Romania To Toughen Law to Protect Forests

After over two years of discussions, Romania is to finally adopt changes to the Forest Law to better protect the country's forests against the actions of illegal loggers.

The draft law makes illegally chopping down trees a crime, with a five-fold increase to the penalties. It also aims to prescribe the use and processing of wood by the big companies that dominate the forestry sector in Romania.

The law was approved in February by parliament's second chamber, the Camera Deputatilor, but was returned for re-examination by President Klaus Iohannis becauses it limited economic activity.

Romania is more affected by illegal logging than any country in Europe. Some 80 million cubic metres of wood were illegally logged over the past 20 years, resulting in a loss of 5 billion euro, according to official data.

A report released on Monday by the US branch of the Environmental Investigation Agency, EIA, says even the biggest wood product companies are involved in illegal logging. The EIA presented hidden camera footage that it says shows officials from Austria's Holzindustrie Schweighofer, which dominates the forestry sector in Romania, agreeing to a possible purchase of illegally harvested timber and even promising bonuses to the seller.

The Austrian company has denied the charges and said that it respects Romania's laws and will launch an internal investigation into the claims.

However, Schweighofer previously criticised Romania's proposed new legislation, saying it interfered "in the affairs of private companies" and would "restrict the free movement of goods, which is contrary to the standards set by the EU."

Romania still has around 6.4 million hectares of forest and 120,000 people employed in the forestry sector.

The...