 Peisaj din Lunca Muresului
The objective of protected area
The objective of The Mureş Floodplain Natural Park is the protection of landscape, habitats and species that are specific for floodplain areas, through sustainable management of human activities, so that it should also represent an ideal location for ecoturism and ecological education activities.
Localisation
It is situated in western Romania, in Arad and Timiş counties, exactly near the town of Arad (its centre lies at 4 km from the eastern most point of the area) which has a population of 173,000 inhabitants. The Mureş Floodplain Natural Park lies downstream from Arad to the Hungarian border, along the river Mureş. It has a surface of about 17,455 ha and includes the dammed area of the river Mureş; that is the flooding area between the dams built on each side of the river and between the high terraces of the same river. It is an area with periodical floods (a flood every three years), where plants and animals are adapted to these conditions. The Inferior Floodplain of the Mureş River is an ecosystem typical for wetlands, with running and still waters, with gallery forests, stands of willows and poplars, as well as with riverside coppices characteristic for a plain area. It is an important place for nesting and passage for about 200 species of birds, many of them being strictly protected internationally.
General description and history
 In order to obtain the status of protected area, the first steps were made in the 1970s, when the first studies on the area Prundul Mare were carried out by a group of enthusiastic people, among which Ioan Moldovan, Andras Libus and Aurel Ardelean. Thus, at that time, a surface of 92.1 ha from Prundul Mare was declared as a nature reserve, aiming at protecting the grey herons that nested there. Then, in 1988, 12,000 ha of this area were declared as Important Bird Area. The protection initiative was continued by representatives of the Environment Protection Agencies from Arad and Timişoara and than of the Forestry Directorate Arad, and it culminated in 2005 when the Mureş Floodplain was established by government decision. In 2006, the Mureş was the forth area in Romania that was designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Since 2008 the same area has been part of the Natura 2000 Network as both Special Areas Conservation (SAC) for the protection of certain species (30) and habitats (12) and Special Protection Areas (SPA) for the protection of 41 bird species.
A strong stimulus in this sense was also the financing obtained by the National Forest Administration – Romsilva, respectively the Forestry Directorate Arad, from the European Community through the PHARE programme of cross-border cooperation. The project “Protection and promotion of the meadow of the river Mureş” has made possible the establishment of the infrastructure of the protected area (a visiting centre, two tourist information points and access roads). With the funds provided by National Forest Administration – Romsilva or by the European Union there have been acquired many research and monitoring equipment (620,000 euros) and there have been organized a lot of activities aiming at providing ecological education or at promoting ecotourism. Beginning with November 2005, the protected area also has an administration which is subordinated to the National Forest Administration – Romsilva and consists of 12 people, and it has an annual budget of about 100,000 euros.
There are four strictly protected areas within the Mureş Flodplain Natural Park: Prundul Mare (717.9 ha), The Cenad Forest (310.5 ha), The Cenad Big Isle (2.1 ha), The Igriş Isles (7.0 ha). These areas have a stricter protection system which prohibits activities of harvesting natural resources.
As the Inferior Floodplain of Mureş situated between Arad and the inflow of Mureş in Tisa is bordered by dams and high terraces, it is subjected to all benefits and damage caused by floods. The regular surplus of nutrients and organic matter represents a benefit for the soils, and the land slowly absorbs the water from floods. The soils of the floodplain, in particular those of the active flood plain, are of great importance for aquatic biocoenoses. First of all, the soil cover is an important natural filter, which retains in large quantities the waste products.
Coordonatele geografice ale parcului sunt:
Nord(46°19'01'' Lat. N / 20°50'05'' Lat. Est)
Est ( 46°18'89'' Lat. N / 20°49'94'' Lat. Est)
Sud ( 46°07'15'' Lat. N / 20°91'89'' Lat. Est)
Vest ( 46°16'82'' Lat. N / 21°27'72'' Lat. Est)
Altitudinea medie: 100m
Altitudinea minimã: 82,5m
Altitudinea maximã: 135m
Suprafata: 17.455 ha
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