Environmental volunteers want to enjoy broader rights and to also have equipment for professional responses when necessary. For its part, the Environmental Protection Inspectorate said that the regulations on volunteer inspectors should be reviewed so as to specify the rights of these volunteers and their equipment.

In a news conference hosted by IPN, volunteer environmental inspector Nicolae Nastasi, a founding member of the public association of volunteer environmental inspectors Rangerii, said that it is essential to amend the environmental legislation so as to extend the rights of volunteer environmental inspectors. For example, these should have the right to ask that permits for cutting trees should be presented to them or even to draw up reports on illegal tree feeling. They would like to have uniforms and equipment.

Ion Bulmaga, head of the Environmental Protection Inspectorate, said that the volunteer inspectors could join the environmental inspectors in performing weekly raids at the local level. As regards the outfitting of the volunteer environmental inspectors, the whole environmental protection system is being reformed and, together with the reform of the Environmental Protection Inspectorate, a project to the value of over 1.2 million lei to outfit the inspectors will be implemented. The equipment will include the purchase of company cars, drones, computers.

The Inspectorate’s head confirmed that the regulations on volunteer inspectors should be reviewed so as to specify their rights. He noted that only three cases of lifting of hunter’s guns from poachers as a result of reports received from volunteer environmental inspectors have been recorded the past three months.

Ion Bulmaga called on members of NGOs that deal with environmental issues to apply and obtain the status of environmental volunteer and to not only contribute to the education of society, but to also improve the quality of the environment.

Note: IPN News Agency offers the right of reply to persons who consider they were touched by the news items produced based on statements made by the organizers of the given news conference, including by facilitating the organization of another news conference in similar conditions.