European "Yellowstone" in the making

Sirnea, Carpathian Mountains. The Foundation Conservation Carpathia (FCC) intends to create Europe’s largest national forest park in the region, creating a sort of European Yellowstone. Photo: AFP

In Romania, a nature conservation organisation has launched a vast project to create the largest forested national park in Europe. The aim is to preserve some 100,000ha of forest, as well as the wildlife that lives there, and to manage it in a way that encourages environmentally friendly tourism.

Romania’s Transylvania region is usually thought of as a fall or Halloween getaway, when travellers head for the legendary Bran Castle, long associated with the fictional vampire, Count Dracula.