Tag: logging

  • Romania’s virgin forests and their fate

    Romania’s virgin forests and their fate


    The virgin
    forests are the last forest ecosystems where nature has survived in its purest
    form, without being significantly affected by human intervention. Elsewhere around
    Europe, the virgin forests have become almost extinct, yet in Romania, there are
    roughly 250 thousand hectares. Since, 2015, the virgin forests have been
    protected by the law, as they have been included in the Virgin
    and Quasi-virgin Forests Catalogue. In the virgin forest, trees die of old age,
    they fall, they break or they wither rather fast, while the deadwood is
    left there, feeding the ecosystem for the generations to come. The virgin
    forest is home to trees of all ages, from the freshly sprouting seeds to the
    trees that have reached their physiological limit, quite like a community:
    children, parents and the elderly supporting each other, living a harmonious
    and healthy life. Or at least that is what we’ve read in a message posted by
    WWF Romania environment organization on its own site.


    Under
    the crowns of 500-year-old giant trees, living together are over 10, 000 species, ranging from unicellular organisms, mushrooms,
    plants, insects, to big mammals, such as the wild boar, the deer, the chamois,
    the wolf, the lynx, the brown bear. If the virgin forest disappears, with it, a
    thousand-year-old natural evolution cycle disappears too. The virgin forest is a
    living lesson preserved in nature’s genuine laboratories, but also part of Romanian
    local communities’ cultural identity.

    Radu Melu is a national manager of WWF Romania’s
    forest division. He spoke about the importance
    of the virgin forests.


    They are important
    in various respects. If we take biodiversity into account, these forests are important
    because in them we can find those categories of species that need peace and
    quiet, very old trees, large quantities of deadwood, actually all those categories
    of species that live better when man does not intervene in the forest. If we
    have a large landscape, a very large one, with cultivated forest and a forest
    from where wood is extracted, but also some quasi-virgin forest plots where we
    did not intervene, allowing nature to have its own evolution, then we can stand
    the chance to have the whole biodiversity spectrum in that particular area. So,
    it is the biodiversity that contributes something more. These forests come with
    something extra when compared to the cultivated forests. In a separate
    development, these forests have their evolution, in the absence of no human intervention. In
    effect, we see how nature would develop, we have the chance to see how nature
    thinks for its further evolution, if you will, considering climate change.
    As for climate change, we’ve had something like that before, our planet has faced
    these climate changes before and yet, in their wake, nature found its own ways
    of survival. For instance, the beech tree has not been a dominant species before
    the last glaciation. After the last glaciation, the beech tree has developed
    perfectly fine, it has become a dominant species in Europe. It is the solution
    nature found for afforestation and for vegetation to regenerate. Well, then,
    here we are again, asking questions, but we cannot ask nature in a cultivated forest
    or, if the case, with exotic species. We ask nature in such natural forests, in
    such forests whose evolution has never been perturbed by man and we find out,
    we see what direction it takes and we can also imitate the same thing, in the
    cultivated forests.


    In order to be protected by the law, Romania’s virgin
    forests need to be reintroduced in a dedicated catalogue. Such an undertaking is
    in no way simple, yet it is worth the while doing it. The catalogue of the virgin
    and the quasi-virgin forests is a project initiated and permanently supported
    by WWF. The project is operational and held in high esteem by the international
    authorities. Here is Radu Melu once again, this time speaking about
    this forestry protection official instrument


    The catalogue is in fact a base where all the
    forests were included, that have been identified as virgin or quasi-virgin
    forests on the territory of our country. In this catalogue, what we have in
    fact are those plots and sub-plots, as the forest in Romania is divided in these
    basic units known as forest plots, and can be thus identified very easily. They can
    be found there. The information is clear, about the forest district, about the area,
    the county those plots can be found, and they have been included in the
    National catalogue, with their surface area, with all the details, so once a
    new arrangement is being done, that is a new planning stipulating where, what and how
    much can be cut down, those particular surface areas are avoided. There, logging
    is no longer recommended, while the respective surface areas thus remain
    protected forever, since the law no longer allows for the planners to come and
    decide upon certain works, or on logging operations or any other intervention that
    could affect the natural evolution of those forests.


