On March 16, 2024, we participated in the cleanup event of the Arieș River banks organized by the local civil society. In addition to monitoring pollution points using the EcoVoce app, the field visit provided us with the opportunity to investigate local discourses regarding environmental issues and the mobilization mechanisms of the actors involved in addressing these problems.
The severity of the waste accumulation problem on the banks of the Arieș River and its tributaries is evident from the images, and addressing this issue goes beyond the capabilities of a single category of actors. Therefore, collaboration and collective effort are needed from:
- local authorities (by providing appropriate infrastructure and sanitation services),
- civil society (through awareness-raising activities and clean-up efforts like this event),
- environmental authorities (by monitoring and enforcing sanctions according to legal provisions),
- as well as local communities (through responsible waste collection and consumption, and participation in such events).
Through our research, we will continue to identify motivational factors and mobilization mechanisms that work in this social, economic, and political context to generate the environmental changes this area desperately needs.
