Tag Archives: MEP

Thomas Waitz MEP and Agent Green witnessing illegal logging in Romanian Natura 2000 sites – video

Fact-finding trip by Thomas Waitz, MEP, with Agent Green reveals that illegal logging in Natura 2000 areas continues regardless of EU infringement proceedings
 
Thomas Waitz, Member of the European Parliament, and Gabriel Paun, President of Agent Green, are currently (October 10, 2020) on a field mission in Romania checking Natura 2000 sites for compliance with EU Natura 2000 legislation. In a video message, Gabriel Paun and Thomas Waitz reported that they witnessed destructive and illegal logging on locations that are theoretically protected by EU’s Natura 2000 legislation, including Domogled – Valea Cernei National Park.
 
In the Domogled – Valea Cernei National Park / Natura 2000 area, they even discovered logging by the state-owned forest company Romsilva on a state-owned property on which the Bucharest High Court suspended all logging permits earlier this year.
 
In other words: state-paid foresters are pushing forward cutting down of state-owned trees in a national park and Natura 2000 site despite the country’s Supreme Court suspending the forest management plans in the part of the very forest district.
 

At the same time, the European Commission is pursuing infringement proceedings against the Romanian state after EuroNatur, Client Earth and Agent Green filed complaints about the systematic destruction of forests in Romania’s Natura 2000 areas and illegal logging.

 
The fact that the logging continues even against High Court ruling unmasks the green washing by the romanian forest industry: forestry officials and industry-related professors have recently outbid each other claiming that the romanian forestry is doing better and acting more sustainable than the foresters in “the west”.
 
Thomas Waitz and Gabriel Paun did also trace a wood truck from the Natura 2000 Ținutul Pădurenilor site to the factory of Austrian chipboard company Kronospan in Sebes. The yard of Kronospan factory is filled with logs from large trees, mainly beech. Kronospan, which is reputedly the world’s largest particleboard manufacturer, said in relation to this on their website: “We ensure that suppliers do not use wood from national parks, natural preserves, virgin forests and other conservation areas.” This was apparently in severe contradiction to the recent observations. (Comment on Dec. 3, 2020: This sentence has since been removed from the website …)
 
More details you can view on this video:
 
The location of the primary platform where the illegal wood cut in Domogled National Park is loaded in despite the High Court / ICCJ suspended all logging permissions in the area.

How safe are EU’s natural forests? High level event in EU Parliament.

Sept. 24, Brussels: Forest destruction – only an issue in the Amazon?
*** New report “LOGGING OUT – Saving Romania’s paradise forests” ***

On September 24th, Members of the European Parliament (Michal WIEZIK, Martin HO-JSÍK, Siegfried MUREŞAN, Sarah WIENER) and Humberto DELGADO ROSA (Director at DG Environment of the EU Commission) discuss with NGOs EuroNatur, Client Earth and Agent Green the status and future of EU’s remaining old-growth and primary forests.

Europe’s remaining old-growth and primary forests are an outstanding biological treasure and they store and capture huge amounts of carbon. While the shock about the forest tragedy in the Amazon is substantial, many of Europe’s last natural forests are also under threat, even in protected areas such as Natura 2000 sites and national parks. In the temperate climate zone of the EU, most of these highly valuable forest remains are located in the Carpathians, mainly in Romania, Slovakia and Poland.

A new inventory of Romania’s old- growth and primary forests (“PRIMOFARO”), commissioned by EuroNatur Foundation, reveals a huge extent of close-to-nature forests – and the acute threat they face from logging. The key findings of the inventory will be presented at the event.

The main questions to be addressed at the conference in the European Parliament will be:

• To what extent does the Natura 2000 regime guarantee sufficient conservation outcomes for Eu-rope’s last natural forests?

• In April 2018, a ruling of the European Court of Justice stopped logging activities in Poland’s Bialowieza Natura 2000 site due to severe breaches of the EU Habitat and Birds Directives. But what will happen to the rest of 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?

On 10th September 2019, EuroNatur, Client Earth and Agent Green filed an EU complaint against the Romanian government and authorities regarding systematic breaches of EU legislation in the forest sector. Client Earth will explain details of the complaint at the event.

“Today, the climate crisis is on top of the UN agenda in New York. Tomorrow, a forest summit will take place in Berlin. The IPBES Global Assessment Report highlighted that global protection and restoration of natural ecosystems are equally important as fighting the climate crisis. Therefore, the preservation of intact and carbon-rich forest habitats in Europe must be treated as a topic of utmost importance,” Gabriel Schwaderer says.

New report published:
“LOGGING OUT – Saving Romania’s paradise forests”

The report gives an overview about the tragic situation of Romania’s old growth and primary forests, explains the backgrounds and draws solutions.

You can download the report here (or click on image below).

 

High level event in EU Parliament: EU’s Old Growth and Primary Forests Under Siege

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).

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