Ombudsman Mihail Cotorobai expresses his concern about the illegal tree felling works executed during the state of emergency and the inaction of the central and local authorities responsible for the protection of the forest sector. By a letter to the chairman of the Commission for Exceptional Situations, Prime Minister Ion Chicu, the ombudsman asks to take measures to remedy the situation created in the forest sector, IPN reports.

According to the ombudsman, the public authorities concentrated on the state of emergency and left the management of the national forest sector in the shadow. Mihail Cotorobai considers the press reports about the abuses and arbitrary actions of the authorities that are directly responsible for the management of forests, which run counter to the provisions of the Constitution, are alarming.

The ombudsman notes the authorities should have developed a national action plan for stopping illegal tree felling following the implementation of the Maintaining Forest Order and Governance Program that was launched by the European Union in Moldova. Through the agency of “Moldsilva” Agency, which is subordinate to the executive, the Government is obliged to realize the constitutional prerogatives in the forest sector. Protecting the forests and developing the forest sector by regenerating woods and extending wooded areas are among the Agency’s duties.

For 2006-2010, “Moldsilva” reported that the system for monitoring wood cutting and illegal tree felling showed relatively good results, but for 2018 this reported tree felling works on 26,800  ha and forest regeneration works on 4,900 ha, which is five times less. These data are inversely proportional to the goal of positive management of the forest sector. Authorities’ actions are irrational and can have a negative impact on the environment and on the human rights and freedoms.

Mihail Cototobai said the increasing of fines for illegal acts alone cannot help remedy the situation. The support of the authorities that exercise state control on the laws and other normative documents concerning environmental protection and use of natural resources is needed by improving the legal framework and modernizing the legal control mechanisms and also by strengthening the participatory cooperation of civil society in this regard.