Thousands of people participate in march to defend forests, in Bucharest city center

Over 2,000 persons gathered on Sunday night in the center of Bucharest, near University Square, to participate in a march to defend forests and against violence targeting forest rangers, organized by environment organizations Declic, Agent Green and Greenpeace. 

The march was scheduled to take place between 18:00 and 22:00 hrs, for the route University Square - Mihail Kogalniceanu Square - the Ministry of Waters and Forests, with a column of around 1,000 - 1,500 persons leaving University Square at around 19:30. Along the way other participants joined, among them forest rangers and foresters. 

The persons participating in the event, both youths, as well as older people, brought placards with messages such as "All for Park Rangers", "Stop the logging mafia", "Forests save the climate". 

"Romania's forests don't have any more time! The last data from the National Forest Inventory shows illegal logging are happening at an unprecedented rate. Behind them remain bald slopes, landslides, avalanches, disastrous floods, desertified areas, mafia-style killed park rangers, communities divided and exposed to extreme climate phenomena. We request the immediate modernization of the Automatic System to Track Wood Materials (SUMAL), the app for citizens Forest Inspector and the strict protection of the primary and secular forests of Romania!" the march's organizers stated on the Facebook page of the event. 

Climate change organizations also request measures from the authorities such as satellite monitoring of forests, an electronic register in all wood repositories, mandatory GPS on all wood transporting means, surveillance cameras in key spots of the road network, at sawmills and repositories. 

Similar events that were attended by hundreds of people were organized on Sunday in other cities in the country, such as Cluj-Napoca, Brasov, Bistrita and Iasi.