How to save a forest

How to save a forest from the Romanian state

Several thousand hectares of primary and ancient forests have been saved and are now strictly protected following Agent Green’s “Save Cernișoara” campaign. The forests are located in Domogled – Valea Cernei National Park and now also enjoy inclusion in UNESCO World Heritage. The campaign lasted more than 5 years and required complex local, national and international tactics to persuade the Romanian authorities to protect Cernișoara.

“It is strange that our main opponent in the fight to protect Romania’s forests is the state itself, whose general mentality is sick, destructive, unscientific and lacking vision. That is precisely why many dispirited Romanians tell us we are fighting windmills. Once again, we prove otherwise. But overcoming the sick system takes sound documentation, insistence, persistence, consistency, tenacity, altruism, teamwork, strategy, protests, lawsuits and, not least, donations from people who believe in us. This is the recipe that has saved thousands of hectares of ancient forests in Cernișoara, Domogled – Valea Cernei National Park, from felling forever,” says Gabriel Păun, president of Agent Green.

Video montage telling the story of saving Cernișoara (free to share):

Throughout the campaign, Agent Green published several investigations to draw national and international attention to the destruction of Domogled’s last wild valleys, including those in the Cernișoara basin (the Radoteasa and Cărbunele valleys).

The authorities continued to ignore the organisation’s efforts and resorted to a protest right at the foot of Cernișoara, where they caught a Romsilva convoy alongside a representative of the European Parliament.

The forests were subsequently included in UNESCO World Heritage, but felling continued. Agent Green then filed complaints with the European Commission and brought court proceedings against the environment ministry and Romsilva. The organisation won all the court cases, appeals and extraordinary remedies brought by the ministry and Romsilva. The cases reached the High Court of Cassation and Justice, and the final and binding decision favours Agent Green and the forests, which must remain untouched.

“The public is on nature’s side, justice is starting to help too, but the biggest problem remains the mentality of the Romanian state. Changing this mentality is Agent Green’s next priority project,” Păun concluded.