“Marin Drăcea” National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry (INCDS), operating under the coordination of the Romanian Ministry of Research and Innovation, bears the name of a reputable forester who was instrumental for implementation of modern silvotechnics in Romania. The mission of “Marin Drăcea” INCDS is to ensure scientifically increased capacity, quality and competitiveness of research, development and experimentation for the management and sustainable development of the forestry sector, its economic competitiveness and the quality of human life.
Romică Tomescu, PhD, General Manager of the Institute and former Minister of Waters, Forests and Environmental Protection speaks about the importance of forestry research: „Since its foundation, our Institute has been in the service of sustainable forest management in Romania. Straight from the beginning, the specialists working within the Institute have been developing concepts that are used to this day in forestry, naturally, with updates and improvements. We have proven with scientific results and have highlighted the role that the forest has in improving the quality of many environmental factors: water, air, soil. This activity must be continued and all the relevant institutions must contribute to this effort and they must be supported politically by paying due attention and with proper funding. When evaluating the opportunity to finance forestry research, it is important to take into account the ecosystem services that the forest offers, which are not always appreciated. Forest resources are renewable however their regeneration happens under appropriate conditions as long as specialized technical assistance is provided. This is why the universities are training forestry specialists, this is why research is being carried out in the institutes, so that the best solutions can be found to help the resource regenerate in the right conditions. One very important part in which the politics could get involved as well is raising the awareness of the importance of protecting the environment in which we live”.
The fundamental objective of “Marin Drăcea” INCDS is to increase the capacity, quality and complexity of scientific research and technological development in the forestry sector for a sustainable management of the forests in the context of the socio-economic and environmental changes at national, European and international levels.
Ovidiu Badea, PhD, Scientific Director, explains: “At national and international levels research must be a priority in all fields, especially in forestry, because forest resources are very important at global level and human health is directly related to scientific results in this area. People around the globe should understand that forests are not a given and must not be taken for granted. Forests must be paid for, meaning we have to continuously invest in understanding how they work and what they need to grow and be healthy”.
The scientific research and technical development of “Marin Drăcea” INCDS aims to achieve priority objectives of the forest sector, in the framework of national and international research programs, specific for the following domains: dendrometrics and forest monitoring, forest ecology, genetics, protection, silvotechnics, management planning, watershed management, forest shelterbelts and ecological reconstruction, wild game and fish management.
INTERNATIONALIZATION – KEY FACTOR FOR A HOLISTIC APPROACH IN FORESTRY RESEARCH
At international level, „Marin Drăcea” INCDS is a full member or cooperating with prestigious international entities: e.g. International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), European Forest Institute (EFI), International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP – Forests), Long Term Ecological Research European (LTER-Europe) and International Networks, International Long Term Social and Ecological Research (ILTSER), International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), International Seed Testing Association (ISTA), European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories (EARSeL), Forest-based Sector Technology Platform (FTP).
The integrated investigations are realized in nationally (National Program for Research III 2015-2020, Nucleu Program-GENERESERV, and Competitivity Operational Programs – POC, POCA) or internationally (EEA, Life+, and Horizon 2020) funded research projects.
Annually „Marin Drăcea”INCDS submits reports on forest condition in Romania which are included in Annual European and Executive Reports drawing up analysed and approved at EU level.
PROVEN TRACK RECORD WITH EU STRUCTURAL FUNDS
During the period 2017-2021 „Marin Drăcea” INCDS promotes the transfer of knowledge and research in effective collaboration between research organizations and Romanian economic units in the forestry sector through CRESFORLIFE project (Enhancing the economic competitiveness of the forestry sector and quality of life by transfer of knowledge, technology and competence) financed by EU structural funds.
Other project financed from the same source during the period 2017-2020 is EOROFORMON (Designing a prototype monitoring and forecasting system based on Earth-Observation techniques for forest in Romania), dedicated to applying of remote sensing technics in the Romanian sustainable forest management system and to create a core of specialists within the institute in this field scientists from abroad to develop.
„Marin Drăcea”INCDS played an important role in establishing the methodology for identification the virgin and cvasivirgin forests, and at international level provides specific information useful for drawing up European (EU) and World (FAO) reports on forests state and forest resources at these levels.
TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFER TO END USERS
The main beneficiaries/users of the results obtained through the R&D activity are represented, at national level, by the central public authorities (for the research, forestry, environment, agriculture, wood industry, energy, transport and tourism industries) and the economic agents that operate on the forest products market. The latter are very diverse and can be grouped in three main categories: forest administrators/owners, economic units for exploitation, industrialization and capitalization of forest products (wood, game, non-wood forest products, etc.) and units that offer or request services in the forestry domain.
The advancement of R&D activities particularly contributes to strengthening and fostering of excellency, to smart specialization in scientific research, technological development and innovation in the preeminent smart specialization domain – Bioeconomy, subdomain – Sustainable development of forestry sector and the increase of its competitiveness, in line with the strategic objectives of research and development and innovation for the 2014-2020 period in the forestry sector, as a sub-domain of smart specialization.
Romanian Forestry, in general, and the INCDS “Marin Drăcea”, in particular, through the research and development activities in the field of forestry are considered national priorities and key components of the “National Research-Development and Innovation Strategy for 2014-2020”, the “National Forest Strategy 2015-2024”, the new EU Forest Strategy: for forests and the forest-based sector 2014-2020 and the Climate Change Action Plan 2016 – 2020.
“Marin Drăcea” INCDS – Headquarters
128 Eroilor Blv., Voluntari, Ilfov, 077190
Tel.: 021 350 32 41;
Fax. 021 350 32 45
E-mail: icas@icas.ro
www.icas.ro