Außer Kontrolle
Urwaldzerstörung in Europa
Rumänien beherbergt noch große Ur- und Naturwälder. Aber sie werden brutal abgeholzt. Sogar in Nationalparks und Natura 2000 Gebieten. Die Regierung muss endlich handeln.
Ein Waldmeer bis zum Horizont...
Europas einzigartiges Naturerbe
Nirgendwo sonst in der gemäßigten Klimazone in Europa haben so viele Ur- und Naturwälder überlebt wie in Rumänien. Doch sie werden zerstört. Jeden Tag. Unsere Video-Doku's zeigen das Ausmaß der brutalen Zerstörung...
ZU DEN VIDEOS!In das wilde Boia Mica-Tal führt kein Weg ...
Europas wildestes Gebirgstal...
Obwohl im Natura 2000 Gebiet Fagaras-Gebirge gelegen, war der Schutzstatus dieses Naturjuwels heftig umstritten. Die Erhaltung dieser einmaligen Wildnis und Naturtourismus werden der lokalen Wirtschaft weit mehr nutzen als die (unwiederbringliche) Abholzung der Urwälder ...
WeiterlesenEuropa's größtes Naturschutzdrama.
Europäisches Naturerbe im Sterben
Rumänien beherbergt den größten Urwaldschatz der EU. Doch der wird unter den Augen von Regierung und Behörden geplündert. In rasender Geschwindigkeit. Der Hut brennt!
WeiterlesenNera-Urwald: 6000 Jahre alt, 5000 Hektar groß.
Der größte Rotbuchen-Urwald der EU
Ein Fenster in die Urzeit Europas: So hat das natürliche Mitteleuropa einmal ausgehen. Urwälder sind von unschätzbarem Wert für die Wissenschaft.
WeiterlesenMonster-Kahlschläge im Europaschutzgebiet.
Ökologischer Notstand
Angeblich war es wegen dem Borkenkäfer. 2013 donnerten die Holztrucks ohne Pause ins Tal. Jetzt ist der ganze Bergrücken nackt - fast 100 Hektar Kahlschlag. Bahn frei für Erosion, Fluten und Muren...
WeiterlesenMotorsägen und Traktoren im Anmarsch.
Akut bedrohtes Paradies
Unberührter Buchen-Tannen-Wald im Natura 2000-Gebiet Fagaras-Gebirge: Im benachbarten Sinca-Tal wurde ein UNESCO-Weltnaturerbe-Gebiet eingerichtet. Im Stramba-Tal (Bild) wird ökologisch gleichwertiger Urwald aber abgeholzt ...
Aktiv werden!Weltklasse Wildnis
UNESCO-Weltnaturerbe Buchenurwald.
Rotbuchen-Urwälder gibt es nur in Europa. Vor 5000 Jahren war Europa das Reich der Buche. Eine UNESCO Weltnaturerbestätte bewahrt die letzten Reste. Der herrliche Iauna Craiova-Urwald im Domogled Nationalpark ist einer davon.
WeiterlesenWaldverwüstung im Nationalpark
Sag mir wo die Bäume sind.
Unweit des geplanten UNESCO-Weltnaturerbe-Gebiets im Iauna Craiova-Tal im Domogled - Valera Cernei Nationalpark ist vom Urwald so gut wie nichts mehr übrig: Bäume abgeholzt, Boden verwüstet. Diese Wunde wird erst in Jahrhunderten heilen.
Jetzt aktiv werden!Wie in einem Fantasyland
Europas wirklicher Märchenwald.
Von den unberührten Wäldern Europas ist fast nichts mehr übrig. Der Fichten-Urwald im rumänischen Sambata-Tal ist echter Paradieswald. Und er ist viel älter als sämtliche Märchen und Sagen...
WeiterlesenUnwiederbringliches Ur-Europa
Jahrtausendelang getestet und optimiert.
Europas Urwälder gedeihen kontinuierlich seit der letzten Eiszeit und werden von der Evolution laufend optimiert. Sie sind daher extrem stabil. Wenn man sie abholzt, dauert es viele Jahrhunderte, bis sie diesen Zustand wieder erreichen.
Jetzt aktiv werden!Endstation Sägewerk
Hackschnitzel statt Naturerbe?
Der Holzhunger internationaler Groß-Sägewerke und die Gier von Land- und Holzräubern hat die Waldzerstörung in Rumänien in den letzten 10-15 Jahren an die Spitze getrieben. Gesetze wurden missachtet, Verstöße kaum geahndet. Jetzt geht es um die letzten Urwaldflächen!
