Tag Archives: primary forest

Protesting on the edge of Romania´s EU Presidency

Romania’s Presidency of the European Union has ended on the 30th of June. Tens of meetings with EU representatives have taken place all over Romania on a diversity of topics. But there was something crucial that was missing from each public agenda, especially from the environment meetings: the actual situation and a firm conservation plan for the last European virgin forests, located in Romania. Besides their impressive and unique biodiversity, their all-time inestimable value for the country and local communities and for climate security, these forests become a stringent priority. 

The six months have been used by Romanian activists as a full opportunity to reach officials who can make a difference for Romania’s precious natural heritage:

The first official environmental meeting took place in Timisoara where experts on climate change met to address issues, but unfortunately, they did not focus on the old-growth and virgin forests, which are, one of the best and most powerful weapon against climate change. 

The first protest, which took place in Timisoara, stopped before it started, being blocked by the police, despite the peaceful approach of the two activists who were wearing a double-head T-shirt with a clear cut and the message “Welcome to Romania.” This turned into a media story, as the action was fully legal, peaceful and justified. 

The next meeting was in Brasov, where all EU Directors on nature met in a hotel’s conference hall. Agent Green had reserved a room for a press conference on forests in the hotel as well but the room was denied one day before the conference. But for dedicated activists who care for their and the next generation’s future this is not a barrier. The conference did take place, but in the middle of the street, in front of the building. The action brought big media converage as the many journalist had the chance to face the EU directors with the true infromation they had just received from the activists outside. A similar action was done by Agent Green activists during a EU representatives Meeting in Bistrita.

The EU leaders meeting in Sibiu was preceded by an official public letter sent by Agent Green and EuroNatur to all the leaders – a call for help and intervention, referring to the latest IPBES Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report. Unfortunately, only two answers were recieved. These were extremely appreciated, but the problem of Europe’s last virgin forests is a matter of continental interest and it is sad that, especially the environmental-related delegates, seam not to care. The rest of the 26 countries should be aware that they are also responsible for the natural heritage protection and that these are Europe’s last virgin forests and several thousands of years old.

Furthermore, the environment ministers met in Bucharest at the Palace of the Parliament. This time, the organization called for those whose future they are fighting for: the children. Special occasions require special measures: a huge collective painting event, where families and children were invited to paint the entire street from the front of the Palace of the Parliament. The painting had tremendous success among pedestriants, employees of the Parliament and internet users, having been photographed hundreds and hundreds of times.

Commissioner Vella’s press statement following the event was a light of hope that the efforts reached the goal: “The IPBES Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services session made this starkly clear.
Let’s be blunt: if we fail to alter the fate of biodiversity and ecosystem loss, achieving the Paris Agreement objectives and the Sustainable Development Goals is nothing more than an illusion…
We need to rapidly improve the implementation of existing policy instruments…The link between climate change and biodiversity loss is clearly on everyone’s radar.

Last but not least, the Meeting in Gura Humorului was dedicated exclusively to forests. All the forest directors in the EU met in Romania’s most forested area. Included in the agenda was a trip to a beautiful virgin forest. Agent Green requersted to accompany the trip to ensure that also the reality of many other forests in Romania would be presented, was denied. Therefore, the activists launched an online call for the public – send emails to the ministry in order to ask them to show transparency for such meetings. Hundreds of people responded and wrote to the ministry but still the meeting remained closed. So, the activists found out the trip area and managed to hand out newly released leaflets with data to the situation of Romanian forests to the Ministers. This data is extracted exclusively from official documents, which were deliberately omitted in a meeting that could prove essential for the future of the next generations.

Even after the Romanian EU presidency, Agent Green And EuroNatur together with activists, other NGOs and civil Society will continue to put pressure on the Romanian Government and the EU until the Romanian virgin forests are seariously protected.

by Alina Florescu

 

Action in Bistrita
Action in Brasov
Action in Bucharest: The dear in front of the parliament
Action in Bucharest: Children drawing to raise awarness to the ministers to take action to save their future
Action in Bucharest: Children drawing infron of the parliament

Romania Auctions Paradise Forests in Domogled National Park for Logging

Romania’s state forestry agency, Romsilva, has auctioned an old growth forest with an average age of 210 years for exploitation right in the heart of Domogled – Cerna Valley National Park. Ironically, Romsilva is also in charge of national park management.

