Tag Archives: primary forest

Agent Green success: Romanian High Court stops logging of protected old growth forests

State forestry company continued logging despite the High Court has suspended logging permits

The Romanian environmental NGO Agent Green has been filing several lawsuits challenging inappropriate forest management plans in Natura 2000 protected areas to stop the unlawful destruction of old growth and primary forests.Recently, the Romanian High Court of Cassation and Justice suspends several logging plans on more than 30.000 hectares forest land.

Agent Green, EuroNatur and Client Earth have filed EU complaints against the Romanian government because forest management plans in Romania do not comply with the EU Nature directives and the Strategic Environmental Assessment directive. The European Commission has responded to this complaint in February 2020 and launched an infringement procedure against the Romanian state.
The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030, which was presented by the European Commission in spring 2020, aims to protect all “old growth and primary forests” in the EU. Romania’s forest treasure is one of the most important contributions to this goal – if the ongoing scandalous old growth forest destruction is stopped immediately.
But the ignorance of Romanian forestry about forest protection legislation continues …

However, there are also successes coming in:
Recently, two legal disputes resulted in High Court rulings suspending the management of forest plans in both the Domogled – Valea Cernei National Park and Natura 2000 site as well as the neighboring Natura 2000 site “Nordul Gorjului de vest”. In these protected areas there are still some larger tracks of old growth and primary forests with a very high biodiversity value.

Agent Green has started a lawsuit against the Ministry of Environment and National Forest Administration RNP Romsilva to suspend (“anulment”) logging on an area of almost 20,000 hectares in Domogled National Park – Cerna Valley. The High Court of Cassation and Justice granted an injunctive relief in February this year and suspended the respective forest manegment plans. However, RNP Romsilva appealed against the court ruling. Now, the High Court of Cassation and Justice rejected the revision request made by RNP Romsilva.

This time the decision is final and the old growth forest is safe. Thanks to Agent Green’s lawyer Catalina Radulescu, the forest management plans of Baia de Arama Forest Department, Mehedinti County are suspended until the “anulment case” will be finalized. The primary and old-growth forests of this area are being protected from chainsaws for this period – and hopefully forever.
(Orginal file: here)

Another 14,612.36 hectares of forests are saved from logging in West Gorj Mountains (Mehedinți and Vâlcan Mountains) following a lawsuit initiated by Agent Green. On May 15 2020, the High Court granted an injunctive relief and suspended all logging plans until the “annulement case” – permanent suspension – is finalized. However, logging continued illegally in full ignorance of the court decision.

In July 2020, Agent Green informed the forest guard that the logging was continuing illegally. The officials finally checked the logging locations and ordered to stop any forestry work.

The saved 14,612  hectares of forests overlap with a part of the Domogled – Valea Cernei National Park (and Natura 2000 site) and with the Natura 2000 site “Nordul Gorjului de Vest” in remote Vâlcan mountains.

Agent Green welcomes the decisions of the High Court. At the same time, the NGO expresses serious concerns that the Romanian state-owned forest company Romsilva apparently ignored the decisions of the High Court and shamelessly continued to fell the forest in protected areas, simply ignoring the ruling by the supreme judges.

Unfortunately, the order of the Forest Guard only stipulates that the logging must be stopped, but not when. Neither the damage caused nor fines and penalties are mentioned. Thus, the fight to protect these extremly valueable forests continues as the court’s decision is not final.

Romsilva has already appealed …

(Orginal file: here)

Awesome old growth forests in Vâlcan mountains. How long will they survive?
Destructive (but EU financed) road construction in EU protected Vâlcan mountains.

 

Illegal road detected in one of Europe’s wildest mountain valleys in Romania

Illegal road cut into the pristine Sâmbăta Valley in Romania’s Făgăraș Montains Natura 2000 site

A few weeks ago, the Sâmbăta Valley (Sibiu province) was still a true paradise: the valley was not spoiled by any road and hosts vast old growth forests, remote mountain ridges, rare wild animals (including wolves, bears and otters) and a romantic hiking trail that passes under large, mossy, ancient trees. But a few weeks ago, this sanctuary has been despoiled: a local forest owner bulldozed a road along the once pristine river, destroying the banks and slopes covered with wild and biodiversity-rich ravine and mountain forests.

But this is just the beginning. Logging machinery are soon expected to invade the valley, now that they have access to the large old trees that have been growing here for centuries. And the fairytale forest, which is reminiscent of film scenes from “Lord of the Rings” could soon be ravaged. Tragically, Sâmbăta is not the only wild valley in Romania that has suffered from illegal logging during the COVID-19 lock down.

