Forest protection measures
Romania has 30 days to end illegal logging
Roxana Vasile, 13.02.2020, 14:00
Translated in 20 languages and broadcast in almost 120 countries around the world, the Wild Carpathia documentary produced by the Travel Channel invited nature lovers, a few years ago, to the gorgeous, although lesser known forests in the Carpathian Mountains. Romania has dozens of hectares of virgin forests, a habitat for bears, wolves and lynxes.
Perhaps the most striking part of the documentary was an interview with Charles, Prince of Wales, an outspoken supporter of this part of Romania, untouched by civilisation. Over the years, Britain’s crown prince has repeatedly called for preserving the Romanian forests and for putting an end to the illegal logging that mutilated vast expanses of forest.
The problem is that, in spite of the many alarms sounded from abroad, the solution rests with the Romanian officials alone. And unfortunately, some parts of the country seem to have been abandoned by the authorities. This is precisely why the European Commission has given Romania 30 days to put an end to illegal logging, threatening to initiate an infringement procedure unless things change within this deadline. The Liberal environment minister Costel Alexe told a press conference that the European Commission has been warning Romania ever since 2016:
Costel Alexe: “Back in 2016 Romania was questioned as to why it did nothing to make sure the forest remains forest rather than a treasure to be grabbed by bandits. More than 3 years have passed since then, during which the European Commission has shown patience to all those in charge with this sector and this country. The European Commission has been waiting for 3 years for illegal logging in Romania to be ended. And do you know what I think? That Europe cared more about Romania’s forests than the previous Romanian governments did.”
Last year, 3 environmental NGOs filed a complaint with the European Commission with respect to the destruction of tens of thousands of hectares of old and virgin forests. They argue that the authorities issue logging permits in protected, Natura 2000 sites, without assessing the impact of logging in those areas. Here is Catalina Radulescu, a lawyer for an NGO called Agent Green:
Catalina Radulescu: “We are not speaking about one-off cases; the entire legislation and practice in Romania breaches the European legislation. Forests are managed under 10-year forest management plans, which must be approved only after adequate strategic environment assessment has been conducted, focusing of course, first and foremost, on biodiversity in the protected areas. And a ministry order must be passed before these plans can be implemented.”
Some protected areas that have been subject to illegal logging look like battlefields after a war. And according to the Silva trade union federation, six forest rangers have been killed in the past few years, 2 of them last year alone, while 650 others were assaulted, beaten or shot at when they caught illegal loggers in the act.
(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)
