The deforestation of primary and natural forests in the Romanian Carpathians is progressing at an almost unstoppable pace. As a result, this unique European natural heritage is in danger of disappearing. The forests, which have grown over centuries, are host to a wide variety of rare animal and plant species. These forests also store large amounts of carbon. As such, they also make a significant contribution to climate protection.
Yet even in national parks and other protected areas, timber is being felled illegally and on a large scale. In order to put an end to this ruthless exploitation, EuroNatur and Romanian nature conservation organisation Agent Green launched the SaveParadiseForests campaign in 2016.
What EuroNatur and its partners are doing to protect primary forests and what we have been able to achieve together:
Identifying primary and natural forest areas: Forests of outstanding importance for biodiversity and climate protection have been identified in the Romanian Carpathians. The PRIMOFARO study commissioned by EuroNatur is, for the first time, providing precise figures on the number of hectares of potential primary and natural forest which still exists in Romania. At over half a million hectares, it is a huge natural treasure. However, the study also shows the enormous scale of the deforestation and destruction of these valuable forests.
Placing forest areas under protection: We have worked to ensure that the Romanian government expands its national forest inventory. In its last revision, 14,000 hectares had been added compared with the previous year’s data. This included the pristine Boia Mica Valley, one of the wildest spots in Europe. Despite this success, the increase to the forest inventory was still far too small.
Arguing in court: With our help, our Romanian partners have been able to initiate and pursue a number of legal actions against illegal logging and have already won some of them. For example, we have already succeeded in getting some logging permits withdrawn and have thus been able to save a large number of forest areas from deforestation. In November 2020, the Court of Appeal in Bucharest granted us the right to access management plans for state owned and private forests. We had often been denied this, in violation of the EU directive on public access to environmental information.
When I touched the bark of an illegally felled beech in the Făgăraș Mountains, tears came to my eyes. It was 300 years old.
Annette Spangenberg, Head of Conservation at EuroNatur
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Join in and help us!
Join the many people getting actively involved to save Europe’s primary forests in the Carpathians. We are grateful for any donation or active contribution you can make! In doing so, you are supporting an independent and networked civil society in Europe, which is campaigning vigorously to protect our last paradise forests. Please help us any way you can!
Romania – Agent Green Report on “Ten methods of theft and reasons for updating SUMAL”, October 2022
Primary forests in Croatia? Almost nobody would have thought that possible. Even among local conservationists and forest experts, they were hardly a topic of discussion. But they still exist – important, little-known primary and old-growth forests in the countries of the Western Balkans (Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, and North Macedonia).
Our Montenegrin partners from CZIP, in the Zeletin forest, which appears to be a primary forest. However, the area has not yet been mapped or confirmed as a primary forest and does not enjoy any protected status.
The task now is to visit these areas hectare by hectare and map them completely as primary or old-growth forests using scientifically recognised methods. Our aim is to find out how endangered the forests are and then to check whether these areas are already under protection. If this is not the case, we will campaign for their protection.
