Illegal cutting of wood reached alarming proportions, Moldsilva
https://www.ipn.md/en/illegal-cutting-of-wood-reached-alarming-proportions-moldsilva-7967_986275.html
The current administration of Moldsilva State Agency took over the institution with a budget deficit of 65,000 lei. The forestry employees were forced to provide certain services that hindered the process of protecting the wood stock and allowed illegal wood cutting. Moldsilva’s budget this year is very low and many of the planned steps will not be carried out, the Agency’s director Gheorghe Vdovyi said in a news conference held to mark one year of work, Info-Prim Neo reports.
According to Gheorghe Vdovyi, Moldsilva’s capacity was affected mainly by the low number of employees and the illegal cutting of wood that reached alarming proportions when the Agency was managed by the previous administration. The official said that the wood was used as fuel and might have been also exported for making furniture.
Gheorghe Vdovyi said Moldsilva has signed over 700 contracts for the lease of wooded land. All the contracts have been signed in accordance with the Forestry Code. 9 million lei is earned yearly from renting wood. As many as 707 hectares of land have been planted with trees this year.
According to the Audit Office, the former administration of Moldsilva State Agency appropriated 83 million lei from public funds in 2008-2009. Also, Moldsilva provided 211,000 lei in financial assistance to the 20 employees of the Agency. The inefficient management of the wood working process resulted in losses of 5.3 million lei. The companies managed by the Agency misappropriated 2.5 million lei.