The Rural Patrimony Subject to Socio-Economic Changes in Tara Hategului-Retezat, Romania P.I. Otiman, V. Florian, E. Rosu Institute of Agricultural Economics, Bucharest, Romania

Ţara Haţegului-Retezat area Area: ha (47% agricultural area: arable - 10%, pastures and hayfields – 36.4%) Population: inhabitants Rich forestry, sylvicultural and cynegetic resources Large hydrographic network used for hydro-power purposes Well-developed road infrastructure The rural area from Ţara Haţegului - Retezat is one of the most endowed natural geographic and socio-economic areas from the Meridional Carpathians, having a wide and rich range of natural, historical, architectural, socio-cultural, spiritual and economic resources Short description

Content The demoeconomic patrimony The cultural patrimony The ecological patrimony The social patrimony Proposed strategies

The demoeconomic patrimony (1) Tara Hategului-Retezat is a complex of settlements: -regrouping a number of 84 villages that are included in 11 rural communes (the average number of villages/commune -7.6). Tara Hategului-Retezat is a rural system: –big share of rural population (79.0% in 2009 in a slow descending trend compared with the year 1990 when de share of rural population was 86.9%). The spatial lack of demografic equilibrium: –the values of the density evolved under reduced limits, from 18.5 inhabitants/km 2 in 2002 to 17.9 inhabitants/km 2 in 2008 –ageing trend (+65/<15 years = 1.66/1 much over the rural average in Romania = 1.09/1 in 2009)

Density of economic operators/1000 inhabitants in Tara Hategului-Retezat increased : year 2004 = 5.09 economic operators/1000 inhabitants year 2008 = 8.94 economic operators /1000 inhabitants Figure 1. Dynamics of the number of enterprises in Ţara Haţegului by activity sectors / Source: processing of data from the multi-annual databases with registered economic operators Figure 2. Dynamics of the number of enterprises in Ţara Haţegului by activity sectors /2004 – (%) The demoeconomic patrimony (2)

The demoeconomic patrimony (3) Placing the investment capital in Tara Hategului is quite profitable Average profit/active enterprise= 5000 euro per year in the period Average profit of enterprises inŢara Haţegului by main activity sectors Source: processing of data from the multi-annual databases with registered economic operators

The demoeconomic patrimony (4) -Employment rate of the population at working age = 41.1% -In Tara Hategului, the labour market has a relative stability in time → increased opportunities to maintain the rural households’ independence of agriculture Dynamics of the total number of employees in the active enterprises from Ţara Haţegului Source: processing of data from the multi-annual databases with registered economic operators

Tara Hategului-Retezat is a reach area in historical sites: -Colony Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa -Colţ citadel and church -Church „Sfântul Nicolae” from Densuş -Church and monastery Prislop -Church „Holy Virgin” from Sântămărie Orlea -Fortified chapel and yard from Sălaş -Kendeffy castle -Local traditional architecture The cultural patrimony

The ecological patrimony (1) Natural protected areas –National Park Retezat: biosphere reserve, with a total area of ha member of PAN Parks Foundation since 2007 protected as a site proposal for the European ecologic network Natura 2000 Gemenele Scientific Reservation –with an area of 1630 ha, located in the central area of the National Park Retezat –Natural Park Grădiştea Muncelului-Cioclovina: –with an area of ha, proposed as site for NATURA 2000 Network –The Hateg Country Dinosaurs Geopark: –with an area of ha, is included in the European Geopark Network

The ecological patrimony (2) Significant non-renewable natural resources: –bauxite, quartz sands, sands and gravel (in the river beds of all communes) Significant renewable natural resources: air, water, soil, wild flora and fauna: - Non-polluted air - The surface waters and the ground waters have acceptable quality limits - Regularized water courses, hence low flood risk - Fertile soils, unaffected by major pollution phenomena - Large areas covered by forests, with significant role in the ecologic equilibrium: –forestland ha, accounting for 40.6% of the total area from Ţara Haţegului - Retezat –forest vegetation non-affected by major pollution problems Diverse natural landscape

The social patrimony Functional emergence structures Adaptive dynamic rural systems The adapting strategies were fundamented empirically on a natural and economic potentiality promoting the endogeneous opportunities with a social visibility.

Proposed strategies Sustainable rural development by economic and social modernization: –the modernization of the economic activities in the context of environmental preservation. The resources - material, human, social - are exploited under the conditions of respecting of a set of limits-barriers in order not to provoke the deterioration of the natural habitat. Inovative alternative development: –in which priority is given to the respecting of the environment by local development, the rural tourism modernization, entrepreneurial development.

Thank you for your attention ! in the name of P.I. Otiman: V. Florian: E. Rosu: