A giant pair of glasses for the environment minister

Agent Green protest at the Ministry of the Environment:

A moratorium is demanded to protect all remaining virgin forests
28 July 2020, Bucharest — A giant pair of glasses was brought outside the Ministry of the Environment to help the authorities see more clearly the files for the last intact forests awaiting strict protection through inclusion in Romania’s National Catalogue of Virgin Forests.

On 15 May, the environment minister, Mr Costel Alexe, declared that “As of today, 40,000 hectares of new virgin and quasi-virgin forests in Romania are under strict protection”[1]. “In reality, not a single hectare of virgin forest has been protected between then and today. The Catalogue contains only 30,000 hectares, of which 29,000 were protected by the technocratic government and the PSD-led government, pushed by NGOs,” accuses Gabriel Păun, president of Agent Green.

Back in April, Agent Green had published the report[2] showing that 80% of the virgin forests for which studies have been prepared have not been included in the National Catalogue. Substantiation studies were submitted for approximately 132 forest blocks totalling 30,335 hectares. Of the studies submitted, 24,260 hectares were rejected, lost or blocked by the authorities at various stages, representing 80% of all submitted studies. Only 6,075 hectares for which studies were submitted were approved and accepted.

Recently, the environment minister announced that the 40,000 hectares are actually 39,865 hectares of forest that are not yet strictly protected but have been put out to tender for the preparation of substantiation studies to identify virgin and quasi-virgin forests. “We do not understand why public money is being thrown out of the window and a particular area is being tendered instead of imposing a moratorium on all potentially virgin forests. Then, if someone proves they are not virgin, they can be taken out of strict protection. While the Government promises, there is delay; the last virgin forests are being pierced by new roads where none ever existed, and logging is taking place. This is the case of Valea Sâmbetei in Făgăraș,” Păun added.

The lack of concrete action to protect virgin forests in Natura 2000 protected areas and their constant decimation have prompted the European Commission to initiate infringement proceedings. The Ministry of the Environment will have to answer for delaying decisions through which tens of thousands of hectares of forest awaiting protection are brought into the logging circuit and, implicitly, into the National Catalogue of Lost Virgin Forests.

Agent Green calls on the Ministry of the Environment to impose a moratorium on all potentially virgin, primary and old-growth forests and to protect them strictly until proven otherwise.

VIDEO ANTENA 1

Archive note: the original link to the television item redirects to the homepage; the original item could not be recovered.

Press contact:
Veronica TULPAN, veronica.tulpan@agentgreen.org, 0723 387 203

[1] https://www.mmediu.ro/articol/comunicat-de-presa-suprafata-padurilor-virgine-din-romania-se-dubleaza/3318

[2] Catalogue of Lost Virgin Forests — a national failure after 21 years of delay (PDF in Romanian)