Indicator 3.1 Water resources

Key message
Moldova, which has limited water resources compared with most European countries, depends on water from the Prut and Nistru rivers, which accumulate mainly outside the country. At the same time, while the agricultural sector accounts for a large share of Moldova’s economy, it is represented by a large number of small farmers with rudimentary businesses. Increasingly frequent droughts require higher volumes of water and irrigation. This is often delivered through inefficient systems, leading to large losses. Thus, besides a high volume of water intake per capita and a relatively high level of water stress, losses during transportation are still significant with no solution in sight.

Indicator trend
The main source of water supply is surface waters from two different water catchment areas: Danube-Prut and the Black Sea on the one side, and Nistru, on the other. These are known for the water catchments areas of Nistru and Prut rivers, which in recent years had unstable flows due to hydro-meteorological conditions and economic activities carried out upstream. Even so, water resources depend on water coming down the Prut and Nistru rivers, which accumulate mainly outside the country. On the other hand, internal resources (rivers and underground water reserves) amount to 1.6 billion m3. This represents 580 m3 of water per capita, much below the volume reported in other European countries. Overall, the quality of internal water resources is poor because Moldova has ignored environmental factors for many years. According to the data, Prut and Nistru rivers meet Class III water quality requirements (moderately polluted), while internal rivers are ranked in Classes IV-V (polluted and very polluted).
Despite the limited water resources, the volume of water intake is quite big – about half of the renewable water resources or a total annual volume of about 970 million m3 (370 m3 per capita) (figure 32). One of the reasons for the large water intake is the relatively large water losses during transportation. Between 2001 and 2019, water losses during transportation were relatively stable, ranging between 60-70 million m3. The volume of water intake decreased, primarily due to a declining population and less household consumption. On the other hand, in terms of production needs, volumes of water used by business entities had an insignificant decrease.

Figure 32. Water intake (million m3)

Moldova ranks among the lowest of European countries according to renewable internal sources of water per capita (Figure 33). In recent years, this indicator has improved due to a declining population rather than to improved water resources. Moreover, the level of water stress as a share of freshwater abstraction from the total available resources of freshwater has a value of 12.5, which exceeds the neighbouring countries of Romania (6.3) and Ukraine (11.2). This is due to irrational household and business consumption, as well as large losses during transportation. For example, irrigation in agriculture is still deficient; using improvised equipment often leads to considerable water losses.

Figure 33. Internal renewable water resources per capita (m3) and water stress (percentage)

At the same time, the ratio between losses and water intake is around 7-8%, which exceeds values in other European countries. Also, relative indicators such as losses of water per capita or reported to GDP reveal an unfavourable position. For example, in Moldova, losses per capita amount to about 23 m3. Meanwhile, 6.9 litre are lost to produce USD 1.0 of the GDP, which ranks Moldova as one of the worst performers compared with other European countries.

Indicator 3.2 Forest resources

Key message
Despite the slight increase in afforestation of the country’s territory, Moldova still has limited forest resources. This is coupled with serious environmental issues and extreme weather events, which have become increasingly frequent in recent years. At the same time, no one doubts the limited area covered by forests is one of the causes of climate change. This calls for prompt policy action.

Indicator trend
Moldova has a low level of afforestation, with the forest area growing insignificantly over the past few years. The biggest share of forest fund belongs to the state through the Agency Moldsilva (86.7%) followed by local public authorities (12.8%) and other institutions. Over the past decade, forest area increased from 419 000 ha to about 425 000 ha, largely due to land covered with hardwood trees. Due to these trends, the country’s afforestation level grew from 11.1% to 11.3%, with variations depending on the area. Afforestation grew 7.2% in the north, 13.5% in the centre and 6.7% in the south.
Politicians have increasingly focused on the slow expansion of forest area, but recent extreme weather events indicate there is no time left to lose. In 2021, the presidency set up a working group to develop the National Afforestation Programme (Presidency of the Republic of Moldova, 2021). This programme aims to plant at least 100 000 ha of forest in the next ten years, which would allow Moldova to reach the target of 15% in forest coverage.

Figure 34. Indicators of forest resources

As regards timber reserves, growth has slowed in recent years. Between 2005 and 2020, the reserve of standing timber increased from 45.0 million m3 to nearly 50 million m3. Nonetheless, this rate has decreased since 2015, in part because forest area being cut was larger than areas left to regenerate through tree planting. Thus, between 2015 and 2020, the deforested area increased from 4 603 to 4 925 ha, while the regenerated areas did not increase continuously and varied between 4 200 and 4 900 ha.
Moldova ranks among the lowest in terms of afforestation in comparison with other European countries (Figure 4.4). Moldova exceeds only some insular countries or those with extended areas of water, such as the Netherlands, Ireland or Iceland, with the average European level at around 30%. The same is true with respect to afforested areas per capita, with Moldova having a value of only 150 m2.

Figure 35. Degree of afforestation at European level (percentage)

Indicator 3.3 Land resources

Key message
Soil resources have not changed significantly in the last decade. Factors such as urbanisation, population density and infrastructure expansion have been unable to change the structure of the land fund. Thus, Moldova remains a territory with predominantly agricultural areas; soil is its main natural resource. However, large areas of agricultural land are still parcelled out. Some are affected by erosion, which reduces performance of the agricultural sector.

