RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

Romania’s Virgin Forests

230 million hectares of forested land will be wiped out by 2050, if preventive measures are not taken. This warning comes from the latest study compiled by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Romania’s Virgin Forests
Romania’s Virgin Forests

, 29.04.2012, 17:24


230 million hectares of forested land will be wiped out by 2050, if preventive measures are not taken. This warning comes from the latest study compiled by the World Wide Fund for Nature.





Ancient beech forests have already suffered greatly from deforestation. Poor administration in the past few decades has led to the complete disappearance of ancient forests in developed countries, while animal and plant habitats have been strongly affected by human activity.





The cost has been immense, as these virgin forests — also known as ‘old growth forests’’ – are a vital source of fresh water, they absorb carbon dioxide, and also stabilize the soil and climate. Moreover, ancient forests in Romania are home to Europe’s prized large carnivores — the brown bear, the wolf and the lynx.





Ancient, or ‘’virgin’’ forests, cover 0.3 percent of the total area of the Danube-Carpathians eco-region. This amounts to 322 thousand forested hectares, most of which are on Romanian territory. The World Wide Fund has recently launched a campaign entitled “Save the virgin forests”, meant to gain legal protection for Romania’s old-growth forests.





The Fund also warned that 80 percent of these forests are not currently protected by law and many risk being destroyed. One development project aims to build ski-ing facilities in the Ceahlau National Park, while small hydroelectric plants are being built on rivers and creeks throughout the Carpathian chain.





Additionally, building national roads through forested land could destroy animal habitats. Green organizations are condemning these projects, which they say are damaging biodiversity. Here is Gabriel Paun, head of the Agent Green organization.





Gabriel Paun: “Beautiful countries like Austria, Switzerland or France are no longer home to virgin forests and untouched natural scenery. They have been destroyed by human development. It’s too late now to save anything. For example, when Austria was planning to build national parks, they realized they didn’t have much space for it. At present, national parks only cover 2.8 percent of Austria’s territory, and we’re not talking about virgin forests here. At the other end of the spectrum, we have Romania, with the most virgin forests in all of Europe. A study conducted a few years ago by the Institute for Forestry Research and a Dutch institute charted Romania’s virgin forests, finding over 218,000 hectares of old-growth forests in groups of at least 5 hectares each.”





The Retezat National park is home to 5 thousand hectares of wild forests, the biggest such area in all of Europe. In 2009, the park received an award from the European Council in recognition of its stunning scenery, rich flora and fauna, as well as vast old-growth forests. It is here that ecologists have recently discovered the last Intact Forest Landscape in temperate Europe. The only other areas with unbroken expanses of natural forest ecosystems are northern Canada and Russia, and the tropical forests of the Amazon and Congo. Gabriel Paun again at the microphone:







Gabriel Paun: “Recently, this area was the target of barbaric attacks, when a large number of trees in the Rau Ses Valley were cut down, allegedly having been blighted by insects. Far too many trees were cut down and that particular forested area was compromised. It lost part of its untouched landscape. Fortunately, the media was called by environmental protection agencies and a decision was made to increase the area’s level of legal protection. This is a victory we earned one step at a time, but much more is needed to effectively keep that area untouched.”







The Green Agent Organization has recently started an alternative project to preserve biodiversity in this region by getting local communities involved in ecotourism.







Gabriel Paun: “In order to secure long-term protection, we’ve decided to work together with local communities by getting them involved in an alternative regional development program through ecotourism. The film “Wild Carpathia” was recently released, with support from HRH Prince Charles. We’ve began bringing in tourists from the UK and other west-European countries right here in Retezat. All the money they spend on accommodation, on local tour guides, on traditional meals and transport will go to the communities, in order to encourage them to keep their natural heritage intact. Tourists come here to see what their homeland has lost.”







In less than three weeks after the campaign was launched, 72 thousand signatures were gathered to change the legislation on old-growth forests. Environment minister Laszlo Borbely has said that the bill meant to protect these natural treasures will be finalized by the end of the year.







Meanwhile, a protocol of collaboration with the world Wide Fund will be finalized in a few weeks, in order to better protect Romania’s virgin forests. Borbely also announced that the Environment Ministry, together with the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry, has identified European funds worth 100 million euros, to be used to compensate private owners of virgin forest lands.

Climate Change Impact on Romania
Green Planet Friday, 29 November 2024

Climate Change Impact on Romania

In the context of accelerated climate change, the summer of 2024 brought a new series of alarming records at global and regional levels, highlighting...

Climate Change Impact on Romania
Gala Green Report 2024
Green Planet Friday, 25 October 2024

Gala Green Report

The Gala Green Report is an initiative that aims to recognize and reward the local merits of companies, authorities and public figures in the fight...

Gala Green Report
Photo: pixabay.com
Green Planet Friday, 27 September 2024

Via Danubiana

Work is in progress, in Romania, for an ecotourism route, meant to provide the explorer with one-of-a-kind experiences, ranging from the natural and...

Via Danubiana
Artificially widened beaches in Romania
Green Planet Friday, 26 July 2024

Artificially widened beaches in Romania

Extensive works have been carried out on the Romanian Black Sea coast in the last ten years, to widen the beaches, after they suffered a slow but...

Artificially widened beaches in Romania
Green Planet Friday, 31 May 2024

Artificial nests for the Danube falcon

  A number of 60 artificial nests will be placed on high voltage poles in the south of the country this year, the Romanian Ornithological...

Artificial nests for the Danube falcon
Green Planet Friday, 26 April 2024

Noise pollution in Romania

Noise has increasingly become a challenge to modern societies, one that can cause serious health issues, such as heart and circulatory diseases,...

Noise pollution in Romania
Green Planet Friday, 29 March 2024

The Sustainable ’15-minute City’

People live more and more in cities, and this must be taken seriously into account when designing and managing them. The big metropolitan areas face...

The Sustainable ’15-minute City’
Green Planet Friday, 23 February 2024

Wood as a Resource to Reduce Carbon Emissions

Romania has all the resources – forests, wood, processing capacities, specialists and schools – to enter the leading platoon of countries...

Wood as a Resource to Reduce Carbon Emissions

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company