ARMENIA - MOLDOVA: EXCHANGE PROGRAMME FOR SIGNATORIES OF THE "CITY TO CITY" COVENANT OF MAYORS.Armenia - Moldova: Exchange programme for signatories of the "City to City" Covenant of Mayors!
Day 1 - The sustainable urban development projects implemented by the Chisinau City Hall were the subject of discussion of five delegates from Armenia, participating in an experience exchange programme "City2City" of the Covenant of Mayors - East.
During the meeting, municipal projects on energy efficiency, transport, urban mobility, greening, waste management, new technologies in accounting and water management were presented.
One of the issues discussed was sustainable mobility and transport. Chisinau City Hall has implemented several projects in this area, such as the purchase of modern trolleybuses and buses, the opening of new routes and the development of dedicated public transport lanes. At the same time, the importance of using alternative transport was mentioned, thus contributing to reducing polluting emissions and improving air quality.
Another topic discussed with representatives of Armenian municipalities was the development of a climate resilient blue-green infrastructure. This includes the creation and rehabilitation of green spaces, parks, lakes and other natural features that can help mitigate the negative effects of climate change and improve the quality of the urban environment.
Sustainable and efficient energy were also important topics of discussion. For example, by using new technologies in water metering and management, Chisinau has succeeded in reducing energy consumption and optimising the use of resources, contributing to environmental sustainability and protection.
Efficient resource and waste management was also addressed at the meeting. Chisinau City Hall said it is implementing greening and waste management projects, promoting recycling and reducing the amount of waste produced.
The municipality also reported on five priority objectives of the Green City Plan for the next period:
1. Strengthened institutional capacities for implementation, evaluation and monitoring of the sustainable urban development process;
2. Mobility and sustainable transport;
3. Climate resilient blue-green infrastructure;
4. Sustainable and efficient energy;
5. Sustainable resource use and waste management.
Deputy Mayor Ilie Ceban said that the implementation of the Green City Plan, which is the key document for improving the quality of life in the municipality and greening the public space, has exceeded expectations and is an active reality.
We thank Chisinau City Hall, "Apă-Canal Chisinau" S.A. and "Green Spaces Management Association" M.I. for hosting the delegation of mayors from Armenia, for sharing their experience and lessons learned in promoting sustainable development in the municipality.
On their second day in Moldova, the Armenian delegates visited the city of Calarasi and met with the Acting Mayor, Mr Vladimir Susarenko and members of the local administration.
During the meeting, the Armenian delegation learned about the experience of the city of Calarasi in developing the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP), including the process of identification of key sectors, collection and analysis of baseline information on energy consumption, as well as implementation of measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the municipal, residential, transport and street lighting sectors.
Most attention was paid to the city's experience in monitoring the implementation of the SDAP, the results of which served as the basis for the development of a new action plan until 2030, which also includes climate risk assessment and adaptation measures.
After the meeting at the town hall, the delegation visited the building of the "DoReMicii" kindergarten, which is one of the most innovative projects in Moldova. Thanks to the use of modern energy-saving technologies (thermal insulation, maximising the use of natural light, heating system based on geothermal heat pumps combined with a pellet heating boiler, use of energy-efficient equipment, water heating installation with solar panels, photovoltaic, etc.), the energy consumption of the building currently does not exceed 15 kWh per square meter per year. Thanks to the measures implemented, the building has been granted passive building status.
The delegation also got acquainted with the operating principles of smart street lighting installed in the city within the framework of the project "Covenant of Mayors - Demonstration Projects" in 2021. Thanks to the implementation of the project, more than 30% of the lighting points are equipped with modern remotely controllable lamps, which allow not only to reduce energy consumption, but also to improve the level of illumination of the roads.
As part of the adaptation projects and in order to get acquainted with an example of agricultural development using modern technologies and renewable energy sources, representatives of Armenian cities visited a farm growing organic products.
The farm uses specialized LED lighting of special spectrum, which stimulates active plant growth - phyto lighting. In addition, a Freon-free refrigeration plant is used to preserve the finished products. As this technology is quite energy intensive, photovoltaic panels are used to offset electricity consumption, which covers about 40% of electricity needs.
After the visit to Calarasi, the delegation travelled to another signatory of the Covenant of Mayors in Moldova - Sipoteni, to get acquainted with the results of the climate change adaptation project. As part of the project, carried out by the town's mayor's office in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme in Moldova and funded by the Swedish government, the Pojarna riverbed was cleaned. The river was silted up, obstructing access to the river's water sources and causing the river to dry up, and the water had almost ceased to exist before the cleaning. After the implementation of the project, the natural water flow and ecosystem was restored.
On the third day of the study and exchange visit to Moldova, the Armenian delegation visited the city
of Cantemir.
Cantemir is one of the most active signatories of the Covenant of Mayors, since joining the European initiative in 2013. It is a model city in terms of innovative solutions in energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources, known for its demonstration project "CanTREB" and more.
"CanTREB" - a project implemented with EU financial support, within the framework of the "Covenant of Mayors - Demonstration Projects" programme. In the framework of the project, 4 public educational buildings were thermally rehabilitated with the aim of reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Sustainable Energy Development Action Plan (SEAP) of the city of Cantemir.
The implementation of complex thermal rehabilitation measures and the use of renewable energy resulted in a significant reduction of energy consumption in the pilot buildings (about 1650 MWh per year), reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (60%), generation of energy from renewable sources (680 MWh per year), reduction of operation and maintenance costs of the four public buildings (about 90,000 euro) and creation of more comfortable conditions for 950 children and pupils.
Participants also learned about the results of the modernisation of the street lighting system in the city of Cantemir, also carried out under the "Covenant of Mayors - Demonstration Projects" programme. As a result of the works, about 420 modern LED lamps were installed, 11 km of cables were replaced, 11 control panels were installed and a real-time remote control system was implemented.
In the final part of the visit, the programme participants visited the new wastewater treatment plant in the city of Cantemir, built with financial support from the EU and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) within the framework of the project to create a safe sewage system in Cantemir.
The implementation of the project, with a total value of about €9 million, has allowed the extension and modernisation of the city's sewerage network (21 km), the construction of modern treatment facilities and the optimisation of the pumping station.
