The town of Zlatna is located in the western part of Alba County, 36 km away from Alba Iulia. Its population density is 26 inhabitants/km2, below the county’s average (52 inhabitants/km2), for a total of 6.652 inhabitants. Situated in the Zlatna depression, between the Metaliferi Mountains and the Trascău Mountains, the town lies at the confluence of the Ampoi River with Valea Morilor Creek. A gold mining settlement has existed in the area since Roman times, when it was known as a municipium under the name of Ampellum. The name Zlatna (derived from the Slavic term for gold) was first recorded in a 1347 document. In 1387, it was awarded town status. During 1619-1620 Gabriel Bethlen brought to Zlatna a few hundred German and Slovak settlers for mining work. Tellurium was first discovered in a Zlatna mine in 1782 by Austrian mineralogist Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein. Zlatna regained its town status in 1968, after a time when it was officially a commune. At the 2011 census, 89.59% of inhabitants were Romanians, and 4.59% Roma. The municipality is well known for its interest and expertise in local development, and, in this sense, a unitary approach is applied to reach this goal from a future perspective. A strong focus is also placed on sustainability, ecology, and the implementation of actions following the new European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy, in light of the well-developed rural areas surrounding the city. Thus, the municipality of Zlatna will provide its expertise and knowledge in environmental-related topics, providing a more technical and scientific point of view. This approach will
complement the work of Motii Tara de Piatra (MTDP), a non-profit organization and project partner acting on behalf of the same municipality. The association aims to create a framework of cooperation between the administrative-territorial units in the area of Moților – Apuseni Mountains to coordinate sustainable development activities in the following areas: transport, tourism and leisure infrastructure, tourism, agriculture and animal husbandry, forestry, environmental protection and biodiversity, preservation of traditional culture, art and crafts, promoting the area as a tourist and investment destination, health and safety by facilitating cooperation and information exchange between providers of such public services. Its main goals include increasing economic opportunities through agricultural activities specific to the mountain and non-agricultural areas (such as tourism), and research and innovation in accordance with the smart specialization promoted by the European Commission. As partner and beneficiary, MTDP will be in charge of assisting the lead partner by providing all the relevant information in due time; it will organize and manage its assigned activities (events) and contribute to the communication campaign and the online content. Its expertise in promoting sustainable development and in the interconnection between rural and urban areas will be of great relevance in this proposal, as it will organize and coordinate important educational sessions dedicated to environmental best practices; its historical path of environmental degradation followed by an outstanding recovery will be of great example for partners and young environmental defenders. Its previous experience in the TFC project will highly benefit the current partnership in reaching higher results.