MOUNTAIN LAW
The Romanian Parliament adopts the present law
Chapter 1. General provisions
Art. 1. – (1) The Romanian mountain area constitutes an economical, social and
environmental territory of special national interest.
(2). The present law settles the principals and the ways of development and protection
of the mountain area, by turning the resources into account, in order to stabilize the
population and to generate growth of economical power at the national and local
levels, at the same time maintaining the ecological balance and protecting the natural
mountain environment, respecting the principles set by the international stipulations
concerning the sustainable mountain development.
(3). As written in the present law, the mountain area is represented by the area
delimited according to the stipulations of the Government Decision no. 948/2002 on
the approval of the criteria for delimitation of the mountain area and by the syntagm
one can understand the restriction degree imposed by the physical-geographical
conditions, by altitude, slopes, vegetation period and others, with a negative impact on
the economical activities performed in the mountain area.
Art.2 – (1) The settling down of some unitary actions at the central and local levels, in
the field of development and protection of the Romanian mountain areas is to be done
under the conditions stipulated by the Government Decision no. 318/2003 on the
establishment and functioning of the Intergovernmental Committee and of the county
committees.
(2). The objectives of the sustainable mountain development are to be achieved by
the National Agency of the Mountain Area, organized as general division within the
Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Rural Development, in collaboration with the
institutions specialized on mountain area.
(3). The Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Rural Development, by the National
Agency of the Mountain Area and the structures specialized on development of
mountain area within the general divisions for agriculture and rural development,
collaborates with the authorities of the local public administration, as well as with
non-governmental organizations whose activity object is the sustainable development
of mountain area
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CHAPTER II - Purpose, principals and objectives of the mountain law
Art.3 – (1) The mountain policy has as purpose the turning into account of mountain
resources, the conservation of landscapes and biodiversity, as well as development of
economical activities specific to this area.
(2) The essential principles of this policy are as follows:
a) optimal turning into account of agricultural, fish, forest, energetic, industrial,
handicraft, tourism and cultural specific resources, existing on the territory of a
municipality or in a certain area constituted as a natural entity in the mountain
area;
b) diversifying of economical and production activities in the mountain area, without
upsetting the ecological balance and without degradation of natural environment
c) integration of lucrative activities at producer level or by association of producers,
in order to perform a competitive mountain policy
d) recognizing of the objective existence of special natural conditions and of the right
of communities living in the mountain area to a specific development
e) development and increasing of quality of life in the mountain area.
(3). The objectives of the mountain policy are the following:
a) protection and conservation of natural resources;
b) protection and conservation of protected natural areas
c) turning into account of the available natural resources, within the limits of the
natural biological potential to regenerate these resources
d) stabilizing of inhabitants in the mountain areas and favoring of the settlement of
young families in the mountain area
e) development and improvement of services provided for the mountain population
f) applying of agri-pedo improvement measures in order to stop the degradation of
agricultural and forest lands
g) keeping and modernization of traditional industrial and handicraft activities
h) development of tourism and agri-tourism activities;
i) improvement of vocational training of inhabitants living in the mountain area;
j) support of the sustainable development programs for the mountain area
CHAPTER III - Institutional organization specific to the sustainable
development of mountain area and supporting of the types of association of
mountain farmers
Art.4 – (1) – Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Rural Development, by the National
Agency of the Mountain Area, a structure specialized on sustainable development of
mountain area, working within this Ministry, provides:
a) applying of Government’s strategies and policies in the field of development and
protection of mountain population and environment in Romania;
b) collaboration with ministries, other central bodies of the central public
administration and with the local public administration authorities, in order to
perform the activities meant for the sustainable development;
c) starting and conceiving of law drafts concerning the mountain area, as well as of
projects and programs of integrated agricultural and rural development for the
mountain area;
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d) monitoring of implementation of programs and projects of sustainable
development in the mountain area, including the support of establishment and
well-functioning of the professional organizations of mountain farmers, of the
cooperatives of producers and other types of association;
e) representation of interests of the mountain area in report with other national
bodies and institutions, as well as representation of Romania’s interests, as far as
the international relations are concerned;
f) technical, methodological coordination and monitoring of agricultural and nonagricultural activities in the mountain area
2) National Agency of the Mountain Area coordinates the activity of Training and
Innovation Center for Development in the Carpathians and collaborates with
“Gheorghe Ionescu-Sisesti” Academy of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, in the field
of sustainable development of mountain area
3) Training and Innovation Center for Development in the Carpathians is a public
institution with juridical entity, specialized on mountain agriculture and sustainable
rural development, financed by the State budget, subordinated to the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forests and Rural Development and can benefit of donations and
sponsorship, in order to improve the material basis and the specific activities;
