INTERPOL on Fight against Illegal Deforestation in Romania

Illegal deforestation is almost taboo in Romania. All know about it, but not enough is being said, and no action is being taken to counter illegal deforestation. The majestic forests of Romania, which cover 6.6 million hectares, are constantly threatened by illegal deforestation.

In a Eurostat report, forests accounted for 38% of the European Union’s area in 2020. In five Member States, more than half of the territory was covered by forests: Finland (66%), Sweden (63%), Slovenia (61%), Estonia (54%) and Latvia (53%).

On the other hand, the lowest forested area in the EU in 2020 was in Malta (below 1%), the Netherlands (10%), Ireland (11%), Denmark (15%), Cyprus (19%), Hungary and Belgium ( both with 22%), France (27%) and Romania (29%).

What does illegal deforestation mean?

“Illegal deforestation” refers to criminal activity in the forestry sector that spans the entire supply chain, from harvest and transportation to processing and sale. Document fraud, corruption, and money laundering are examples of criminal offences that facilitate such activity.

Criminals take advantage of the lack of communication between law enforcement agencies both within and across borders. Because of this communication gap, criminals are able to avoid detection and export and sell illegally sourced timber into lucrative markets. Such sophisticated crimes, such as timber smuggling and the mixing of illegal and legal timber, can only be combated through multi-agency international cooperation and full supply chain traceability.

According to Interpol, criminals engaged in illegal logging and illicit timber trafficking endanger biodiversity and the livelihoods of those who rely on forest resources. Criminal land clearing, for example, can cause landslides and deny forest-dependent communities access to food, medicine, and fuel.

However, what is presented in this documentary is just the tip of the iceberg in Romania.

Due to the poorly made laws in Romania on this sector, the wood is stolen as much as possible, both by Romanians and foreigners. There is no public institution to deal with the issue of deforestation in Romania, and any illegal activity cannot be prosecuted due to ”various reasons”.

Here is what happened in September 2021, with a group of journalists investigating illegal logging in Romania:

Illegal deforestation in Romania

In September 2021, two journalists and an environmental activist were beaten while working on a project about the illicit wood trade in the woods of Suceava, Romania, where Ikea owns thousands of hectares of forests.

The filmmakers, Mihai Dragolea, Radu Mocanu, a cameraman and Tiberiu Bosutar, a former wood chipper turned activist, were beaten by 20 individuals who attacked them with sticks and axes because they were trying to film the illegal wood trade. The accident concluded with the two journalists and Tiberiu Bosutar badly wounded in the hospital and their equipment destroyed. The Romanian authorities weren’t helpful in this case; the assailants were released and placed under juridical control.

Romania has one of the richest forests in Europe and is home to one of the most extensive old-growth forests left in the world, which can represent a tempting source of wood for any furniture producer, such as Ikea.

IKEA Owns 49,000 hectares in Romania

The representatives of the Swedish giant, IKEA, claim that, in total, they own 49,000 hectares of forests in Romania, and it has its forest district. This case is applied to the Swedish company and many other foreign companies.

In Romania, the state-owned company, Romsilva, manages 3.14 million hectares, representing a percentage of 48 of the country’s total forest fund. Fifteen owners together own over 3.35 million hectares of forest in Romania, representing 51% of the total forest fund in the country. According to unofficial estimations, this scenario is getting more dramatic for Romania because it loses 3 hectares of forest an hour.

Unsustainable business model: IKEA

Alender Sammon, a former reporter at The New Republic, developed this matter in the article IKEA’s Race for the Lasts of Europe’s Old-Growth Forests.

He visited Romania and went to the forests in the region of Focsani, near a lower-elevation forest where Ikea owns some 5,000 hectares. He found out how this illegal operation affects Romanian forests. Visiting one of IKEA’s land properties, he saw how 80-100-year-old trees were cut down for IKEA’s profit, and in no case sick seedlings or logs.

On my last day in Romania, I stopped by Ikea’s store in Bucharest, curious if there would be any indication of the company’s investment in the local environment, any display of its sustainability pledges in a country where they might actually be visible. Armed with the Google translate app, I skulked around the showroom floor, finding beechwood dining sets, spruce particleboard, and more, but no mention of the furniture’s hometown heritage. In the lobby, a display read, WE USE WOOD RESPONSIBLY. I left empty-handed, with no intention to return

Alender Sammon, The New Republic

Alexander Sammon also added that Ikea makes it difficult to trace the provenance of its furniture. Often an Ikea box will claim a country of origin that indicates only the last link in the manufacturing chain: MADE IN VIETNAM, for example. Sometimes it will tell you even less: MADE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION. 

Romania is still confronting illegal logging

In our previous articles on the subject, illegal logging has been highlighted. Illegal logging is a real problem in Romania, and the solutions are still in hand, despite the harm already done. Europe is urging Romania to save its primaeval forests. From this point of view, Romania still has 525,000 ha of virgin forests left and remains the wealthiest country in the European Union, except for the Scandinavian countries. The funny thing is that Greta Thunberg is no less Swedish than the furniture giant IKEA.