    The Environment, Waters and Forests Ministry updates this
    catalogue periodically. As we speak, a surface area of more than 71,000 hectares
    has been included, of virgin and quasi-virgin forests. The process is ongoing,
    yet more involvement is needed, on the part of the interested entities: forests
    and protected areas administrators, education or research institutions,
    non-governmental organizations.(EN)



  • Environmental reconstruction in the Făgăraş Mountains

    Environmental reconstruction in the Făgăraş Mountains

    The project’s target this spring amounts
    to 100 hectares and benefits from financial support from the European
    Commission through its LIFE programme. 435 thousand seedlings are being planted
    in four environmental reconstruction areas: at Groapele, a region affected by
    massive logging and arsons, Dobroneagu, Valea Dambovitei and Leresti. The
    seedlings of local species either come from Carpathia nurseries or are
    purchased from local producers. Here is Mihai Zota, conservationist director
    with the aforementioned foundation.


    Mihai
    Zota: I can tell you there is a
    long way from planting these seedlings to a real forest, particularly in our
    case as we are trying to rebuild the natural forest environments, which existed
    in this area but have been cut down. It was a certain trend back in the
    communist era, but also after it, to replace forests of beech and sycamore with
    spruce as spruce was believed to be a species which takes to the soil faster
    and its timber can be used in constructions. We are now doing some history
    research in an attempt to identify the real forests that were covering these
    areas in ancient times and try to rebuild them accordingly. This aspect is very
    important to us because we believe that nature knew better than us, people,
    which are the right type of trees to cover a certain area, as this process
    happened in millions of years. And whenever man intervenes, nature fights back
    and we are witnessing all sorts of unwanted phenomena, like the appearance of
    huge swarms of insects, windsnaps, windthrows etc.


    Mr. Zota is actually referring here to an
    environmental reconstruction instead of reforestation because the process of
    creating a new forest entails many more activities besides the actual planting
    of trees.


    Mihai
    Zota: We are conducting tests
    on various hectares in all these areas in an attempt to identify how many
    natural seedlings we are having on the ground. Seedlings appear naturally after
    any logging, but they are not enough to make the forest regenerate by itself. We
    always find seedlings from various species after deforestation. Afterwards we
    are making comparisons between what was the forest like many years ago and then
    we drew our conclusions what species to plant so that we rebuild the forest
    like it was back then. We are not trying to outclass the engineering skills of
    mother nature but we are making some predictions because research shows that in
    the next 50 years, forests are likely to go up at least 100 meters, covering
    more land uphill. And if we are now seeing beech trees at 14 hundred meters up
    in the Fagaras mountains, in 50 years we are going to see it at altitudes of 16
    hundred meters. So, we are trying to take into account these phenomena,
    influenced by global warming of course. After we have identified the
    composition and the number of seedlings we are going to need, we do our work in
    two big stages, in spring and autumn. Why we need two stages? Because we have
    noticed, that due to climate changes, the period of time we can plant these
    seedlings has shortened.


    The seedlings used in this project come
    from two nurseries and greenhouses and they have been grown naturally in good
    conditions, without chemical additives used. So, the process of building a
    forest from scratch isn’t simple at all and needs maintenance works for at
    least seven years. Without the proper monitoring and constant maintenance, such
    barren areas are difficult to be built into real forests. Besides all its
    environmental functions, a forest like this can sustain an entire social
    system. 120 daily workers and scores of forestry employees are presently being
    involved with suchlike reforestation projects.




    (bill)

  • Forest protection measures

    Forest protection measures

    Translated in 20 languages and broadcast in almost 120 countries around the world, the Wild Carpathia documentary produced by the Travel Channel invited nature lovers, a few years ago, to the gorgeous, although lesser known forests in the Carpathian Mountains. Romania has dozens of hectares of virgin forests, a habitat for bears, wolves and lynxes.



    Perhaps the most striking part of the documentary was an interview with Charles, Prince of Wales, an outspoken supporter of this part of Romania, untouched by civilisation. Over the years, Britain’s crown prince has repeatedly called for preserving the Romanian forests and for putting an end to the illegal logging that mutilated vast expanses of forest.



