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The global changes (climate changes, land cover and use changes, and alterations of energy flows) affect our global phenomena. These phenomena are even more important in the natural protected areas, which are pristine places designated to preserve our biodiversity within the limits of the carrying capacity of ecosystems. The present study used spatial data to look at the effects of global changes within the Romanian natural protected areas. The results indicate that high temperatures and low precipitations menace the protected areas from mountain areas and to a lesser extent those in the wetlands. The transitional dynamics of land cover and use changes do not differ from the national ones and consist of antagonistic phenomena affecting forests (deforestation and reforestation), and, to a lesser extent, agriculture (abandonment and development), waters and wetlands (floods and draughts), and man-dominated systems (urbanization). The findings suggest that unplanned development incurs environmental costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]