Index ASE Short Overview Statutes History Speleology Environement Contact Comarnic Cave Description Photo Galery Location - Access General Information Protection and Conservation History, Mission In 1961, Asociatia Speologica Exploratorii Resita (ASER) began as caving organization focused on the discovery, research and protection of caves in the Caras-Severin county of Romania. In the coming years, we’ve explored and studied over 1,200 caves in the area. Traveling considerably throughout Caras-Severin during their expeditions, members saw the existing problems and threats to nature, and in 1991, after becoming an official NGO under the new Romanian government, ASER voted to broaden its scope to include not only cave protection but protection of the natural environment in general within Caras-Severin. Today, ASER exists to conserve and protect the natural environment in Caras-Severin, Romania and to assist in the development of the local NGO sector. Objectives - Determine and monitor dangers to the natural environment in Caras-Severin - Educate the public of Caras-Severin on local and regional environmental issues - Increase public involvement in environmental decision-making - Assist in the design and implementation of a management plan for the four national parks in Caras-Severin - Discover, map, research and develop methods of protection for Caras-Severin’s caves - Encourage partnerships between the environmental NGOs in Caras-Severin and local authority - Assist with the development of the NGO sector within Caras-Severin What’s Happening Now at ASE ? - Monitoring access to eight caves in Caras-Severin - Deliniating borders of the 46 natural reservations in Caras-Severin - Researching park management plans as possible models for Caras-Severin’s four national parks - Monitoring Caras-Severin’s bat species - Collaborating with the Volunteer Club of Resita to provide environmental education in local schools - Developing a management plan for Caras Gorges Semenic National Park, one of four national parks in Caras-Severin Looking Ahead ASE sees several issues as critical to the future of our region. We have designed various projects to address these problems and are currently seeking funders and partnerships to accomplish the following: - Develop and implement a management plan for the four national parks in Caras-Severin - Collaborate with Djerdap National Park, Yugoslavia to develop a common system for protecting the Danube River Canyons between the borders of Yugoslavia and Caras-Severin, Romania - Establish a partnership between local government, NGOs and the Caras-Severin public to establish a sustainable development plan for local forest areas and underground natural resources - Develop and implement a solution to the contamination of the water in Cheile Garliste and Cheile Nere – Beusnita National Parks caused by the dumping of raw sewage in the city of Anina - Collaborate with local science teachers to develop and implement an environmental education curriculum for local schools - Establish a year-long quarterly training course for local NGOs designed to provide information and assistance with NGO development - Collaborate with local authorities and environmental NGOs to design and implement a waste management plan for Caras-Severin Some of ASE Accomplishments - Common Responsibility for Protecting the Danube: identified pollution sources and established plan to monitor and prevent future pollution in local section of Danube River - Save Our Natural Reservations: created short educational film on environmental problems in Cheile Garliste - European Protected Areas: information/experience exchange camp for environmental NGOs from Germany, Poland, Romania, Hungary and Belgium - Info-Moldavia: provided information on nature conservation, environmental NGO management and alpine guide techniques to region of Moldavia - Bioprotect 2000: worked to dispell myths about local bat colonies and encourage protection - Save Lily Lake: educated villages near the endangered water lily, Nymphaea alba, about importance of protecting the flower - 1998/1999 Caras-Severin Environmental NGO Forum: addressed local environment problems and environmental NGO issues - 1998/1999/2000 Caras-Severin NGO Conference: addressed common NGO problems and strategies for addressing them - Eco-Ed: presented information on local environmental problems and possible solutions at Resita schools - 1998/1999 Earth Day: local clean-ups and distribution of ecological information to general public

© ASE 1996-2010 Asociatia Speologica Exploratorii str. sportului, nr 5, sc 3, ap 3, cod 320110, resita, caras-severin, romania telefon / fax: (+04) 0255 210914, mobil 0721147774 e-mail : aser_ro@hotmail.com e-mail : webmaster