Jetzt aktiv werden!EU-Programm Natura 2000 missachtet
Europaschutzgebiete als Abholzungs-Hotspots.
Ein Holzernte-Traktor schleift einen Biotop-Baum aus dem Stramba-Urwald im Natura 2000-Gebiet Fagaras-Gebirge. Wie ist die großflächige Urwaldzerstörung mit EU-Schutzzielen vereinbar?
Jetzt aktiv werden!Rare Lebesformen
Ohne Wildnis verloren.
Der stark bedrohte und streng geschützte Eremit kann nur in Wäldern mit Altbäumen und Totholz überleben. Die letzten Urwälder sind Rettungsinseln für viele unserer natürlichen Mitbewohner. Werden die alten Wälder umgeschnitten, bedeutet das ihren Tod.
Jetzt aktiv werden!Luchs, Bär und Co.
Die Erde gehört auch ihnen.
Ohne wilde Wälder haben unsere prächtigen europäischen Mitbewohner keine Chance. Wollen wir ihnen wirklich auch noch die letzten Reste an Lebensraum stehlen?
Jetzt aktiv werden!Kohlenstoffspeicher
Klimaschützer Urwald.
In Bäumen und im Boden speichern Urwälder gewaltige Mengen Kohlendioxid. Durch Kahlschläge und Holz-Verbrennung wird das Gas freigesetzt. Urwälder taugen daher nicht als "Bioenergie". Vielmehr tragen sie selber massiv zum Klimaschutz bei.
Weiterlesen
Members of the European Parliament join NGO’s EuroNatur, Client Earth and Agent Green as well as the Director of DG Environment of the EU Commission to discuss status and future of EU’s last old growth and primary forests – September 24, Brussels
Most of the old-growth and primary forest remains in the temperate climate zone of the EU are located in the Carpathians – mainly in Romania, Slovakia and Poland.
A new inventory of Romania’s old- growth and primary forests, commissioned by EuroNatur Foundation, has revealed a huge extent of close-to-nature forests – and their threat from logging.
These forests are an outstanding biological treasure and capture huge amounts of carbon. The IPBES „Global Assessment“ report (May 2019) made clear that the global protection and restoration of na- tural ecosystems is equally important to tackling the climate crisis. However, logging of the EU’s last intact natural forest ecosystems proceeds at a rapid pace, including within Natura 2000 sites.
The European Court of Justice (2018) stopped logging activities in Polands Bialowieza Natura 2000 site due to the legal breaches of the EU‘s Habitat and Birds Directives. But what will happen to the rest of the EU‘s natural forests in Natura 2000 sites? Will the EU fulfil its own environmental responsibilities and act to protect our last old-growth and primary forests?
Therefore, we kindly invite you to join the high level event on September 24 with Members of the European Parliament, the Director of DG Environment of the EU Commission and NGO experts to contribute to the discussion about the future of Europe’s most valuable forests.
Please note that you need to register, if you do not have an access badge (see details below).
Romania hosts the largest tracts of virgin forests within the EU. But they are vanishing due to industrial logging, corruption and corporate greed. However, this major nature tragedy is almost unknown in wider Europe. Therefore, EuroNatur Foundation and Romanian environmental organisation Agent Green organised an expert conference in the European Parliament in Brussels on the 8th November. The conference was hosted by Thomas Waitz and Benedek Jávor, both Member of the European Parliament.
Benedek Jávor opened the conference with the words: “Virgin forests have a special importance in Europe, not only for biodiversity but also for ecosystem services… In Romania they are under huge pressure not only from illegal logging, but also from legal logging. Deforestation is closely related to corruption issues and problems with governance. Low level of governance and high level of corruption contribute to legal and illegal logging.”
Thomas Waitz then also gave a clear introduction: “I am a forester, I’m not against logging as such.” He had been in Romania in May 2018 upon invitation from EuroNatur and Agent Green. During this trip he also talked to corporations and found out that forest areas are massively overlogged. In national parks the non-core protected areas, so called buffer zones should not be larger than 25% of the area. In Domogled National Park, which he also visited, the buffer zone is bigger than 50%. Only a third of the park’s forests are under strict protection. “There are rules how forestry interventions should look like. As I am a professional, I could see what sort of interventions they did.” But “…they are not even applying their own weak rules.”
Gabriel Paun, president of the NGO Agent Green, also pointed out, that the deliberate destruction of virgin forests and Natura 2000 sites is happening with support of the Romanian government. In 14 years only 10% of the mapped virgin forests (Pin Matra study in 2004) have been put into the National Catalogue of Virgin Forests.
