Tag Archives: Government

EuroNatur and Agent Green welcome UNESCO World Heritage inscription of European beech forests

July 7, 2017domogled, forest, Government, Iauna Craiove, logging, primeval, protection, romania, Sinca, UNESCO, World HeritageWoodland

World Heritage Committee’s decision must give boost to primeval forest protection all over Europe – in particular in Romania

Radolfzell – The international foundation EuroNatur and Romanian environmental protection organisation Agent Green welcome the decision by the World Heritage Committee to inscribe 63 primeval and ancient beech forests and forest clusters to the UNESCO World Heritage List. This decision acknowledges the “outstanding universal value” of (endemic) European beech forests as a unique natural phenomenon, how a single tree species can shape large parts of a whole continent. The newly inscribed forest areas include the first ever Natural Heritage Areas of Austria – Wilderness Dürrenstein and Kalkalpen national park. In Romania paradise forests such the EU’s largest primeval beech forest of Nera Springs reserve (Semenic national park), parts of Domogled and Cozia national parks as well as Sinca and Slatioara secular forests in Romania are now certified by the World Heritage Committee.

“This is a historic move. Never before have so many different components, involving 10 nations, been inscribed to the World Heritage list. This is also a big step forward for international cooperation in nature conservation. And it is a strong signal for protection of Europe’s last primeval forests. Hopefully this decision leads to a turbo boost for forest conservation efforts all over Europe,” Gabriel Schwaderer, executive director of EuroNatur Foundation stated.

Improved forest protection is desperately needed, because ancient and primeval forests are under ongoing threat by logging in numerous European countries due to bioenergy and timber demand. In particular in Romania primeval forests are still being destroyed on a grand scale. The World Heritage list only considers areas with established protection status. But ten of thousands hectares of primeval forests in Romania do not yet have sufficient protection. “Romania must take protection of primeval forests in both state and private property seriously. The recent push by the new Government to dismantle its own forest protection laws is very much worrying. Logging of paradise forests in the surrounding of the new UNESCO World Heritage Areas must be halted immediately. IUCN explicitly filed critique about weak protection in some buffer zones of the designated World Heritage areas. Just outside the Sinca secular forest World Heritage Area, logging in primary forests, which are identical to the forest inside the reserve, continues. We call on the new Romanian Government to speed up and finalise the population of the ‘National Catalogue of Virgin Forests’ and ensure full law enforcement,” Gabriel Paun, president of Agent Green, said.

Romania hosts the largest remains of primeval and ancient forests of Europe. Nera Springs virgin forest (Semenic national park) is the biggest untouched forest stand of the EU (except Scandinavia). The world is currently looking at the disastrous logging and the deliberate destruction of precious forest stands in the buffer zone of the Bialowieza national park and UNESCO area. The strict core zone of the park protects the biggest lowland primeval forest of Europa. The tragic and stubborn logging campaign by the Polish Government is a provocation and negative prejudice for environmental protection in all Europe. Thus it needs to be stopped now.
However, almost out of sight, in Romania primeval forest is vanishing day by day on a much larger scale. Only international attention and decisive action can stop that ongoing environmental disaster in Europe.

Sinca secular forest is part of the new World Heritage inscription. However, logging in surrounding primeval forests continues. EuroNatur and Agent Green call on the Romanian Government to take protection of primeval forests seriously.

Brutal logging of primeval beech-fir forest less than 500 meters upstream of the designated UNESCO site Sinca secular forest.

Majestic primeval beech forest in upper Stramba valley, close to the UNESCO listed Sinca secular forest (photography taken in July 2016). This paradise forest stand is not existing any more, it was logged (“thinned”) recently, despite NGO-complaints calling on authorities and the Government.

Heavy logging in the heart of Domogled national park, also at the borders of the new UNESCO World Heritage Area “Iauna Craiove”. The images (screenshot from Governmental website “Forest Inspector”) shows the number plates of trucks transporting the timber out of the valley. The logged forest is largely identical with the primeval stands inside the reserve. In Domogled national park huge areas of paradise forests are not included in the strictly protected zone.

Forest Alert: Romanian Ministry Attacks Own Primary Forest Protection Laws

June 28, 2017destruction, forest, Government, logging, Ministry, primary, romania, virginWoodland

Anti conservation forces in Ministry utilise Governmental interregnum to shoot at forest protection legislation

Bucharest / Radolfzell, 28 June 2017 – The Romanian Ministry for Water and Forests surprisingly neglects the existence of its 2005 published inventory on primary forest areas in the country and announces to challenge its own legislation on virgin forest protection. This move happened earlier this week, a few days after the Romanian Governmental was dismissed by Parliament and during the absence of a Minister in charge. Crucial parts of Romanian forest protection legislation are based upon the so-called Romanian-Dutch “Pin-Matra”-study, which identified 218.000 ha primary forests in the country. The Ministerial statement from Monday night says, that neither forest authorities nor state forestry Romsilva have that document. Romsilva was a partner of the project and received significant funding.

Romania hosts two thirds of the primary forest remains in the European Union, but logging industry and its networks in politics and administration aggressively counters national forest conservation programmes. EuroNatur and Agent Green urge the new Romanian Government coming into place to ensure that Romania’s national and international forest protection obligations are fulfilled and that not any longer torpedoed by misled interests utilising Governmental institutions.

”The 2005 inventory was prepared by numerous respected scientists and was published and presented various times. However, a large proportion of the primary forest areas mapped by that study have been destroyed since then – under the eyes of forest authorities and several Governments. Data from the study is published on a Governmental website and was used as basement for several Ministerial Ordinances. It is unbelievable, that strange forces within the Ministry are now creating ‘alternative facts’ by neglecting the existence of that study. This is obviously a very blunt attempt to derail forest protection legislation”, said Gabriel Schwaderer, CEO of EuroNatur.

