Experts from the international environmental organization Greenpeace recorded the deforestation of 4 hectares of forests in the Carpathians every hour in eight countries
This is evidenced by the results of a new study by Greenpeace.
According to ecologists, the system of protection of the Carpathian forests is very low in order to store them properly. And most of all forests are threatened by cuttings and forest roads.
“The Carpathian forests are one of Europe’s last wildlife refuges. The largest European population of brown bears, apart from Russia, lives here,” conservationists say.
In addition, the Carpathian forest is home to thousands of different species of animals and plants. Among them, species such as rice, black storks, golden eagles are protected.
Relatively large areas of forests and ancient forests have been preserved in the Carpathians.
“These unique ecosystems are vital to the conservation of biodiversity and the fight against climate change. However, we continue to lose them,” environmentalists say.
According to Greenpeace, the main threat to the forests of the Carpathians is irresponsible forest management. After all, it is aimed at obtaining more wood, and not at protecting ecosystems.
This is more than the area of Paris, Berlin, Rome, Budapest, Warsaw and Brussels combined.
Greenpeace noted that 4 hectares of Carpathian forests are cut down every hour on the territory of 8 Carpathian countries (Ukraine, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia and Austria).
In addition to logging, new forest roads also pose a great threat.
“The authorities of the Carpathian countries, including Ukraine, have repeatedly declared the need to build new forest roads in the Carpathians.
But most of these roads are being built to previously hard-to-reach inviolable forests for their further felling,” the Ukrainian Environmental Group emphasizes.
According to Greenpeace, the current system of protection of the Carpathians is insufficient to preserve them.
Only 3% of the Carpathians are under strict protection, that is, preserved from logging and other interference.
For Ukraine separately, this figure is somewhat higher – about 4-5%, but still insufficient for real protection.
The nominal area of protected areas in the Carpathians is larger, but in most of these areas of Ukraine (national parks or wildlife sanctuaries) certain logging is still allowed.
