Posted on February, 28 2018

Bucharest - Protected natural areas and virgin forests in Romania may be impacted by new legislation introduced recently to the country’s lower chamber of parliament for discussion. The draft legal acts aim to facilitate the establishment, extension, modernization, maintenance and operation of public utility systems in strictly protected areas, nature reserves as well as areas included or likely to be included in the National Catalog of Virgin and Quasi-Virgin Forests in Romania. While these utilities are not defined in detail, they could refer for example to the construction of roads, water pipes or power lines. 

In a statement WWF-Romania says:
“Considering the possible negative impact of such new legislation on the integrity of protected natural areas, we consider that it is imperative to amend the draft law so as to ensure that damage is avoided and where this is impossible, minimized. To that aim, environmental impact studies must be conducted with full public participation prior to project implementation, which determine the best environmental option.
 
We recognize the right of local communities to sustainable development, which may imply unavoidable infrastructure measures. We also appreciate the need to reduce costs and simplify the procedures when making these investments, but we also have to ensure that treaties and conventions are respected to which Romania is a signatory, including the transposition of the two EU nature directives. 

We will closely follow the evolution of this initiative, constructively engaging to ensure compliance with the provisions on protected areas and forests.”