Bill seeking to protect forests around Bucharest, one step away from final vote in Parliament

The draft law amending the Forest Code so as to put the entire forest vegetation of Ilfov county under protection is officially one step away from the final vote in Parliament. Ilfov is the county surrounding Bucharest, and if passed, the legislative initiative would be the starting point for creating a green belt around the capital city.

Introduced on April 12 as part of the civic platform Together for the Green Belt/Împreună pentru Centura Verde, the bill reached the Chamber of Deputies this fall after being unanimously passed by the Senate in the summer. 

On Wednesday, November 14, all members of the Chamber of Deputies’ environment committee voted in favour of the legislation, moving the bill one step closer to the last stage in its legislative process in the Parliament. Next, only the agriculture and forestry committee must also issue a report on the legislation before it can reach the final and decisive vote in the Chamber.

Once it passes the Parliament, the draft law also needs to be signed into law by president Klaus Iohannis.

The legislation is one of the main pillars of the Together for the Green Belt civic platform - a call for action focused on solutions to make the Romanian capital a healthier city that brings together more than 150 non-profits, civic groups and public figures. An online public petition with the same goal has gathered more than 11,000 signatures so far, while a memorandum of understanding has been backed by several high-ranking political and executive decision-makers. Among them Bucharest mayor Nicuşor Dan, Ilfov county president Hubert Thuma, and Senate president Nicolae Ciucă.

In fact, representatives of the civic platform say that the Social Democratic Party (PSD) is the only party that still didn’t sign the memorandum. Several of the document’s points of action can be met only with support from executive decision-makers, and thus, the signatures of prime minister Marcel Ciolacu and acting Chamber of Deputies speaker Alfred Simonis are also needed.

“The Bucharest-Ilfov Green Belt represents a project that if we fail to treat with maximum priority and seriousness now, the future will impose it on us anyway, at a much heavier health, economic, ecological and ethical cost,” said Alex Găvan, high altitude climber and founder of the Together for the Green Belt civic platform.

Further details about the civic initiative, a project of the Alex Găvan Foundation, can be found here (in Romanian).

Bucharest is in the top 3 of the most polluted capitals in the European Union. And air pollution not only means health issues for its inhabitants but also translates into an annual cost of EUR 6.35 billion.  

Plus, the Romanian capital is last in the EU when it comes to green space per capita. With approximately 7-9 square meters, the city is far from the 26 square meters it should have, according to the law. At the same time, the forests around Bucharest are systematically decimated, the project initiators say.

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(Photo source: courtesy of Alex Găvan)