A symbol of the resilience of nature in Bucharest

A failed hydrological project from 1989 has become a symbol of nature’s resilience in Bucharest, Romania. Between apartment blocks, the abandoned Văcărești reservoir has become, without any kind of human intervention, a wild wetland with a rich ecosystem, in a story that gathers The Guardian. Last May, after four years of campaigning by environmentalists, the 183 hectares of Văcărești were declared a Natural Park by the government, becoming one of the largest urban natural parks in Europe.

Văcărești was intended to be an artificial reservoir, part of an ambitious hydrological project by the Ceaucescu regime to connect the Romanian capital with the Danube River. In 1989 the communist regime was deposed and the plans were forgotten. The works on the reservoir were practically finished, but a major engineering failure left it unusable. Therefore, Văcărești was left as an empty reservoir protected by a perimeter of concrete walls five meters high.

Over time, the space was filled with an astonishingly rich landscape – from meadows to lush wetlands – with hundreds of species of flora and fauna, including protected species of birds, otters, snakes and turtles.