photo by Margaret Klemens/GreenpeaseCarpathian forests are constantly threatened by irresponsible human activities – all hr in Carpathians, a forest with 5 football fields is destroyed – Greenpeace appeals to politiciansTo end the reckless demolition of this area
Greenpeace emphasizes that Carpathians are 1 of the most crucial habitats of wildlife in Europe, an ally in the fight against the climate crisis and the large extinction of species. Carpathian forests are home to lynxes, brown bears, vipers, wolves and many another species, besides threatened with extinction. The centuries-old Carpathian forests store immense amounts of coal captured from the atmosphere – we must yet seriously defend 1 of Europe's largest natural treasures – considers Greenpeace.
In the full Carpathians – from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, to Hungary and Austria – only 3% of forests are free of cuts and destructive human activities – read on the organisation website. The current strategy of Carpathian protection is inconsistent, different in each country through which forests run. For irresponsible forest management, cutting trees for sale is more crucial than protecting nature.
Greenpeace points out that the solution is simply a supranational EU-funded Carpathic Protection Plan to meet EU biodiversity targets by 2030. Among another things, irresponsible cuts should be banned immediately, a 10-year ban on the construction of fresh forest roads and an area free of human interference should be established.
On this matter, the organisation made an appeal to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission and Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for the Environment and Leaders of the Carpathian States.
The appeal states: “(...) For centuries, Carpathians have been 1 of Europe’s largest chaotic places. Unfortunately, in fresh decades, the existing safety mechanisms have stopped working. Only in 20 years we lost as much as 7.4% of the area of Carpathian forests, which is twice as much as the full population of Paris, Berlin, Rome, Budapest, Brussels and Warsaw. Human activity has besides made Carpathians much more susceptible to the influence of natural factors, specified as storms or gradations of a cork.
The juridical forests are a key component of the network of life. They have large possible to rebuild key, well-functioning ecosystems and store immense amounts of carbon absorbed from the atmosphere. Unfortunately, irresponsible cuts and the construction of fresh roads that fragment forests, as we are witnessing today, have nothing to do with the protection of forests. In a destructive way, it affects wildlife, dirt and water retention. If this way of dealing with forests continues, we will lose the chance to defend what protects us and the EU biodiversity strategy 2030 will not be implemented."
Greenpeace: – We address you as people who have the chance to change the current situation. You can halt the ongoing demolition by giving the Carpathians the highest priority, recognising their uniqueness and developing a strong and effective plan to defend them.
The Carpathian Forests should not be a commodity, but a good thing for local communities. Protecting wildlife and the welfare of the local population should be more crucial than the profit of greedy companies, gaining wood in the Carpathians. In order to do this, an EU-funded plan should be created to defend the chaotic Carpathian nature and guarantee a decent life for local communities (...). Before the plan is ready, it is essential to introduce solutions that will already aid defend the Carpathians. The demolition must be stopped as shortly as possible. To this end, all irresponsible forest management in Carpathian forests should be prohibited immediately and a 10-year moratorium should be established to make fresh forest roads.
photo. Margaret Klemens/Greenpease
