Over 38,000 hectare of virgin forests, older than 140 years, will be transferred from the production area to the protection status, Romanian Environment minister Costel Alexe has announced on Friday.
The decision means that no logging will be allowed in these primeval forests, which will enter a preservation programme.
“We took a decision countrywide through which around 100,000 hectares of forest have a high protection level. 38,000 for the beginning, more precisely 8,364 forests in Romania, older than 140 years, will enter a preservation area where only fitting-out works will be allowed and only on confined areas. No timber exploitation will be allowed anymore,” the minister said.
He also announced he had asked Romsilva – the National Forest Authority – to turn forests that are exploited for timber into protected woods so that they can be protected and preserved.
The minister also said the ministry is in talks with Romsileva and with the environmental NGOs to identify more such areas of secular forests in Romania.