Europe‘s wild forests

Don’t give up!

Setbacks keep happening and it’s not easy to stay motivated. In this interview, Annette Spangenberg, Head of Nature Conservation at EuroNatur, explains why it is so important that we do not give up on Europe‘s last wild forests, and what motivates her.

We provided evidence of the alarming extent of logging in Romania‘s oldgrowth forests; had we not done so, there would be no EU infringement proceedings against the Romanian government today. Why is the European Commission not taking any further steps?

Those responsible in Brussels appear to have a blind spot when it comes to deforestation in Romania. We furnished the European Commission with all the necessary evidence showing that Romania is violating EU Directives in force, and yet the EU continues to rely on diplomacy. That’s not necessarily the wrong tactic if there is a true basis for negotiation, which in this case would be a sincere desire to jointly protect the forests. But that basis does not, as yet, exist.

Why is there such ignorance of the matter on the part of the EU?

Many MEPs voting on RED are not aware of the value of primeval and oldgrowth forests for climate change mitigation and biodiversity. Moreover, there is still this myth floating around that wood-burning is carbon-neutral. That’s also why we launched our RED4Nature campaign.

Why do we need to continue with our work and what are the next steps?

Even though the evidence is overwhelming already, we will not stop presenting further proof of overexploitation in the Romanian Carpathian forests − even when the European Commission finally passes on the case to the European Court of Justice. We will keep going until the message that things must change finally sinks in with the decision-makers.

What motivates you to keep working to protect Europe‘s last wild forests?

It’s the charisma of old trees, this feeling of standing in a forest that has lived and persisted for centuries, this cycle of natural growth and decay. When I see these trees I suddenly feel very small. And to see them cut down, lying on the ground, just feels utterly wrong!

Interview: Katharina Grund