AmCham: New Forestry Code can destroy Romania’s forests

The new project to change Romania’s Forestry Code, which was recently adopted by the Senate, does not ensure “real security” for Romania’s forests, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania, AmCham. “The amendments proposed under this draft law are far from solving the dramatic problem posed by the ongoing illegal deforestations and retrocessions,” said AmCham representatives. The project was submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making forum, following an emergency procedure. On behalf of the business community, AmCham expressed deep concern over certain provisions of the draft law that do not appear to impose measures intended to ensure a real and sustainable safety of the national forest area. These include: protective forest belts and of wooded pastures with a denseness higher than or equal to 0.4 excluded from the national forest area; possibility to build at a 50 meters distance from the forest margin; drop in planned afforested areas by 2035, from 2 million hectares, an obligation assumed by the Romanian state, to 1 million hectares by 2030. The organization asked the Chamber of Deputies to analyze thoroughly the draft law adopted by the Senate and the disastrous medium and long-term effects which the proposed amendments can have on the national forest area, on the national economy and on the ecologic balance. AmCham also suggested some measures the Government should take in order to stop illegal deforestation, such as: a 6-month moratorium to suspend forest concessions and exploitation permits, real-time implementation of a monitoring system for wood transportation in all the counties and stocktaking of the areas affected by massive logging and development of a national afforestation plan. “Given the frequent floods and landslides of the last years that had catastrophic effects on certain regions of the country, the role played of the national forest area has become vital for communities, whereas the changes proposed under the new Forestry Code – especially the diminution of the land surface to be afforested by the Romanian State – do nothing but aggravate the situation and pose a risk to the safety of the population from the areas prone to such disasters,” AmCham representatives concluded. editor@romania-insider.com