The Importance of International Cooperation in Environmental Projects

The issue of protecting the natural environment and sustainability has long been no longer a national issue, but an international one. Thus, after the 1990s, scientists managed to impose on the international agenda, better than ever, a series of environmental imperatives, which would trigger concrete actions at the global level.

In this regard, more than 150 international documents in the field of natural environment security have been signed and ratified by most states covering areas such as: air quality, nature and biodiversity protection, water quality, waste management, the fight against chemical pollution, prevention and reducing the effects of nuclear accidents and other technological disasters, etc.

Despite these remarkable political and diplomatic efforts, climate change continues to manifest itself and dramatically affect life on the planet. Although some of the causes of environmental change have diminished, there are still many. Of these, we list, for example:

• burning fossil fuels for electricity production, transport, industry and heating of households;
• massive use of chemicals for agriculture, with side effects on soil and groundwater;
• the release of large amounts of CO₂ due to livestock production;
• reduction of forested lands, due to the industrial exploitation of wood and the increase of agricultural areas;
• improper storage and incineration of waste;
• lack of efficient wastewater management systems;
• the release into the atmosphere of toxic gases, resulting from the production of chemical compounds;
• discharge of toxic waste into the oceans;
• the production of large-scale technological catastrophes, with transnational impact (explosions at nuclear power plants, spillage of cyanides into rivers, large-scale fires at oil rigs and other industrial facilities, etc.);
• continuation of military conflicts, which produce massive environmental damage;
• non-discriminatory, uncontrolled and abusive exploitation of the biological resources of the Planet;
• killing endangered animals, etc.

The involvement of civil society in environmental security is a real act of public diplomacy, designed to increase the level of information and accountability of every citizen, to be more attentive to the natural environment.

Thus, associations, foundations, civic organizations, educational institutions, media channels have initiated, on their own initiative or under the auspices of governmental, regional or international structures, a series of actions to protect the environment and combat global warming.

In this “green front” are found both the Diplomacy Security and Defense Research Organization (DSD RO) – Romania and Igor Vitale International srl (IVI srl) – Italy, which, under the auspices of the European Union developed the project Environment Security, Our Future Security (E-SEC).

The meetings between the Romanian and the Italian side represent a good opportunity to present to the audience relevant aspects related to the protection of the natural environment, on the one hand and to make a good exchange of practices, in the field of adult education, for the formation of motivations, attitudes, behaviors. and green values, on the other hand.

These meetings help the organizations from DSD RO and IVI srl to understand the perspectives that each party has on environmental protection and to develop concrete actions to become more effective in fulfilling the objectives they set in the E-SEC project.

The visit to Romania of the Italian experts offered a good opportunity to intensify the dialogue on environmental issues, thus increasing the multiplication effect that the E-SEC project proposed.

Therefore, it can be stated that international dialogue, even at the level of non-governmental organizations, is essential in promoting the desideratum of protecting the natural environment.