The article “The new Parliament and Romania’s forests”, published by Ciprian Rus in Formula AS on 11 January 2021, discusses nature protection in the context of the new parliamentary majority. The author starts with Mihai Goțiu’s absence from the new Senate and the allocation of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests to UDMR, in coalition with PNL and USR-PLUS. It recalls criticism of forestry interests associated with some UDMR party officials and Tanczos Barna’s earlier proposal to shoot 4,000 bears, as sources of political, media and civic pressure on the new government.
In this context, the article presents the bill submitted by Mihai Goțiu at the end of his term, after three years of work with advisers and civil-society representatives and visits to national parks. The proposal seeks to change the administration of parks to conserve biodiversity, rather than use them as a source of income for interest groups.
The two approaches described are banning logging and other activities that affect national parks, and providing public funding for them. It highlights long-term benefits for local communities and compensation for those with legitimate interests and rights in these parks, in keeping with the principle that no one should lose out. The article links discussion of the bill, then awaiting consideration at the Senate secretariat, to the new majority’s priorities and its responsibility for protecting nature.
Original source: Ciprian Rus, “Noul Parlament și pădurile României”, Formula AS, 2021/01/11.