4) At the level of counties with mountain areas, the structures specialized on
development of mountain area within the divisions for agriculture and rural
development, in collaboration with the county committees for the mountain area,
together with a representative of urbanism and land improvement department within
the competent county councils, coordinates and monitors the implementation of local
sustainable development programs
Art.5 – (1). Representation of interests of agricultural producers in the mountain area
at all levels, as well as performing of services and own activities of supplying,
collecting, processing and turning into account of raw materials will be provided by
organizing of some association types, with support from the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forests and Rural Development, through the National Agency of the Mountain Area
and the territorial structures;
(2) The local councils from the municipalities where the associations of mountain
agricultural producers have their headquarters will make available for these
producers, various assets for their headquarters, in order for these producers to be able
to perform their activities, including the organizing of some warehouses or other
production or trade activities;
(3) The associations of agricultural producers in the mountain area can benefit from
tax exemptions for the first 5 years from the date of their establishment
(4). How the starting aids will be granted, the amount and the control of the finances,
other advantages for the associations of producers in the mountain area will be
decided by Government Decision
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CHAPTER IV - Agri-mountain educational system
Art. 6 – (1). Pre-university agri-mountain educational system is integrated part of the
national educational system and comprises the following levels:
a) lower secondary educational system, through the lower grades of high-school and
through the school of arts and crafts, ninth and tenth grades;
b) higher secondary educational system, XII-XIII grades, preceded by the
completion year;
c) post high-school educational system
2) Agri-mountain educational system can be also performed within the system of
continuous vocational training, through the organizing of schools of arts and crafts
specialized on mountain agriculture, whose material basis will also include didactical
farms, organized as reference mountain agri-tourism farms. The nomination of the
schools with agri-mountain profile, as well as the investment projects for the
didactical farms will be approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Rural
Development, through the National Agency of the Mountain Area, and by the
Ministry of Research and Education.
(3).The strategy for development of agri-mountain educational system is included in
the global strategy of the Romanian educational system
(4). The Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Rural Development, by the National
Agency of the Mountain Area, collaborates with the Ministry of Research and
Education and with the Ministry of Labor, Social Solidarity and Family, in the field of
initial and continuous vocational training. The conditions for this collaboration are to
be set by a common order issued by the minister of agriculture, forests and rural
development and the minister of labor, social solidarity and family.
Art.7 – The education and scientific research institutions can receive agricultural
lands for free to use for experimental plots, respectively for research, if they can prove
that by their activity they make a contribution to development of mountain area.
CHAPTER V - Development and protection of mountain environment
Art.8 – The agricultural producers in the mountain area benefit from the financial
support from the State, granted according to the laws in force
Art.9. In order to compensate for the decrease of mountain population’s incomes, due
to restrictions concerning the agricultural use of lands situated in protected areas or in
naturally disadvantaged areas, State can provide the agricultural producers with
compensatory allowances for natural handicaps.
Art.10 – Conceiving of projects and plans of management of protected natural and
built areas in the mountain area will be done by specialists trained on issues
concerning the mountain area as well as by specialists with proper training on
urbanism and land improvement.
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Art.11 – The types, conditions and amount of the compensatory allowances for
natural handicaps in the mountain area is to be decided annually, by Government
Decision
Art.12 – In order to encourage the mechanization of agricultural works and increasing
of work productivity, the specialized agricultural structures within the divisions for
agriculture and rural development will conceive and display feasible alternatives of
merging of agricultural lands, which will create advantages for the land owners as far
as trades and buying of plots is concerned and will lead to a more judicious and
economical organization of the specific agricultural activities.
Art.13 – (1). For protection of mountain soil, and, depending on each case, for
rebuilding of production capacity of soil, the juridical entities and individuals who
own or use lands meant for agricultural and forest activities will apply measures for
prevention and fight against soil degradation.
(2) The measures for prevention of damage of soil’s natural functions guarantees
permanent protection of fertility and functional capacity of soil, by applying of the
principles of good agricultural practices, which include:
a) soil working, in concordance with the specific features of the land, taking the
geographical, orographic and climate conditions into consideration;
b) conservation and improvement of the soil structure;
c) avoiding of soil compaction, depending on the type of soil and its humidity
degree, by controlling the pressure exerted by agricultural equipment;
d) avoiding of soil erosion, by adapting the means of exploitation to the local
conditions: slope, action of water and wind, as well as the vegetal cover of soil;
e) conservation of predominantly natural structural elements of the land parcels,
which are necessary for conservation of soil, especially by plantations of hedges,
bushes and trees, maintaining of balks between the land parcels, creation of grass
lanes and terraces
f) conservation and supporting of development and microflora and microfauna, in
order to guarantee the biological balance of soil, by a proper rotation of crops
g) conservation of soil’s humus content, depending on the soil’s structure, especially
by proper applying of organic substances or by reducing of intensity of soil works.
