Forester Dan Turiga and biologist Jon Holban have discovered suspicious changes in satellite images in the forests of the Southern Carpathians - where nearly 200-year-old trees are still found. The two assume that this is illegal logging and are determined to document what has been done. A report on the subject was also broadcast by the German public media ARD.
In Romania, there are still huge virgin forests that absorb carbon dioxide and contribute significantly to the fight against climate change. Mixed forests are giant reservoirs of carbon dioxide, but they are endangered because nearly a third of them have been cut down, the media outlet notes.
How the "wood mafia" works
Forester Touriga explains to the German publication how the "wood mafia" works: trees are declared damaged, dried up or dead in order to be cut down. In fact, however, this is a pretext for cutting down millions of cubic meters of healthy green wood.
Some of this wood is used for local consumption, while the rest is sold at a profit in EU countries, where demand is growing at the same time as the biomass industry is developing: "The production of pellets further increases the demand for wood from Romanian forests," says Touriga. And this means additional pressure on the forests, ARD points out.
State authorities are often involved
The NGO “Agent Green“, for which Touriga and Holban work, often uncovers cases of illegal logging, in which healthy trees are declared dead, or documents are falsified. Touriga, who previously worked for the state forestry department, speaks of the “green-collar mafia“. He means that state authorities are also involved in these illegal practices. And whoever exposes and publicizes their machinations lives dangerously, says the ARD report.
This is exactly what happened to Gabriel Paun, their colleague from the same NGO. Some time ago, he was beaten so severely that he barely survived. However, the threats against him continued, and this forced him to even leave the country - he now lives in Austria. "Organized crime is most afraid of the truth coming out. And these people neither forget nor forgive. They continue to look for me," Păun told ARD.
Lobby interests undermine the fight for forests
New European directives providing better protection for nature and the climate are due to come into force at the end of this year. But various interest groups and parties are trying to soften the measures. And some EU countries, such as Austria, are even proposing that the law not come into force at all. Anna Cavazzini from the EU Consumer Protection Commission says there is very strong lobbying pressure against the Supply Chain Act - especially from European forest owners.
While politicians are looking for solutions, deforestation continues in the Romanian Carpathians. Dan Turiga feels like he is racing against time: he is trying to document illegal logging and provide the evidence to the control authorities before the "timber mafia" has covered up its criminal activities.
Meanwhile, "Agent Green" has filed a complaint against Romania for violating EU treaties. The aim is to sanction illegal logging and ensure that Romanian forests survive - as some of the last large virgin forests in Europe.
Author: Ana Tilak ARD