9% of the territory of Moldova is covered by forest - this is the lowest rate in Europe. In Germany, the forest occupies 32% of the state's area, in Ukraine - 17%. In Russia, almost half (49.4%) of the country is covered by forest. Today 42% of land in Moldova is contaminated with pesticides and unsuitable for agriculture. Moldova's forests are one third of invasive species, not fully adapted to the country's ecosystem and extremely vulnerable to diseases and parasites. The forest covers the country unevenly, and different forests are not connected to each other.

The forest prevents soil erosion, produces oxygen and protects the earth from overheating, inhibiting climate warming. In recent decades, a negative trend has been stopped - forests are no longer destroyed uncontrollably. However, efforts are needed to restore the destroyed biodiversity and promote a conscious attitude towards nature. Forest conservation, reforestation and development of national parks should be one of the priority tasks for the sustainable development of any state.

In recent years, Rîșcova has been developing more dynamically, especially since the first eco-settlement in Moldova appeared there: houses and a training center in EcoVillage are built from environmentally friendly materials, there are solar panels are on the roof, and compost toilets in the bathrooms. The eco-settlement team is actively interacting with the village - they initiated the Potato Festival that already for two years attracts local residents who not only sell their crops, but also participate in contests, sing songs, dance and promote organic farming.

This year, at one of the stands of the Festival, one could see a map of paths drawn by an international team of volunteers in the forest between Ivanchea and Rîșcova. The project has already begun - in the summer of 2018, the first trail connecting the two villages was marked. Now you can walk from the church in Rîșcova to the lake on the edge of Ivancha in about an hour, on the way taking a rest near the spring Izvoro Ion.

The forest between the villages of Rîșcova and Ivanchea on paper is part of the national park, however, this does not affect the fate of the forest - there is neither a national park development program, nor sufficient resources and personnel. Today, only civil society can save and restore Moldovan forests. To contribute to this, EcoVisio, in partnership with Dekabristen e.V, has launched the International Volunteer Exchange project. During the week, a team of volunteers marked the paths in the forest between the villages of Rîșcova and Ivanchea and studied local legends.

In the fall of 2019, the International Volunteer Exchange project team continued to mark forest paths and developed a plan for the development of eco-tourism in the forest. After the project is completed in 2020, two radial ecological paths will appear in the forest between Rîșcova and Ivanchea - a short one (a walk will take 40-60 minutes) and a long one (a walk will take 2-2.5 hours). On the long trail, visitors will see the most picturesque places of the forest, which will cause interest not only in beauty, but also in the legends associated with them. A short trail will be useful for a short walk or conducting eco-lessons. Information stands will appear on it, from the contents of which you can learn about the features of logging in Moldova, the local flora and fauna and the conscious attitude to nature.

Ecological tourism is not popular in Moldova. The guests of the country mainly stay in the capital, or visit by car the main local attraction - the rock monastery Orheu Vechi (Old Orhei). One of the ideas of EcoVisio is to connect Chisinau, Rîșcova, Ivancha and Old Orhei with a bicycle route. This, as well as the construction of hiking trails, will contribute to the promotion of eco-friendly tourism among residents and guests of Moldova. We asked what volunteers of the international project think about the future of trail-building and tourism in Moldova.