Romanian authorities and members of the civil society are taking the last necessary steps for including Europe’s largest virgin forest in the UNESCO World Heritage list. Their actions target the virgin beech forests from Nerei Springs Natural Reservation in Romania, which covers an area of over 5,000 sqm.

The experts involved in this project are taking the measurements necessary to mark the exact areas to be included in the list, according to reservation manager Sorin Tudorescu, cited by local Romanialibera.ro.

Experts from the Environment Ministry, as well as experts from the National Forests Administration Romsilva, and those from the National Forest Research and Management Institute are involved in this process. Representatives of environmental organizations such as Greenpeace and WWF Romania also got involved in this project.

Some 65% of Europe’s virgin forests are currently located in Romania’s Caras-Severin county. Some experts’ evaluations show that the minimum age of the beech forests is 450 years.

Nerei Springs Natural Reservation is part of a wider protected area – Semenic-Cheile Carasului Natural Park. Brown bears, gray wolves, lynxes, wildcats, and eagles live in the reservation.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com