Local environmentalists discovered the new road and called for immediate inspection by officials from the Forest Guard authorities in Brasov. The response caused great concern and shock: no permits are required because an old road already existed that “was only being repaired”. This outrageous claim clearly contradicts the facts: pictures from previous years show that no road actually existed and that the valley was an untouched wilderness, hosting old-growth forest of sycamore, beech and spruce. Forest maps also confirm that the valley was not accessible by a road.

Questions of serious mismanagement are raised.

Why are forest guard officials defending this unauthorized road and why are they covering for the unknown beneficiary who drove this illegal project forward?

How could this happen during the very time when the EU Commission has initiated infringement proceedings against the Romanian state for deliberate, systemic and widespread violations of EU legislation by systemic logging and destruction of natural ecosystems in Natura 2000 sites?

Natura 2000 requires mandatory environmental assessments to be carried out prior to intervention in protected areas in order to exclude the risk of a deterioration of the ecological conservation status of listed habitats and species.

The facts, known to date, are:

  • The new dirt road stretches for about 1.5 km, is 3-4 m wide and was built between March and May 2020.
  • The road is in a Natura 2000 site
  • The road does not have a valid building permit
  • No adequate environmental assessment has taken place
  • No agreement or approval has been given by the Natura 2000 site custodian for works in protected habitats
  • The road has not been approved by the Romanian Forest Guard for cutting in areas mapped as “virgin forests” by the “Pin Matra study”
  • The road has not been approved by the Ministry of Environment for forest works in areas officially proposed for inclusion studies in the protection system of the “National Catalog of Virgin and Quasi-virgin forests”.

This is a long list of evidence showing clear violations of laws, rules and regulations that were supposed to ensure the permanent protection of such precious forests.

The work was carried out without an information panel, under the pretext of “rehabilitating a dirt road” that never existed on the left bank of the Sâmbăta river in a formerly roadless, wild valley. Only the touristic path that leads to mountain refuge Cabana Sâmbăta and which is located on the right bank of the river Sâmbăta appears on the forest maps.

The valley harbors large tracks of old growth forests with high biodiversity and scientific values (researched by the REMOTE Primary Forests project).

According to the NGO Agent Green, this is the list of potential illegalities:

  1. Unauthorised construction of a dirt road without proper building permit
  2. Unauthorised construction of a road without a proper environmental assessment
  3. Unauthorised construction of a road without consent of the Custodian of a Natura 2000 site
  4. Illegal change of land use category, from forest to road
  5. Disturbing the national forest fund and protected species by carrying out the illegal construction of the road
  6. Unauthorised construction of a road in forest stands identified by the “Pin Matra” study as virgin forests
  7. Unauthorised road construction damaging Natura 2000 protected habitats and species, ignoring the legal obligation of carrying out a (nature impact) appropriate assessment prior to any intervention
  8. Unauthorised road construction through the Sâmbăta riverbed and other tributary watercourses
  9. Destruction of the soil and dislocation of rocks on the edge of watercourses and in the forest
  10. Abandonment of felled trees in streams
  11. Unauthorised logging of trees in Natura 2000 priority habitats, in Pin Matra polygons and in potentially virgin forests included in the official list of the Ministry of Environment
  12. Damaging the status of protected species and habitats

In the context of the EU infringement procedure against Romania for forest exploitation in protected habitats without adequate appropriate assessment, it is very worrying that the new road was even built through potential “priority habitats” which are under strict protection in the whole of the EU – in particular:

91E0 * – Alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior – Alno-Padion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae

9180 * – Tilio-Acerion forests on steep slopes, rubble and ravines

Furthermore, the illegal road was built directly through the habitats of several protected species for which the Natura 2000 site was designated, such as the wolf and the otter, and the fact that the road affected the course of the river Sambata and will have had a negative impact on fish species found in this river, such as Cottus gobio.

Agent Green will file complaints against this illegal road, stating that the  Environmental Guard, Romanian Waters and the National Agency for Protected Natural Areas have a direct responsibility to investigate and prosecute these clear violations of the law and to force those who built the road to restore the affected area to its original state.

This scandalous contemporary example of clear contempt for nature and the law underscores the urgent need for EU intervention, as Romanian authorities are not able, and seemingly unwilling to fight such environmental crimes.

Here is a video by Agent Green showing the extent of the destruction:

 

Pristine Sâmbăta valley in 2016.
The same location in Sâmbăta valley in 2020: the rich biodiversity at the river banks has been devastated.
Untouched fairy tale forest in Sambata valley – Fagaras Natura 2000 site.
Forest maps do not show the existence of any road.
The beginnig of the new road, which is obviously not built on the hiking trail.
The road gives easy access to the old growth. Logging machinery will soon follow. Thus, the road has to be rehabilitated and the natural values completely restored.

 

 

 

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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