Gabriel Schwaderer, CEO of EuroNatur Foundation agreed that something is going wrong in Romania: “We consider this (National Catalogue) as a great tool… But we are wondering if it´s applied in the right way. And to be frank with you, sometimes I have the feeling that it´s not used really to protect those forests legally. But it´s is rather used to exclude as much as possible from it. And I have the question why only 21,000ha are inscribed in it, so many years after adopting this ministerial order” (in 2012).
Paun also said: “We put much hope after seeing the Bialowieza case that the EU will find ways to have a strong intervention to help save what´s left of our forests, which are also a European treasure.”
Humberto Delgado Rosa / EU-Commission: “Reports are unsettling, shocking and outrageous”
His hope will be supported as Humberto Delgado Rosa, Director of Natural Capital with DG Environment of the European Commission said: “You can see my presence as the proof that we do pay attention to this.” The reports by NGOs and media about logging of Romanian forests are “definitely a reason for EU concern. We do pay attention to his… We will monitor the situation as we did in Bialowieza. And we do have some new tools to monitor it better, including satellite technology…”
He stressed that “the reports by NGOs, the images and the presented documentaries about logging in Romania are unsettling, shocking and outrageous. He also made it clear that “all old growth forests” in Europe “require a non-intervention approach”.
With Natura 2000 sites there is a need for “better implementation…But the enforcement remains a challenge.” For the EU infringement procedure “We need some data gathering and we need to have some evidence that convinces us internally in the Commission.”
Sadly, Thomas Waitz added that the Romanian MEPs were invited to the conference, but none showed up: “as you can see… there is no Romanian MEP in the room. So it seems to be either a hurtful topic for them or they don´t care…”
Romanian EU-presidency: spotlight in the case
Gabriel Schwaderer concluded: “The Romanian virgin forests are vanishing while we speak. It´s a key European matter, thus EU involvement is crucial. The Romanian EU-presidency in 2019 will also give a spotlight on this case. We call on EU institutions to help and push to save this treasure. We see clear evidence of systematic violation of nature directives and call on EU institutions to act. He informed the audience that IUCN is also looking more deeply into the situation in Romania.
EuroNatur and Agent Green: EU’s biggest nature crisis in Romania requires immediate action
A giant life-sized virgin forest tree being cut down has been etched into the pavement outside the EU Commission building in Brussels. Along with several banners calling on the EU to act now to protect Romania’s virgin forests, activists from EuroNatur Foundation and Romanian NGO Agent Green have brought the issue of the logging of Romania’s ancient forests to Brussels. Huge banners have been unravelled drawing a lot of attention to the ongoing destruction of the EU’s last large tracts of virgin forests in Romania.
“This is a wake-up call about the tragic environmental crisis that is destroying Romania’s virgin forests. Their loss through logging is one of the biggest nature emergencies in the EU today. Thousands of hectares of irreplaceable forests are being destroyed or degraded every year. Most of these precious forests are in Natura 2000 sites, where they are supposed to be protected. We call on the EU Commission to take action, now!“, Gabriel Paun, president of Agent Green, said
Romania hosts the largest remains of virgin forests within the EU, with estimates between 100,000 and 200,000 hectares. These unique forests are progressively falling victim to greed, corruption and negligence of nature conservation laws. Even in national parks and Natura 2000 sites, where deterioration of the natural habitats and species should be prohibited, logging of old growth and virgin forests is omnipresent.
“If the breach of EU legislation in Romania is allowed to continue without any sanctions, the whole Natura 2000 system is weakened. Thus the EU needs to stop looking the other way and start taking action! This is why we have come to Brussels today“, Gabriel Schwaderer, Executive Director of EuroNatur, said.
Romania will hold the EU-presidency in 2019, but authorities and the government do not show any ambition to implement national and EU environmental legislation properly.
Background information:
The creative and peaceful protest was part of a day of action in Brussels called “Spotlight on Vanishing Virgin Forests of Romania“. NGOs EuroNatur und Agent Green wanted to both inform the public and raise awareness with EU institutions about the logging in Romania, a drama that doesn’t get the attention it needs.
The day of action also includes these events:
– Expert conference “Europe‘s last virgin forests”, hosted by MEPs Thomas Waitz and Benedek Javor. European Parliament, Room number ASP5E1. Nov 8, 15 – 17pm. (Please note: participants need to register in advance at thomas.waitz-office@ep.europa.eu).
– Film screening “Out of Control”, a video series about scandalous logging in Romania’s national parks, with discussion. Kamilou in Mundo B (Rue d’Edimbourg, 26, 1050 Bruxelles), Nov 8, 19 – 21pm. Entry: free.