    The problem is that, in spite of the many alarms sounded from abroad, the solution rests with the Romanian officials alone. And unfortunately, some parts of the country seem to have been abandoned by the authorities. This is precisely why the European Commission has given Romania 30 days to put an end to illegal logging, threatening to initiate an infringement procedure unless things change within this deadline. The Liberal environment minister Costel Alexe told a press conference that the European Commission has been warning Romania ever since 2016:



    Costel Alexe: “Back in 2016 Romania was questioned as to why it did nothing to make sure the forest remains forest rather than a treasure to be grabbed by bandits. More than 3 years have passed since then, during which the European Commission has shown patience to all those in charge with this sector and this country. The European Commission has been waiting for 3 years for illegal logging in Romania to be ended. And do you know what I think? That Europe cared more about Romania’s forests than the previous Romanian governments did.”



    Last year, 3 environmental NGOs filed a complaint with the European Commission with respect to the destruction of tens of thousands of hectares of old and virgin forests. They argue that the authorities issue logging permits in protected, Natura 2000 sites, without assessing the impact of logging in those areas. Here is Catalina Radulescu, a lawyer for an NGO called Agent Green:



    Catalina Radulescu: “We are not speaking about one-off cases; the entire legislation and practice in Romania breaches the European legislation. Forests are managed under 10-year forest management plans, which must be approved only after adequate strategic environment assessment has been conducted, focusing of course, first and foremost, on biodiversity in the protected areas. And a ministry order must be passed before these plans can be implemented.”



    Some protected areas that have been subject to illegal logging look like battlefields after a war. And according to the Silva trade union federation, six forest rangers have been killed in the past few years, 2 of them last year alone, while 650 others were assaulted, beaten or shot at when they caught illegal loggers in the act.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • November 29, 2019 UPDATE

    November 29, 2019 UPDATE

    REVOLUTION CASE In Romania, hearings in the trial in which the former president of Romania Ion Iliescu is charged with crimes against humanity, for his involvement in the December 1989 revolution, has been postponed for February 21, 2020, for procedural flaws. Apparently some subpoenas were returned on grounds that either the recipient was dead, or not found at the address. In the first hearing of the case at the High Court of Cassation and Justice on Friday, 3,516 people were subpoenaed, and around 600 of them appeared in Court. Former president Ion Iliescu was represented by his lawyer. The indictment was sent to judges in April. According to prosecutors, against the backdrop of the poor relations between Romania and the USSR after Prague, 1968, and as a result of the general state of public unrest, a dissident group formed, which sought to remove the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu from power, but to maintain Romania under Soviet influence. Prosecutors say this group was made up of civilians and military figures, all marginalised in some way by Ceausescu. Prosecutors also claim the group surrounding Ion Iliescu acted to take over political and military power in December 1989.



    NATO President Klaus Iohannis will take part on Tuesday and Wednesday in the NATO Leaders Meeting in London. According to the Presidency, the meeting takes place in the context of NATOs 70th anniversary. The agenda includes a working session in which the participants will discuss the Alliances priorities in the current international security context. The heads of state and government will also adopt decisions aimed at modernising and strengthening NATOs role in fighting current challenges and threats to Euro-Atlantic security. During the talks, President Iohannis will highlight Romanias contribution to the Alliance and will emphasise the need to bolster its determent and defence posture on the eastern flank and at the Black Sea. On Wednesday the Supreme Defence Council defined Romanias objectives for the NATO meeting.



    UNEMPLOYMENT The unemployment rate in the European Union in October was 6.3%, similar to the previous month and down from 6.7% in the corresponding month of 2018, the European Statistics Office (Eurostat) announced on Friday. This is the lowest unemployment rate in the EU since Eurostat has published monthly reports, namely January 2000. Romania is below the EU average, with a 4% unemployment rate last month, down from 4.1% in September 2019. The highest figures were reported in Greece (16.7% in August) and Spain (14.2%). At the opposite pole, the Czech Republic reported 2.2%, Germany 3.1% and Poland 3.2%.