(3). Breaking of the principles of good agricultural practices will be sanctioned
according to the stipulations in force
Art. 14 – The grasslands in the mountain area, situated on the territory of a natural
protected area, can be given for use, by the owner, with the approval of the
administration of the protected area, exclusively to the local population and only in
the areas, periods, number and species of animals approved by the management plans
Art.15 – (1) The giving for use of the grasslands shall be done on the basis of a
contract for at least 5 consecutive years, with the right to prolong, to the same group
of farmers or to the same individuals, if the special stipulations regarding the
maintenance and rational use of grasslands have been followed
(3). The amounts obtained from the taxes for grazing and from other types of use of
grassland, which are set by the local councils, are to be integrally used for
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maintenance works, pastoral land improvement and/or forest works, works of
ecological reconstruction of degraded grasslands
Art.16 – (1). Guaranteeing of reproduction and improvement of number of animals in
the mountain area is to be done under the conditions stipulated by zootechnics Law
no. 72/2002, with the ulterior changes.
(2). Animal breeders, their professional associations and the local counties in the
mountain area can provide for sires with known origin, certified by the specialized
structures subordinated to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Rural
Development
Art. 17 – Division for agriculture and rural development, by the structure specialized
on development of mountain area, materially and logistically supports, within the
allocated budgetary credits, the organizing, in collaboration with the local councils, of
fairs, exhibitions and conferences which take the traditions and interests of
community into account.
Art.18 – The individuals and the family organizations certified according to the law,
which perform tourism activities in accommodation establishments such as
guesthouses and agri-tourism farms, benefit from the following advantageous
conditions:
a) giving of some surfaces of available lands, by the local councils, for building,
development and use of guesthouses and agri-tourism farms;
b) granting of priorities for building of the infrastructure necessary for performance
of activity
Art.19 – (1)The tourism guesthouses are structures of tourism accommodation, having
an accommodation capacity of up to 10 rooms, a total of 30 places in the rural area
and up to 20 rooms in the urban area, functioning in the dwellings of the citizens or in
independent buildings which provide, in especially designed spaces, for the
accommodation of tourists and meals.
(2). Feeding of tourists in tourism guesthouses and agri-tourism farms is by agri-food
products, especially from own or local sources
(3). The certification for building of tourism and agri-tourism guesthouses is to be
done in accordance with the legal provisions, must have the specialized approval of
the public central authority which applies the Government’s policy in the field of
tourism
(4). Tourism and agri-tourism guesthouses are classified by the public central
authority that applies the Government’s policy in the field of tourism, according to the
Government Decision no. 1328/2001 regarding the classification of structures for
tourism accommodation
(5). Mountain agri-tourism guesthouses which develop accommodation capacity of up
to 20 places benefit from exemption from the payment of profit and land taxes for five
years from the date of establishment
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Art. 20 – (1) – In arrangement of the mountain territory, applied in accordance with
the stipulations of the Law no. 351/2001 regarding the arrangement of territory and
urbanism, the priorities and needs of the mountain population will be considered, in
concordance with the necessity to preserve the historical monuments and architectural
sites, biodiversity and sustainable use of mountain resources
(2). When it comes to design of buildings in the mountain rural municipalities, the
architectural specific features of the area will be preserved, in view of development of
tourism and agri-tourism
Art.21 – Within 60 days from the issuing of this law, the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forests and Rural Development will conceive the Strategy for Sustainable
Development of Mountain Area, which will be approved by the Government
This Law has been adopted by the Romanian Parliament, following the regulations of
art.75 and art.76 paragraph (2) of the Romanian Constitution, republished
President of the Chamber of Deputies,
Valer Dorneanu
President of Senate,
Doru Ioan Taracila
Bucharest, July the 14th 2004
No.347
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President of Romania
Decree
For promulgation of Mountain Law
Based on the regulations of art.77, paragraph (1) and of art.100, paragraph (1) of the
Romanian Constitution, republished,
The President of Romania decrees:
Unique article – The Mountain Law is promulgated and the publishing of this law in
the Official Journal of Romania, I part, is in order.
PRESIDENT OF ROMANIA
ION ILIESCU
Bucharest, July the 13th 2004
No.596
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