Small owners' forests most exposed to illegal clearing (Environment Ministry)

Approximately 700,000 hectares of forest in Romania are currently concerned by Article 20 of the draft Forestry Act, which requires forest management as a condition to harvest more than three cubic meters of wood per hectare and per year; approximately 420,000 hectares of such areas are owned by small proprietors and thus most exposed to illegal clearing, the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forestry replied to public assertions on the call to eliminate the aforementioned article.

Photo credit: (c) Cristian NISTOR / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

The small owners often cannot associate on areas larger than 100 hectares, as required by the current Forestry Act, to manage their forests. Therefore, their wood properties are practically unguarded and unmanaged, as harvesting is theoretically prohibited there. Such properties remain part of the National Forestry Fund, and under the draft Forestry Act their owners could ask the state to pay for the forest management.

Associations representing approximately 700,000 small owners have requested this new legal provision, the Ministry pointed out in a release to AGERPRES on Monday.AGERPRES