According to the data from the authorities, a total of 34,870 cases have been registered. This rise could have been caused by the increase of authority efficiency in identifying and documenting these cases, as well as due to the increased phenomena of illegal logging.
Top counties with most illegal logging cases
The counties that registered the biggest number of illegal logging are Argeș – 3,087 cases, Vrancea – 2,893 cases, and Bacau with 1,882 cases. Arges county registered the biggest number of illegal cases recorded by authorities also during 2013-2014 and 2009-2011.
|
County |
illegal logging cases 2015 |
illegal logging cases 2013-2014 |
|
Argeș |
3087 |
5851 |
|
Vrancea |
2893 |
787 |
|
Bacău |
1882 |
3538 |
|
Suceava |
1616 |
716 |
|
Mureș |
1614 |
3351 |
Sanctions of over 6.6 million euros
Regarding the severity of the crimes, of the total number of illegal logging cases recorded nationally in 2015, 32% of them were registered as crimes for which criminal records were made, while 68% of them were contraventions, for which sanctions were applied of 29,673,250 lei (approx. 6.6 mil. euros).
Of the total of 11,060 crimes at national level, the most were registered in the following counties: Bacau with 697, Arges with 691 and Gorj with 676.
Regarding the value of the contraventions applied by the authorities, Arges county is on the first place, with fines of over 2,704,050 lei. Olt county is on the second place with fines of 2,369,000 lei and Ilfov county, with 2,033,500 lei. The first three counties are totalling a quarter of all the fines nationally applied in the forest sector (23.94%)
First 10 counties according to the value of the contraventions and the number of cases in 2015
|
Nr. |
County |
Number of cases |
Contraventions value |
Value in E (aprox.[1]) |
|
1 |
Argeș |
3087 |
2,704,050 |
600,900 |
|
2 |
Olt |
826 |
2,369,000 |
526,444 |
|
3 |
Ilfov |
79 |
2,033,500 |
451,888 |
|
4 |
Vrancea |
2893 |
1,760,170 |
391,148 |
|
5 |
Suceava |
1616 |
1,745,600 |
384,911 |
|
6 |
Dolj |
855 |
1,238,250 |
275,166 |
|
7 |
Bacău |
1882 |
1,126,150 |
250,255 |
|
8 |
Bihor |
1197 |
1,014,950 |
225,544 |
|
9 |
Mureș |
1614 |
978,500 |
217,444 |
|
10 |
Cluj |
1061 |
969,230 |
215,384 |
54 Forest Radar Calls per day in 2015
Throughout 2015, 19,946 calls were made to the emergency number of 112, to check the legal status of timber transports. Of these, 3,338 were not registered in the database of the illegal logging prevention system (SUMAL), according to legal provisions.
|
No. |
County |
Number of Forest Radar calls |
Illegal transports found |
|
1 |
Brașov |
1942 |
420 |
|
2 |
Hunedoara |
1329 |
262 |
|
3 |
Cluj |
1125 |
238 |
|
4 |
Suceava |
837 |
224 |
|
5 |
Argeș |
851 |
182 |
|
6 |
Bacău |
403 |
108 |
Valentin Sălăgeanu, Greenpeace Romania campaign coordinator said: „The environmental damage sustained by Romania through uncontrolled forest exploitation has two components: illegal logging and non-compliance with technical norms. In many cases, even when the cutting is legal and approved, the logging operations are disastrous and of high impact for the ecosystem. Forest administrators and control bodies have to impose the law and to fine any deviations. The forest is not only tress, but it’s a complex ecosystem that has to be protected by the effects of lack of responsibility”.
Added information (in English)
2015 – Illegal logging report – ISSUU
2015 – Illegal logging report – PDF link
2013-2014 – Illegal logging report
2009-2011 – Illegal logging report
Map of forest loss in Romania – 3 ha/hour
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Greenpeace proposed Vision for Romanian Forests
Contact details
Valentin Sălăgeanu, forest campaign coordinator, [email protected],
+40 735 165 472
Irina Bandrabur, press officer for forest campaign [email protected],
+40 720 780 363