    EUROPEAN COUNCIL At Fridays handover ceremony, the incoming president of the European Council, Charles Michel, of Belgium, said he wanted Europe to be “confident, self-assured and assertive, and “global leader of the Green Economy. According to AFP, one of the major immediate challenges will be to reach a consensus on the Unions long term climate goals by the next Summit of the European Council in mid-December. In turn, the outgoing president Donald Tusk said “Europe is the best place on Earth, at least as long as it remains a continent of freedom and rule of law, which is inhabited by a community aware of its history and culture. His message was that the common goal of the European leaders should be the unity of the EU. Charles Michel will serve as European Council President for 2 and a half years, and may only be re-elected once.



    PROTEST Hundreds protested on Friday in front of the Environment Ministry in Vienna, against illegal logging in Romania. Representatives of Agent Green, the organisation behind the protest, marched the streets of the Austrian capital city with a banner reading Save Romanian Primary Forest. They say that a number of Austrian companies illegally cut down millions of trees in Romania, and they must be held to account.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • 3 November, 2019

    3 November, 2019

    Government. On Monday, the Romanian Parliament
    will hold a vote on the Liberal government proposed by the prime minister
    designate Ludovic Orban. 233 yes votes are needed for the new government to
    take office. To secure this outcome, Orban has concluded political agreements
    and deals with the Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of Ethnic
    Hungarians in Romania, the People’s Movement Party, the Alliance of Liberals
    and Democrats and the group of ethnic minorities. The Social Democratic Party
    and the Pro Romania party both said their members would be absent from the
    vote. Orban’s cabinet would replace Viorica Dancila’s Social Democratic
    government which was brought down following a no-confidence vote. Ludovic Orban
    has proposed a government with fewer ministries whose priorities include
    picking Romania’s candidate for the position of EU commissioner, the final
    budget adjustment this year and the budget for next year.




    Forests. Environmental NGOs are today holding rallies in Bucharest and
    other cities across Romania such as Cluj Napoca, in the north-west, Iasi, in
    the north-east, Brasov, in the centre, and Constanta, in the south-east.
    Protesters warn about the scale of illegal logging in Romania and the violence perpetrated
    against forest rangers. Illegal logging leads to deforestation, facilitates
    disastrous flooding and exposes local communities to extreme climate phenomena.
    Environmentalists call for the satellite-based monitoring of Romania’s forests,
    the creation of an electronic registry at timber warehouses, the obligatory
    installation of a GPS on all wood transportation vehicles and of traffic surveillance
    cameras at key locations near timber factories and timber warehouses.




    Republic of Moldova. The second round of local elections is taking place
    today in the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a
    majority Romanian-speaking population. The first round was held on the 20th
    of October and a second was needed in 384 municipalities. The biggest prize of
    these elections is the position of mayor of the capital Chisinau, where the
    Socialist candidate Ion Ceban is facing the incumbent interior minister Andrei
    Nastase, the winner of last year’s elections whose result was, however,
    declared illegal. The Party of Socialists, which is close to the president of
    the republic Igor Dodon, has the largest number of candidates in the second
    round, namely 180. The Democratic Party, which was in power until June, has 175
    candidates, while the ACUM Bloc, currently in power in a coalition with the
    Socialists, has 167 candidates. 85 of the candidates in the second round are
    independents.


    NATO exercise. The Romanian navy’s King
    Ferdinand frigate, backed by a Puma Naval helicopter and with a special operations
    naval forces unit on board, is taking part in the Sea Guardian NATO exercise
    under way in the Mediterranean Sea. The Romanian vessel is carrying out
    missions aimed at deterring illegal activities on the NATO and EU southern
    flank coordinated by the NATO Allied Maritime Command. It will stop in the
    Haifa port in Israel and in Limassol, in Cyprus, for recovery and naval
    diplomacy, visits and talks with local civilian and military officials. The
    vessel’s first stopover was the Aksaz port in southern Turkey before joining
    the frigate Navarinon from Greece and the frigate Verni
    from Bulgaria.




    Fair. The 24th
    edition of the Indagra international fair comes to an end today in Bucharest.
    This is the biggest fair for products and equipment related to agriculture,
    wine-making and animal breeding in Romania. This year, it has brought together
    550 exhibitors from 25 countries. Conference and seminars were held during the
    fair on topics such as the innovation-based development of agriculture in
    Romania, promoting Romanian products on the domestic and international market
    and the access of Romanian producers to European funds. Food and wine tasting
    events were also held.




