Inspections for 'combating illegal deforestation'

The over 12.000 joint actions of the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of the Environment have led to a slight decrease in the rate of illegal deforestation and to an increase in the rate of forest crimes since the beginning of the year, according to authorities.

The inspections were carried out both on public and private properties, but those on private properties were more thorough because, according to Minister of Environment Laszlo Borbely, they are less guarded and people can steal more easily.

12.000 square metres of forest were illegally cut down in the first four months of 2011, which represents almost 0.2 percent of the entire Romanian forest land that measures 6 million hectares.

The data also show that Harghita, Maramureş, Suceava, Neamţ and Bacău are the counties with the largest forest lands and also with the highest rate of illegal deforestation in Romania.

Following the inspections carried out, over 3 000 crimes were reported and 9 000 fines, worth 193 million lei, were given.

The joint plan of the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of the Environment for preventing and combating forest crimes will be continued in the following six months, according to the representatives of both institutions.

It should be mentioned that at present the Parliament is analyzing an initiative of the Minister of the Environment, Laszlo Borbely, regarding the alteration of the law for punishing illegal deforestation with the purpose of imposing stricter sanctions so as cutting down more than 1 square metre of forest without authorization should be considered a crime. The present limit is 5 square metres.