Editorial: The Low Applicability of the Local Climate Change Strategy in Timișoara Municipality

by Ilie-Vasile Sirbu, Local Counsellor, member of the Climate Council

The Low Applicability of the Local Climate Change Strategy in Timișoara Municipality: Between a Strategic Document and the Reality of Drainage Canal Clogging

Although Timișoara Municipality has had a Local Climate Change Strategy since 2010 — a comprehensive document that states priorities such as adaptation to extreme hydro-meteorological phenomena, flood prevention, protection of urban infrastructure and sustainable management of natural resources — the practical application of these measures remains minimal. The strategy currently functions almost exclusively as a formal document, checked for administrative compliance, not as an operational tool.

The most eloquent example of this gap is the state of drainage canals in Timișoara and the peri-urban area. They are currently severely clogged, uncleaned and left without systematic maintenance, in direct contradiction to the strategy's recommendations, which emphasize the need to manage water resources, reduce flood risk and implement proactive measures to adapt to climate change.

Despite the questions raised in the Local Council, through which we requested urgent unclogging and the correlation of interventions with the adopted strategic provisions, absolutely nothing happened. The lack of an administrative reaction confirms the distance between the strategic documents of the municipality and the reality of their application.

This situation highlights that Timișoara does not suffer from a lack of strategies, but from a lack of their application. The climate strategy risks remaining just a theoretical exercise if it is not accompanied by administrative responsibility, adequate funding and consistent implementation. Unclogging the sewers is only the first necessary step for the municipality to demonstrate that it can move from theory to practice