Illegal logging in Romania, on Supreme Defence Council agenda

The issue of deforestation and illegal logging in Romania, which made tens of thousands of Romanians take to the streets last Saturday, will be discussed in the first meeting of the country’s Supreme Defence Council, said president Klaus Iohannis. People protested against the abusive deforestation and the authorities’ lack of reaction. Some 31,000 hectares of forest have been cut between 2007 and 2013, according to the National Institute of Statistics. However, protesters complained that these figures don’t reflect the reality and that the real problem are the unreported data. Last week, Washington-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) published a documentary which showed that Austrian company Holzindustrie Schweighofer Romania bought illegally harvested timber. Schweighofer is the largest company which exploits wood in Romania. In 2013 it posted a turnover of EUR 470 million and a profit of EUR 100 million. The company exports over 80% of its local production. editor@romania-insider.com