Over 1,000 kilometers of the barrages built across the Nistru and Prut rivers haven’t been fortified for over 70 years and the losses caused by floods amount to billions of lei, Minister of the Environment Gheorghe Salaru said in a summing-up conference, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the minister, the barrages were built in the 1960s. About 70 million lei was allocated from the National Ecological Fund over the last three years for the repair and construction of barrages. In 2012, there were reinforced 27 km of barrages and other hydro-technical constructions in Hancesti, Anenii Noi, and Stefan Voda. “I think there should be invested about 200 million lei so that we no longer sustain losses,” stated Gheorghe Salaru. In this connection, the minister said that there are serious problems related to flora and fauna on the Nistru and Prut and some of the species of fish disappear. In order to prevent an ecological disaster, a project to populate the two rivers with fish of about 1.5 million lei was proposed for being financed from the National Ecological Fund in 2012. The new fish population weighted 41 tonnes. Gheorghe Salaru stated that in 2013 eight automated stations for the prevention of disasters will be set up along the Nistru, while another 11 stations along the Prut.