Carpathia — Nicholas J.R. White

Raul Targului, proposed location for the FCC Beaver reintroduction programme. FCC is committed to bringing back what has been lost as a result of over hunting, such as beaver and bison

Rangers analysing bear tracks in the Rucar Hunting Area. To obtain a reliable estimate on the current population sizes of key species, FCC use genetic analysis of scat and hair samples in addition to traditional sign surveys such as this

Razvan, Wildlife Ranger. Foundation Conservation Carpathia employs over 60 staff, including rangers, foresters, biologists, communication and education specialists, legal advisers and protected area specialists

Smallholding on the road between Podu Dambovitei and Rucar. Local communities are the key to protected areas, and the Fagaras Mountains are one of the few remaining large areas without human settlements in Europe. Yet, they are surrounded by 28 commu

Members of the wildlife monitoring team patrolling Draganu Peak within the Rucar Hunting Area. In Romania, wildlife management and hunting rights are not linked to land ownership, but are instead administered by the state and auctioned off to private

In order to effectively protect wildlife, FCC has founded its own hunters association and managed to lease hunting concessions for the core area of the project in the upper Dambovita Valley. Together with the adjacent Piatra Craiului National Park [p

Chief Ranger Bogdan assessing the bear cage on the outskirts of Rucar village. Understanding the attitudes and beliefs of the local communities, as well as their values and behaviours will help to define reasons for opposition and for FCC to better t

Wildlife Ranger Florin, photographed on patrol at the ‘chalet’ - a small building used in the summer months by local shepherds

The outskirts of Ciocano Village, in the Dambovicioara Hunting Area. It is a primary goal of the FCC to communicate the benefits of a protected area and to ensure that communities see a change towards the better in their daily lives through the estab

Laviniu on patrol in the Rucar Hunting Area

Animal tracks on a frozen Pecineagu Lake, Izvorul Dambovitei Hunting Area.

Radu and Codrut at the Dobroneagu Forest Replanting Site. The presence of FCC rangers patrolling an area of over 65,000 hectares has lead to a full stop on illegal logging in neighbouring forests

After a bear attacked this smallholding the previous night, FCC rangers lower a bear cage into place. Rather than allowing the bear to be killed, it will instead be sedated and transported back into the mountains. Suspicion amongst local communities

Farmer in Ciocano Village. Economically, the rural villages are at a serious disadvantage. This is exacerbated by the younger generations abandoning these communities as they fail to see a future for themselves in the area. The UN Report on Biodivers

Up to now, FCC has planted over 1.5 million saplings and restored more than 500 hectares of clear-cut, badly degraded land for the benefit of hundreds of other species that will thrive and prosper in these forests. Here, a local team work at one of t

A young worker at the Dobroneagu Spruce Replanting Site

Ranger Bogdan checking the camera traps in the Barsa Hunting Area. This monitoring system has been incredibly successful and as a result, FCC have proved a drop in chamois number. Consequently, the state has put a moratorium on chamois hunting until

Aron, Game Warden of Stoenesti Hunting Area. For the FCC to operate their extensive monitoring programme, they must form partnerships with other hunting associations in the area. FCC will eventually try to lease these hunting concessions if they com

The border between Piatra Craiului National Park and the Barsa Hunting Area

Razvan collecting samples above Rausorul in the Rucar Hunting Area

Felled forest in a winter storm, Tamas. High above the Dambovita Valley

Feathers on snow, Piatra Craiului National Park

Forest Ranger Mosu, photographed on his land in Magura Village, Piatra Craiului National Park

Alpine meadows in the Barsa Hunting Area

Tracking a wolf pack in the Dambovita Valley. Wolves will generally follow each other’s tracks, making it difficult to determine the size of the pack. It is only at river crossings such as this, where the Wolves are forced to leap across the water, c

FCC has challenged the traditional wildlife monitoring system which is normally conducted by the hunters themselves and prone to mistakes and falsification, with the goal to obtain higher quotas. The use of camera traps, in addition to the genetic an

Checkpoint in the Dambovicioara Hunting Area

View from the FCC bear hide in the Izvorul Dambovitei Hunting Area. A protected area needs proper infrastructure to attract visitors to specific locations. An example of this, is the development of wildlife hides and lodges for unique wilderness and

Working alongside Romanian conservationists Foundation Conservation Carpathia (FCC), this work documents the formation of a National Park in the Southern Carpathian Mountains.
When it comes to indices of economic prosperity in the EU, Romania is towards the bottom. However, when it comes to environmental statistics, the country comes out on top: it boasts the largest surface area of virgin and unfragmented forest; the most significant population of large carnivores such as bears, wolves, and lynx and over 3700 endemic plant species.
My photographs record the efforts of FCC as they strive to protect a landscape scarred by deforestation and overhunting, by both local and international parties. Working alongside forest and wildlife rangers, the work highlights the key pillars of landscape restoration in the region. By embedding myself within the ranger teams, I make pictures as they collect samples and monitor illegal hunting across an 80,000 hectare project landscape, in addition to visiting the vast areas of clear-cuts and recording the forest replanting programmes.
The Southern Carpathian region is one of the few remaining large areas without human settlements in Europe, but the proposed park will impact the 28 communes that encircle the Fagaras Mountains. ‘Carpathia’ weaves these communities into the narrative, celebrating their connection to the mountains and acknowledging the tricky dialogues that take place as the region gradually gains protected status. The communities whose livelihoods are entwined with the surrounding landscape play a pivotal role in the process of developing a new national park.
Carpathia is positioned at an urgent moment in our battle against biodiversity loss and the destruction of environments. Rewilding has gained increasing traction and popularity in recent years as a solution to these crises, but Carpathia reframes these existing narratives, shifting focus towards the protection of flora and fauna, rather than solely on the reintroduction of declining species.
Carpathia engages with important debates about land-use, and the sometimes conflicting – sometimes complementary – needs of human and non-human worlds.
Carpathia was supported by The Royal Photographic Society and The Photographic Angle