their activities, related in general to their form of organization, financial capacity, unspecialized workforce, over bureaucratic administration, political parties’ unwillingness to cooperate, or mass-media’s general indifference. Moreover, most public representatives (e.g., political parties) seldom (or never) ask for the ENGOs’ opinions when designing environmental policies. Within this context, this paper aims to map the most important issues or challenges (in terms of financial capacity and with regard to the public sphere) that Romanian ENGOs have to deal with. The methodological approach is a mixed one (having a qualitative as well as a quantitative component). The study embodies a questionnaire based survey applied on 48 Romanian ENGOs. Unfortunately, the instability of financial resources still tops the Romanian ENGOs’ list of issues. Moreover, the data reaffirmed the indifference of the majority of Romania’s political parties towards protecting the environment (leaving ENGOs out of the political decision making process).