Chisinau’s Green City Action Plan

The Chisinau’s city council approved the Green City Action Plan as part of the Moldovan capital’s participation in the EBRD’s flagship urban sustainability programme, EBRD Green Cities. Chisinau was the first city in Moldova to join the programme; Balti has also signed up.

The EUR 1.5 billion EBRD Green Cities programme has grown rapidly since being set up in 2016 and now covers 41 cities. It helps each city tailor solutions to its environmental needs with a unique combination of measures, all designed to move cities towards a lower-carbon and more liveable future. On joining the programme, cities undertake a trigger project and craft their own Green City Action Plan (GCAP).

“We welcome this key step taken by Chisinau municipality to improve its urban environment. The action plan adopted last week will pave the way for much needed infrastructure investments aimed at improving lives in the Moldovan capital. The EBRD is already financing the energy efficiency of public buildings and is ready to finance a comprehensive waste management project alongside other initiatives that address environmental issues the city is facing,” Angela Sax, EBRD Head of Moldova, said.

Funded by the government of Austria, the preparation of Chisinau’s GCAP started in August 2018 and was completed in December 2019, with more than 350 residents taking part in a 2019 survey to select the actions to include in the plan.

As part of the GCAP, the city has committed to enhancing institutional capacities for the implementation, assessment and monitoring of the sustainable urban development process.

The plan includes another four strategic objectives: sustainable mobility and transport; climate-resilient ‘blue-green’ infrastructure; sustainable and efficient energy; sustainable resources and waste management.

A total of 36 actions have been prepared to achieve these objectives, at an estimated total cost of EUR 365 million to be sourced from the city and national budgets, the private sector or loans from international financial institutions.

These actions will address Chisinau’s most pressing environmental challenges, improving air quality, water quality, land use, biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation.

 

Strategic planning

Strategic planning is based on results and analyzes on environmental quality and a set of participatory assessments, carried out in 3 steps: technical assessment, prioritization from the perspective of stakeholders and political assessment.

A vision for a green, clean and safe city has been strengthened, and the city’s administration and culture will contribute to progress.

“The priorities from the Strategic Planning Document will be established by the municipality: by the CMC and the executive, whether it will be decided to clean the lakes or the Bac river; by using internal or external financial resources; for smaller or larger projects,” mentioned General Mayor Ion Ceban.

The overall view that guides the Strategic Planning process is people-centered, to provide them with a safe, resilient and healthy environment.

For each objective, actions have been provided, which are interdependent and complement each other. In order to carry out these actions, the municipality will create favorable circumstances for the implementation of the provided objectives.

With the approval of the document, Chisinau Municipality is committed to achieving certain objectives this year, including the creation of a working group in order to develop a long-term roadmap and implement the basic provisions of the Strategic Planning Document.