FERM 2025 | Rocsana JOSANU (Neamț County Directorate for Culture): “Even with limited resources, heritage protection is possible through determination and collaboration.”

 

REGIONAL ECONOMIC FORUM MOLDOVA 2025

19th Edition – Vatra Dornei, July 9–13, 2025

Thematic Panel:

Culture and Regional Identity – Tradition, Innovation and Social Cohesion

Speaker:

Rocsana Josanu – Neamț County Directorate for Culture

Topic of the intervention:

“Best Practices in Protecting Historical Monuments – Owners and Public Institutions”

Within Panel 10 – “Culture and Regional Identity. Tradition, Innovation and Social Cohesion”, Mrs. Rocsana Josanu, Director of the Neamț County Directorate for Culture, presented a set of best practices in protecting built heritage, emphasizing the role of owners and public institutions.

 

The Role of County Directorates for Culture – Technical and Supervisory Institutions

Rocsana Josanu stressed the institutional differences between Romania and the Republic of Moldova regarding the organization of cultural structures.

“In Romania, the county directorates for culture are technical institutions, with complex responsibilities of monitoring, verification, supervision, sanctions, and issuing specialist approvals for interventions on historical monuments and protected areas. Unlike in Moldova, where cultural directorates have a broader scope of activity, including the identification and promotion of intangible heritage, in our case the focus is on built heritage.”

Thus, their responsibilities include:

• issuing approvals for works in monument protection zones;
• monitoring and verifying compliance with legislation in the field;
• imposing sanctions where rules are violated;
• protecting and promoting built heritage.

“It is important to understand that cultural directorates are not just consultative bodies – they enforce the law and safeguard heritage. The major challenge is that these very complex responsibilities are carried out with extremely limited financial resources.”

Small Budgets, Big Needs

A key point of the presentation was the issue of financial resources. According to Rocsana Josanu, in 2025 the Ministry of Culture has only 0.07% of Romania’s GDP allocated, a quota “insufficient for everything that cultural funding entails.” From this limited budget, both the county directorates and many other institutions under the ministry are financed.

For the Neamț County Directorate for Culture, the budget structure is dual:

• allocations from the state budget;
• own revenues from fees for specialist approvals in monument protection zones.

Between 2014 and 2024, these revenues steadily increased, from about 25,000 lei annually to over 230,000 lei, as a result of intensified monitoring and control. The situation changed radically in 2025, when Emergency Ordinance no. 31 came into force, banning the charging of fees for public interest projects.

“This ordinance practically collapsed our revenues and, in the short term, risks creating major difficulties, including in covering the institution’s current expenses.”

As a result, in the first six months of the year, the Neamț County Directorate for Culture managed to collect only 39,000 lei, which means the annual budget will be considerably smaller than in previous years, raising questions about its operational capacity.

How Revenues Grew: Visibility, Controls, Sanctions

The substantial increase in own revenues between 2014–2024 was not accidental but the result of a deliberate institutional strategy. According to Rocsana Josanu, the Directorate succeeded in strengthening its budget through:

• increased field presence;
• stricter monitoring and verification;
• sanctions applied both to private investors and to local public authorities that failed to submit projects for approval.

“We achieved greater field visibility, more site visits, more checks and, of course, more sanctions. These were applied not only to private investors but also to local public authorities who failed to comply with their obligation to seek the Ministry of Culture’s approval.”

The director also underlined that public investments were the main source of these revenues.

“The large share of the budgets came mainly from public interest projects. Losing this source destabilizes us completely.”

Beyond Functioning: Support for Heritage Protection

In the early years (2014–2019), financial resources were directed mainly towards institutional consolidation – repairs, IT equipment, and hiring specialists. From 2019 onwards, the Neamț Directorate began allocating part of its budget to directly finance historical monuments.

“From the revenues we collected, we managed to support heritage protection actions. Even if the sums were not large, they mattered because maintenance and repair works are vital. They prevent major damage that would otherwise require much larger investments.”

Under Government Decision 907/2003, funds from approvals can be reinvested in heritage protection activities. Between 2019 and 2024, the Directorate financed over 36 projects, mainly focused on:

• maintenance and repair works at wooden churches and other religious sites in the county;
• systematic archaeological research, such as the site at Hoisești – La Curmătură (Mărgineni), in collaboration with Prof. Nicolae Bolohan (Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iași);
• specialist studies and expert reports, including for emblematic monuments like Neamț Fortress;
• support for cultural and scientific events, such as the symposium “Cities of Yesterday, Cities of Today” (Târgu Neamț, 2022).

“These funds did not cover all the owners’ needs but had a symbolic and motivational role. We showed that the state supports their efforts to protect monuments and encouraged them to seek additional funding sources.”

Examples of Monuments Supported Financially

The Neamț County Directorate for Culture provided direct funding to several representative historical monuments, including:

• Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist – Sihăia Hermitage
• Church of St. Michael and Gabriel – Galu (Poiana Teiului)
• Church of the Annunciation – Poiana Largului
• Church of the Holy Trinity – Doljești
• Church of St. Demetrius – Pârâul Caprei (Bicazul Ardelean)
• Church of St. Nicholas – Pipirig
• Church of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist – Davideni (Țibucani)
• Church of the Holy Voivodes – Tupilați

The funds were used for:

• maintenance and repair works at churches and other religious heritage sites;
• supporting systematic archaeological excavations at historical sites such as Hoisești – La Curmătură (Mărgineni);
• carrying out studies and expert reports for heritage monuments, such as Neamț Fortress;
• supporting scientific and cultural events dedicated to heritage promotion.

Although the allocated sums were modest, they had a strong symbolic impact: they conveyed to owners that the state can be an active partner in heritage preservation, not only a supervisory authority. As director Rocsana Josanu emphasized:

“Our financial support, although limited, shows that we stand alongside communities and owners. It is real encouragement for continuing maintenance and restoration works.”

Conclusions: Between Limited Resources and the Potential of Collaboration

The analysis presented by the Neamț County Directorate for Culture highlights that cultural heritage is a central element of community identity and cohesion, but the financial and logistical resources allocated by the state are insufficient to fully meet conservation needs.

In this context, specialized institutions face major challenges in operations, monitoring, and implementing restoration and maintenance projects.

Even so, the Neamț Directorate for Culture has shown that through proactive strategies, field visibility, and partnerships, it is possible to achieve real impact.