Indicator trend
The land fund of the country is dominated by land used for agriculture. Its share remains one of the largest in the world, about 62% of the total land fund or 2.1 million ha. The use of agricultural land has remained virtually the same for many years. More than 70% is arable land and slightly over 10% is areas with multi-annual plantations divided more or less equally between vineyards and orchards. It is encouraging that in recent years the unprocessed agricultural areas (fallow land) have decreased by more than 15 000 ha. Thus, this type of land covers an area of about 27 000 or 1.1% of total agricultural lands. At the same time, the quality of soil tends to decrease due to erosion, and lack of crop rotation and measures for soil conservation. According to the Land Cadastre data, eroded soils cover about 877 600 ha, including 114 000 ha of strongly eroded soils (Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment, 2020). The area of eroded soils has increased over the last 40 years by 283 400 ha, advancing by about 7 000 ha per year.
The other types of land included in the land fund still have the same areas, namely: (i) forests and other land with forest vegetation – 13.4%; (ii) community-owned land – 9.2%; and (iii) land of the water fund – 2.6%. An exception to this rule is land in the reserve fund. It has a share of 11.2% of the land fund area but has decreased by slightly over 90 000 ha in the past decade. The decrease is mainly due to the deduction of land occupied by construction and annexes of former agricultural units and their transfer into the category of land for agricultural use.

Figure 36. Land fund use as of 1 January (million hectares)

Indicator 3.4 Organic agriculture

Key message
Organic agriculture cannot be considered a distinct branch of agriculture given that both the land area and number of operators involved remain small. There are multiple causes for its size, related to both consumer demand and the supply of producers. While the state has developed strategies to promote organic agriculture, its financial support is limited.

Indicator trend
Agriculture remains a key sector for the national economy even though its share in GDP is steadily declining. As of 2020, the contribution of agriculture to GDP was about 10%, almost half compared with the 2000s. With agriculture extremely sensitive to climate conditions, the state has adopted a sustainable approach to overcome challenges, including by greening the sector (Government of Moldova, 2014b). Thus, organic agriculture is seen through the lens of agri-food products obtained without use of synthetic chemical substances. This approach – known as organic production or eco – is supplemented by production technologies that must be environmentally friendly and have a low negative impact on biodiversity.
Although Moldova has progressed in terms of legislation on organic agriculture (regulations related to certification, inspection, labelling, export, etc.), production capacities have not increased significantly. Both the number of farmers involved and the area of organic agricultural land show an ambiguous trend (Figure 37). At the end of 2020, according to the Atlas of Organic Agriculture (2020), 144 active organic agricultural producers were processing an area of about 29 300 ha, or 1.4% of the agricultural area of the country. However, certain statistical limitations must also be considered; official statistics sometimes do not include organic producers that are not certified or are certified by foreign organisations.

Figure 37. Organic agriculture

Indicator 3.5 Biodiversity

Key message
Biological diversity, or simply “biodiversity”, represents a natural resource that underpins the proper functioning of ecosystems. The state of biodiversity can be measured by the growing number of endangered plant and animal species. The last edition of the Red Book in 2015 contains twice as many species of plants and animals as the 2001 edition. Given these conditions, Moldova needs clear policies and measures to restore natural habitats in order to protect rare and vulnerable species.

Indicator trend
The flora of Moldova includes about 5 500 species of plants, 208 of which are included in the most recent edition of the Red Book. With respect to fauna, the country has approximately 17 000 species of animals, 219 of which are under threat of extinction and included in the Red Book.
The Red Book of Moldova is normally updated every ten years following reassessment of the conservation status and geographical distribution of wild flora and fauna species. The latest edition dates from 2015 and practically doubles the number of protected species (Figure 38). The status of amphibians and reptiles is especially alarming. Of the total number of species, 64% of amphibians and reptiles are threatened with extinction, followed by 40% of mammals and 22% of birds. More species in these categories risk extinction without urgent and effective measures.
The status of fish resources is similar with 27% listed as endangered species. From an aquatic biodiversity point of view, the Nistru and Prut rivers are undoubtedly the richest in fish resources. While industrial fishing has been banned for many years, poaching and uncontrolled fishing are depleting these resources. In practice, state institutions and control mechanisms lack capacity to monitor activity, whether it is sport fishing, recreational fishing or commercial fishing.

Figure 38. Protected plant and animal species (included in the Red Book)

Indicator 3.6 Protected natural areas

Key message
Moldova has a small number of protected areas in relation to the territory of the country, even if some areas are granted this status periodically. Moreover, the country struggles to conserve nature and its associated cultural values in these areas. It can neither ensure laws are respected nor limit harmful human intervention.

Indicator trend
The International Union for Conservation of Nature describes “protected area” as “a clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values”. According to national legislation (Government of Moldova, 1998), protected areas consist of several categories of natural objects and complexes. These have undeniable primary value for conservation of biodiversity and natural habitats; study of natural processes; restoration of ecological balance; and greater awareness about ecology.
Natural areas protected by the state represent about 193 000 ha or 5.7% of the country’s territory and include 312 objects. The surface area expands whenever a new area becomes legally protected. In 2007 and 2011, for example, the size of protected areas nearly quadrupled (Figure 39). The most important protected natural areas are represented by five widely known scientific reserves: Codru, Iagorlac, Lower Prut, Plaiul Fagului and Padurea Domneasca. These reserves exist to protect all aspects of natural ecosystems, including tree species, shrubs and other plant species, as well as the entire wildlife complex.

Figure 39. Protected areas (thousand hectares)

With respect to the share of protected areas in relation to total area, Moldova ranks near the bottom in Europe. At the same time, non-compliance with the protection regime, human interference, and poor response from state institutions have reduced capacity to respect requirements in international conventions to conserve biodiversity effectively.