    Tourism. More than 10 million people were registered
    in tourist facilities in Romania in the first nine months of the year,
    according to the latest figures published by the National Institute for
    Statistics. This points to a 4.4% increase compared with the same period last
    year. 80% of the number of tourists were Romanians. With regard to foreign
    tourists, most of them came from Germany, Israel, Italy, the US, Hungary,
    France and Britain. The places attracting the largest number of tourists were
    Bucharest, the Black Sea port of Constanta, Brasov (in the centre), Cluj (in
    the north-west), Mures (in the centre) and Prahova (in the south).




    Handball. The Romanian women’s handball vicechampions
    CSM Bucharest are today facing the Polish side MKS Perla Lublin away in a 4th
    round match as part of the Champions League Group B. The three best-ranked
    sides in each group will advance to the next round. In the men’s competition,
    the Romanian title holders Dinamo Bucharest will be playing against the Swiss
    side Kadetten Schaffhausen in Group D in a home match taking place on the 6th
    of November. We recall that SCM Ramnicu Valcea, the Romanian women’s handball
    champions, narrowly lost to the Montenegrin side Buducnost
    Podgorica 21-20 in a Champions League Group C match on Friday.

  • October 29, 2019

    October 29, 2019

    GOVERNMENT The Romanian Prime Minister designate, the Liberal Ludovic Orban, has signed political agreements with several parliamentary parties, to secure the necessary support in Parliament for his new Cabinet. Parliament is scheduled to vote on the matter on Monday, November 4. In order to be endorsed, the new government needs at least 233 votes. Today and tomorrow, the specialised committees in Parliament are hearing the candidates. Ludovic Orbans Liberal government follows the Social Democratic cabinet headed by Viorica Dancila, which was dismissed on October 10th through a no-confidence vote.




    PROTESTS In Romania, trade unionists in the forestry sector picketed the Chamber of Deputies headquarters in Bucharest on Tuesday, against the backdrop of the growing number of attacks against forestry workers. The 6 foresters killed over the past few years by wood thieves were commemorated, but apart from them, the protesters say, over 650 employees have been assaulted, threatened, and attacked by criminals caught during illegal logging attempts. The unions lobby for immediate changes in the legislation regulating the forestry professions, to the effect of strengthening the authority of foresters.



    MINING In Romania, over 100 coal workers from Paroşeni and Uricani, in the Jiu Valley area in the centre-west of the country, continue to protest underground, for the second consecutive day. They are unhappy with the lack of redundancy packages for the employees to be made redundant early next year. A shut down and renaturation programme at the Paroşeni and Uricani mines was initiated in late December 2017. In 2018 and 2019, operations were conducted to secure the coal deposits and to drain the water from galleries. In 2020 the main ventilation unit is scheduled to shut down, and access to the underground will be sealed.




    AGEING Population ageing is deepening in Romania, with 471,000 more citizens over 65 than children under 14 on July 31st 2019, the National Statistics Institute announced today. The total population by domicile has reached 22.155 million people, 0.1% less than on July 1st, 2018. Urban population and women account for the majority of the Romanian population (56.4% and 51.2% respectively).




    TENNIS The Japanese player Naomi Osaka, number 3 in the world, had to leave the WTA Finals in Shenzhen (China), because of an injury. She was replaced in the Red Group by the Dutch Kiki Bertens, number 10 WTA, who is to play today against the Australian Ashleigh Barty (1 WTA). In the other match today, the Czech Petra Kvitova (6 WTA) takes on the Swiss Belinda Bencic (7 WTA). On Sunday, in the first matches, Osaka outplayed Kvitova, and Ashleigh Barty defeated Bencic. The Romanian Simona Halep (5 WTA) is playing on Wednesday in the Purple Group against the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (8 WTA), and the Canadian Bianca Andreescu (4 WTA) against Karolina Pliskova (2 WTA). On Monday, Halep defeated Andreescu 3-6, 7-6, 6-3, while Svitolina outperformed Pliskova 7-6, 6-4. Simona played the finals of the WTA tournament in Schenzhen in 2014, at her first participation, when she was defeated by the American Serena Williams (9 WTA).


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Illegal logging and the protection of forests

    Illegal logging and the protection of forests

    In the National Afforestation Program, adopted 7 years ago, Romania stipulated the increase of forest surfaces between 2010-2035 by 442,000 hectares. This is a mission which analysts sarcastically label as impossible.



    Because, according to statistics, forest areas can be extended only by 6,379 hectares per year, given the current pace of afforestation, be it artificial or natural, on the one hand, and the pace of logging, on the other. That means Romania would need 60 years to implement the national afforestation program scheduled for only 25 years.



    According to the National Institute of Statistics, the forested area has been extended, though, and this growth is mainly due to redeveloping forested pastures and to introducing degraded and non-forested lands into the forestry stock as established by the Forest Code.



    However, in 2015, a Greenpeace Romania report showed that, in reality, 3 hectares of forest are lost every hour because of illegal logging. Recently, the Romanian ecologists have revealed that the main wood processor on the Romanian market, the Austrian company Holzindustrie Schweighofer, offered bonuses for the wood illegally cut from Romania’s forests, and this stringent issue has eventually reached Romania’s Parliament and Government.



    The civil sanctions for illegal logging and illegal wood transport will be maintained at the level provided for in the government order issued by the former technocratic government, which actually toughened these sanctions. The MPs in the agriculture committee have agreed to also maintain the measure providing for the confiscation of the vehicles transporting the wood cut illegally.



    They will however reanalyze the sanctions for the employees in the forestry field who don’t notify the authorities on the wood theft or are accessories to it. Secretary of state with the Environment Ministry, Şteţco Istrate, admits that the measures are necessary to discourage illegalities.



    Şteţco Istrate: “The employees in the forestry sector could avoid receiving criminal sanctions, they might receive only civil sanctions. We want to strike a balance between the employees’ salaries and the sanctions to be imposed on them in case of illegalities. We do not want sanctions to be eliminated. As regards illegal logging, we will not relax any sanctions. On the contrary, we’ll introduce further sanctions regarding timber traceability.”



    The debate on the law, article by article, will start next week, and the Agriculture Committee is to draft a report that will be submitted to the plenum of the Chamber of Deputies, which is a decision-maker. Meanwhile, the barbaric illegal logging in Romania’s mountains continues, newspapers write.


  • Decisions on Logging in Romania

    Decisions on Logging in Romania

    On Saturday, the Government launched for debate two emergency ordinances meant to tighten up the regulations regarding wood exports and to even suspend them. Environment Ministry experts substantiated the decision, saying they were taken based on “the scope of illegal deforestation in recent years and its consequences on citizens health and safety and on the environment.



    Official data reveal the area of old- and second-growth forests in Romania has been reduced to a half in the last 25 years. Some 27 million cubic meters of forest is cut down every year, of which only 19 million have the legal documents. Of these, 1 million cubic meters of timber is exported as logs or firewood. Under the new emergency ordinance, which the Government is scheduled to pass on Wednesday, all exports of logs, timber and firewood will be suspended until August 31.



    After this date, producers will need to acquire a selling license for all export operations or deliveries within the EU. The document will also stipulate the origin, quantity of each species as well as the destination of timber. Prime Minister Victor Ponta says the Governments measure is an attempt to combat timber mafia.



    Victor Ponta: “The president and I, together with Parliament, can work together to stop this phenomenon, which has been plaguing Romania for years, namely illegal deforestation and the illegal timber market. That being said, on Wednesday we are adopting an emergency ordinance banning log exports, we will strengthen the Environment Guard, the Mountain Rangers and take specific measures to make a difference.



    The two laws are aimed at introducing tighter regulations for the wood market until the new Forestry Code comes into effect. President Klaus Iohannis called on the Chamber of Deputies to re-examine the law. The President and the Liberals in opposition claim some of its provisions are in breach of EU legislation. In response, the Social-Democratic Party, in the ruling coalition, accused the Liberals of promoting the interests of foreign businesses in the wood industry. For the second consecutive weekend, protests were staged in Bucharest and other cities against abusive deforestation in the past 25 years.