Romania’s Vanishing Forests

Tha coilltean Romàinia a' còmhdach cha mhòr an treas cuid dhen dùthaich. Tha mòran dhiubh nan coilltean seann-fhàs, le craobhan ceudan de bhliadhnaichean a dh'aois nan dachaigh do mhathain, madaidhean-allaidh, lincean, fiù 's tairbh-allaidh. Tha iad air maireachdainn, gu ìre mhòr gun atharrachadh, bhon linn-deighe mu dheireadh – àrainneachdan sònraichte de chudromachd cruinneil, gu sònraichte anns an t-strì an aghaidh atharrachadh na gnàth-shìde.

Ach, tha coilltean Romàinia fo chunnart bho leagail-chraobhan mì-laghail. Tha gnìomhachas an fhiodh na chùis mhòr ann an Romàinia. Tha e a' cunntais airson 3.5% de GDP na dùthcha, agus a' cumail obair ri timcheall air 150,000 neach – cuid dhiubh ann an sgìrean dùthchail far a bheil e tric doirbh obair idir a lorg. Tha iarrtas a tha a' sìor èirigh airson fiodh airson togalaichean, àirneis, agus fiù 's connadh a' ciallachadh chothroman dhaibhsan a tha deònach an lagh a bhriseadh.

Tha an dàrna leth dhen fhiodh ann an Romàinia ga ghearradh gu mì-laghail. Tha e tric a' tachairt le craobhan gan leagail agus gan giullachd far-leabhraichean. Suidheachadh le mar eisimpleir 200 craobh air an gearradh sìos, ach dìreach 100 clàraichte gu h-oifigeil. An còrr a' dol à sealladh, do mhargaidh dhubh an fhiodh. Gun chìsean agus gun chlàradh. Ach, tha na lotan rim faicinn air an tìr agus air na daoine.

Tha Riaghaltas Romàinia air siostaman ùra sgrùdaidh is clàraidh a stèidheachadh sna bliadhnaichean mu dheireadh gus coilltearachd mì-laghail a leantainn agus leigeil le daoine aithris ma tha amharas orra gu bheil eucoir a' tachairt. Ach, tha an duilgheadas a' leantainn. Tha agus an call agus am milleadh a tha ga dhèanamh.

Romania's forests cover almost a third of the country. Much of it is old growth forest, with trees hundreds of years old, home to bear, wolf, lynx and even bison. These forests have survived, largely unchanged, since the last ice age – unique habitats of global significance, not least in the fight against climate change.

However, Romania's forests are under threat from illegal logging. The timber industry is a big deal in Romania. It counts for 3.5% of GDP, and employs around 150,000 people – largely in rural areas where employment can be hard to come by. Rising demand for timber to be used for construction, furniture, and even firewood, means opportunity for those who are willing to break the law.

Half of all timber in Romania is felled illegally. Much of this is in the form of trees felled and processed off-books. Two hundred trees are felled for example, with only 100 recorded officially, the other 100 disappearing into the black timber market. Untaxed, and unrecorded. But the scars are visible on the landscape and its people.

The Romanian Government has established new monitoring and tracking systems in recent years to keep track of deforestation and to allow the reporting of illegal activity. However, the problem persists, as does the loss and damage caused.