Agent Green protest to stop Transelectrica’s deforestation through 14 protected areas
4 March 2020 — Iardaștița Nature Reserve, Băile Herculane, Caraș-Severin County
Several dozen Agent Green activists protested yesterday at the construction site in the virgin forest at Iardaștița, one of the 14 protected natural areas being destroyed by the construction of the Arad–Reșița–Porțile de Fier overhead power line (LEA).
“This deforestation shows that the Romanian Government has not understood that it is facing infringement proceedings over forests and is only worsening the situation for our country,” said Gabriel Păun, President of Agent Green.
Climbing activists from the environmental organisation ROBIN WOOD also joined the action, displaying a huge 50-metre-long banner bearing the message “SAVE ROMANIAN PRIMARY FORESTS”. The Romanian activists brought banners reading “The Porțile de Fier–Reșița Power Line, NOT Through National Parks”. They called the Forest Guard and the Environmental Guard, asking them to suspend work along this route and carry it out on routes that avoid protected natural areas.
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“The Transelectrica project is the epitome of corruption in Romania. The beneficiary has all kinds of permits and approvals to lend an appearance of legality to the destruction of 14 protected natural areas with the backing of Romania’s Parliament and Government. We cannot let them continue under any circumstances. We have initiated legal action in the Court of Appeal against all the authorities and filed a complaint with the European Commission. We expect swift infringement proceedings,” Păun added.
The Porțile de Fier–Anina–Arad overhead power line project received a building permit in 2013. Work only began in 2019, following the adoption of Law 120/2019, a law that applies retroactively and establishes numerous derogations from forestry legislation on protected areas and from construction law. It thus permits the power line to pass through the integral protection zones of national parks, the reduction of the national forest estate without compensation, permanent validity of the building permit, etc.
“Implementing projects in this way, in breach of all Community and national legislation, is abusive, and the environmental damage caused is impossible to remedy. This power line could have been built legally along a harmless route without the need for legislation that breaches the fundamental principles of the rule of law,” said Cătălina Rădulescu, Agent Green’s lawyer.
“There are major problems with the environmental agreement that require an immediate halt to the works. Massive deforestation is taking place through 14 protected areas over a length of 30.39 km, without alternative routes being taken into account,” said Veronica Tulpan, Agent Green’s campaign coordinator.
“The Romanian Government’s inability to manage irreplaceable primary forests shows that activists from around the world must come together to defend them. Europe’s last virgin forests must not be destroyed. We depend on these ecosystems, which no technology can replace,” said Jana Ballenthien, Campaigner at ROBIN WOOD.
Agent Green calls on the Romanian Government to immediately stop deforestation for the construction of the 400 kV overhead power line (LEA) and offer alternative routes outside the 14 protected natural areas. The organisation has also launched a petition addressed to the Prime Minister: https://campaniamea.declic.ro/petitions/linia-electrica-portile-de-fier-resita-nu-prin-parcurile-nationale
Press contacts
Veronica TULPAN, Campaign Coordinator, Agent Green, veronica.tulpan@agentgreen.org, 0723387203
Cătălina RĂDULESCU, Lawyer, Agent Green, info@agentgreen.org, 0740161116,
Jana Ballenthien, Robin Wood, wald@robinwood.de, +4940 38089211
By signing the petition, you too can ask Transelectrica and the Ministry of the Environment to defend this valuable heritage, stop deforestation and find alternative routes.
The road on the right did not exist a few weeks ago. The landscape cannot be restored to its original form as required by law, because the rock was blasted.