The irritating Ministerial announcement comes three months after scientists, mountaineers and Agent Green activists stopped a timber truck in Făgăraș Mountains to raise attention on the loss of the last virgin forests. The minister ordered a detailed inspection in the area immediately after the action and the Ministry announced this Monday that they found overcutting up to 4100%. The forest district will be fined for illegally logging of 30.554 m3 timber from virgin forests in Făgăraș Mountains. But these virgin forest were included in the allegedly lost inventory and therefore the Ministry says in the same release that its own control body will verify the making and application of the virgin forests laws since the data sets of the inventories never existed neither at the ministry, nor at the Forestry Research Institute (ICAS) or at Romsilva (the State forest managing entity).

”We have been hacked several times and still managed to secure a copy of the virgin forests inventory and the related data sets. We are ready to help the Ministry with a copy. However, this kind of politics of disinformation and fouls against nature, obviously driven by lobby interests, are damaging the reputation of Romania. Our great forest treasure is being destroyed day by day. Those who are driving logging forward must not be allowed to divert the Ministry away from its responsibilities”, said Gabriel Paun, CEO of Agent Green.

The Romanian Ministry: “RNP-Romsilva’s technical staff was not involved in any way, nor was it informed or consulted when the database was drafted” (PinMatra-study). This images proofs, that Romsilva definately was “involved”, somehow…

200 leading scientists and ecologists call on Romania to protect paradise forests

March 15, 2017forest, Government, Memorandum, minister, primary, protection, research, romania, science, scientistsWoodland

EuroNatur: Romania’s Government must take courageous action to stop destructive logging networks within forestry sector

Bucharest/ Radolfzell. Primary forests in Romania receive prominent support from all over the world. 200 scientists and forest ecology experts from 27 countries and three continents signed a joint Memorandum initiated by EuroNatur Foundation calling on the Romanian Government to take immediate action to save its highly valuable primary forests. The Memorandum of Scientists was handed over today to the Minister for Water and Forests, Mrs. Adriana Petcu, by EuroNatur CEO Gabriel Schwaderer and Agent Green President Gabriel Paun.

The scientists urge the Romanian Government in particular to immediately impose a logging moratorium of identified and potential primary forests, to put forest authorities – especially Forest Guards – under stricter administrative control for enforcement of the law, to close legal loopholes, to ensure independent management of national parks, to increase nature zones of national parks in order to meet international standards (IUCN criteria) and to provide funds for compensation of private land owners for primary forest protection.

Among the signees of this memorandum is the crème de la crème of international forest ecology scientists and experts :  Dr. Ing. Iovu-Adrian Biris / Romania, Prof. Dr. Pierre L. Ibisch / Germany, Prof. Dr. Hans Dieter Knapp (“father” of UNESCO’s European Beech Forest Initiative) / Germany, Prof. Ing. Miroslav Svoboda / Czech Republic, Prof. Brendan Mackey, Ph.D. / Australia, Univ. Prof. Dipl. Ing. Dr. Kurt Zukrigl / Austria, Univ. Prof. Dr. Georg Gratzer / Austria, Prof. Dr. Rainer Luick / Germany, Cyril F. Kormos (Vice President for Policy, WILD Foundation and Vice Chair for World Heritage, IUCN-WCPA) / USA, Dr. James Watson (Wildlife Conservation Society, President – Society for Conservation Biology) / USA, Dr. Ing. Nicolae Donita / Romania, Prof. Dr. Michael Succow (Alternative Nobel Prize laureate) and Prof. William S. Keeton, Ph.D. / USA.

With the Memorandum, the global science community supports their Romanian colleagues who also stand united against the imminent destruction of primary forests.
No other European country hosts more primary forest remains than Romania. An estimated two thirds of the European Union “paradise forests” have survived in the Romanian Carpathians. Together with the Ukraine, Romania is the most important country for conservation of primary forests of the endemic European Beech, which is of global natural importance and subject of an ongoing transnational UNESCO World Natural Heritage nomination. However, many of these areas of outstanding ecological and scientific value have been destroyed by both legal and illegal logging during the past 10 to 15 years. And primary forest destruction continues at an alarming rate – despite some legal improvements during the past years. One major reason for the ongoing primary forest loss is widespread corruption and neglecting of law within the forestry sector.

As a result even Romania’s protected areas do not give proper protection to primary forests: Most of the Romania’s Natura 2000 sites are de facto logging hot spots. Almost all Romanian National Parks fail to meet IUCN best practice criteria for conservation zoning. Primary forests in National Parks such as Domogled are under immediate threat by commercial logging, often disguised as „salvation logging“ and “conservation cutting”.

“Together with 200 scientists and forest ecology experts from all over the globe we call today on the new Romanian Government to take strong action to halt destructive logging of one of Europe’s most precious natural heritages – its last vast primary forests. For way too long politics and authorities in Romania have been watching the destruction of this natural treasure by gloomy practices which are obviously spread widely within the Romanian forestry sector – involving authorities, state forestry and private logging and trading companies. It’s time to take courageous action, now. These precious forests are not just a Romanian matter, they must be saved for all of us and future generations. Primary forests play an eminent important role for climate protection and they are a European biodiversity treasure,” said Gabriel Schwaderer, CEO of EuroNatur Foundation.

Read the full tex: Memorandum – Scientists call for Protection of the Primary Forest Heritage of Romania