The last great primeval forests in the EU are disappearing at a breathtaking speed e.g., Białowieża in Poland. Now, in Romania another drama is taking place. Trees in national parks – even those that are part of EU’s Natura 2000 network – are being logged.
Only about three per cent of Romania’s 6.5 million hectares of forests are old growth or primeval, and have never before been systematically used by humans. Nevertheless there is commercial pressure on these forests; newly constructed forest roads have arrived at the last untouched valleys in the Carpathians.
Romanian investigative journalist Andrei Ciurcanu, with the support of environmental NGOs EuroNatur and Agent Green, took a film crew to examine the extent of the logging. They found that the destruction of the primeval forests is being carried out with the knowledge of authorities and park administrations.
Recently released, the film portrays the alarming situation in Romania’s largest national park: Domogled-Valea Cernei. It is included in Natura 2000 and the UNESCO Beech Forest World Heritage Site but only 50 per cent of its forests are protected.
Alarmingly, EU funds are being used to build roads through these virgin forests to log them.
Image from EuroNatur and Agent Green's video "Out of Control".