This extremely valuable and biodiversity rich forest with many very old trees should have been included in the park’s non-intervention area, the Romanian NGO Agent Green stated. Local farmers took out only selected branches for fire wood. They respected the very old trees and did not cut them. Therefore this forest is an example of low impact farming and coexistence of small scale farming and close to nature forests. Commercial logging plans of Romsilva would eliminate this unique cultural and natural area. 

Just a few weeks ago, environmentalists raised the alarm because Romsilva had issued permission to log a primary forest in the upper Cerna valley. The forest is also located in the heart of the national park, in an almost untouched side valley – amidst large, intact ancient beech forests.

Ciprian Pahonţu, the director of Romsilva, has recently given a commitment to Agent Green to increase the non-intervention areas in forests of national parks. However, logging is allowed in more than 50% of the park, and each new logging operation in primary forest will justify new “conservation cutting” in the centuries to come. The current non-intervention zone of the park includes large unproductive alpine areas above the tree line, and many of the parks natural forests lack protection and are progressively being destroyed.

According to criteria by the international nature conservation organisation IUCN national parks should have non interventions zones of at least 75% of its territory.

Domogled – Valea Cernei is a designated EU Natura 2000 site,  which says, that “Member States shall take appropriate steps to avoid, in the special areas of conservation, the deterioration of natural habitats and the habitats of species as well as disturbance of the species for which the areas have been designated, in so far as such disturbance could be significant in relation to the objectives of this Directive.” Progessive logging of large areas of primary forests is cleary a “significant disturbance”.

In the entire national park numerous primary and old growth forest parcels have been opened for logging in the recent years. Before the loggers entered, many of these forests met the criteria for virgin forests as defined by the Governmental protocols. It is obvious that these highly valuable forests do not currently have any protection status, despite the fact that they are in a national park and a Natura 2000 site.

Agent Green claims that the exploitation of old growth and primary forests – in particular in national parks – is a deliberate and irreversible ecological crime. Thus the Romanian Ministry of Environment must hold Romsilva accountable for the damage they have so far made and immediately prevent it from proceeding with and further primary and old growth forest destruction. 

Global natural heritage: primary beech forest in Domogled national park
Brutal devastation of a natural forest in Cerna valley / Domogled national park.
In the middle of the national park there is a big hole in the protection scheme. All forests there have no protection, logging proceeds.


Romania’s old-growth forests under immediate threat

EuroNatur and Agent Green raise the alarm: forest industry groups and Ministry push for lower fines for illegal logging and destruction of primeval forests in Romania

#SaveParadiseForests: Launch of international campaign to protect Europe’s last paradise forests

Bucharest, Radolfzell, 3 March 2017. Romania hosts about two thirds of the European Union’s old-growth forests. The Carpathian Mountains in Romania are home to one of the greatest treasures of Europe’s natural heritage. However, largely unnoticed by the European public, in recent years tens of thousands of hectares of old-growth forests have been permanently destroyed. Even national parks and Natura 2000 sites cannot protect the forests from the chainsaws – large parts of the destruction of old-growth forests take place right in these areas.

In order to make this ecological tragedy an international issue, nature conservation foundation EuroNatur and Romanian NGO Agent Green now launch the joint campaign “SaveParadiseForests”.

“The Romanian government has to live up to its responsibility for the European natural heritage. Europe’s last paradise forests can only be saved by an immediate moratorium on logging on all forest areas that potentially include old-growth forests. Once primeval forests are destroyed, it takes many centuries until forests can reach a comparable ecological quality again”, states EuroNatur CEO Gabriel Schwaderer. “Particularly old-growth forests on state-owned land must receive strict protection immediately.”

The Romanian parliament currently discusses a bill which would dramatically lower the maximum penalties for illegal logging. This might further aggravate the forests’ situation. “Reducing fines for illegal logging by 90% is a completely wrong signal. Destruction of old-growth forests must not be downgraded to trivial offence. People in Romania are fed up with corruption and misgovernment. Criminal activities are a main reason for forest destruction in Romania. This law of amnesty for forest destruction therefore has to be discarded”, demands Gabriel Paun, president of Romanian nature conservation NGO Agent Green. On the contrary, he calls on the government to strongly increase penalties for illegal logging and for destruction of old-growth forests.

Agent Green and EuroNatur jointly call on the international public to sign a petition to protect old-growth forests in Romania. “The more people sign this international call, the stronger is our message to the Romanian government”, says Gabriel Paun.

Fagaras Natura 2000 Site, Romania - July 2016: Ancient forest and logging in the southern Carpathians.
Wild Boia Mica valley, Fagaras Natura 2000 Site.