Civic platform “Together for the Green Belt”: The Senate adopted the Forestry Code, which includes the creation of the Bucharest – Ilfov Green Belt, free access to the forest for recreation and the protection of outstanding trees

On Monday, the Senate adopted the Forestry Code, which includes the creation of the Bucharest – Ilfov Green Belt, free access to the forest for recreation and the protection of outstanding trees, announces the Civic Platform “Together for the Green Belt”, initiator of the law regarding the protection of the forests in Ilfov, stating that 87 of the 92 senators present voted in favor of the project. “Today, the Senate really listened to the legitimate needs of civil society and acted accordingly, in the only assumed and ethical way in which it could have done it,” said Alex Găvan, founder of the civic platform. Senarul is the first forum referred to the project initiated by the Government and under emergency procedure in the Parliament, the decision-making being the Chamber of Deputies.

“The Senate adopted today, in the joint vote for the new Forestry Code, with 87 votes “for”, one vote “against” and three abstentions, the amendments to protect the forests of Ilfov, the cornerstone of the future Bucharest-Ilfov Green Belt. The Ministry of the Environment officially supports the approach, along with parliamentarians from across the political spectrum. Last week, after four rounds of debates, the environment and forest committees of the Senate voted for these amendments unanimously,” the civic platform announces.

One senator present did not vote.

The draft of the new Forestry Code, a legislative priority of the Government, is to enter the debate of the Chamber of Deputies, which is the decision-making body.

The Senate also voted for free access to the forest for recreation, a topic that sparked heated debates in the public space in the last half year and for which the civic platform carried out an intense advocacy activity.

“Also, the Senate voted for the protection and conservation of outstanding trees from the National Forestry Fund through the new Forestry Code, after two weeks ago, the Civic Platform Together for the Green Belt obtained, through an unprecedented institutional commitment, the official support of the Ministry of the Environment for them. They are the custodians of an identity memory that, once lost, will never be able to be recovered and will thus create a gap that cannot be filled”, said the “Together for the Green Belt” civic platform in a press release.

“Today, the Senate really listened to the legitimate needs of civil society and acted accordingly, in the only assumed and ethical way in which it could have done it. I bow with gratitude. Also, in 2024, air quality and the creation of green belts in peri-urban areas cannot be missing from the program and priorities of any serious party and any serious candidate in the upcoming elections and, at the same time, cannot be missing from the personal assessment that and every responsible voter does it,” says Alex Găvan, founder of the Civic Platform Together for the Green Belt:

Submitted by deputies Diana Buzoianu (USR) and Oana Cambera (REPER), the amendments were assumed as authors by several parliamentarians: the current minister of the environment, Mircea Fechet (PNL deputy), the former minister of the environment Tanczos Barna (senator UDMR) , President of the Senate, Nicolae Ciucă (President and Senator PNL), Kelemen Hunor (President and Deputy UDMR), Minister of Justice, Alina Gorghiu (Vice-President and Senator PNL), Aurel Oprinoiu (President of the Commission for the Environment, Senator USR), Lucian Mazilu (President Commission for Waters, Forests, Fishing and Hunting, PSD Senator), Virgil Popescu (Chairman of the Commission for Environment and Ecological Balance, PNL Deputy, former Minister of Energy), Robert Cazanciuc (PSD Senator, former Minister of Justice), Cristian Ţagarlaş ( president of the Legal Commission, PNL senator), Brian Cristian (USR deputy), Laura Moagher (PSD senator), Dragoş Popescu (REPER senator), Sebastian Cernic (USR senator), Andrei Lupu (REPER deputy) and Adrian Giurgiu (USR deputy).

“The Bucharest-Ilfov Green Belt (www.centuraverde.ro) is a public health project with a strong social and anti-pollution component, as well as mitigation of the effects of climate change, part of a systemic solution that also involves a significant environmental component. In the context of the dramatic pollution in Bucharest and the worrisome cutting of forests around the Capital, over 150 non-governmental organizations, civic groups and public persons, united in a non-political approach under the umbrella of the Civic Platform Together for the Green Belt and with the support of the Presidential Administration, came meeting politicians and authorities with the Memorandum for Clean Air, Health and Future. The document, in seven points, contains the amendments to the new Forestry Code and which are intended to protect the forests of Ilfov, the cornerstone of the future Bucharest-Ilfov Green Belt, the creation of green belts for other cities, as well as solutions to pollution in Bucharest and county, but also for the rest of the country: https://bit.ly/3LULwPK. Among them are the creation and adoption of an integrated plan of the Bucharest City Hall and the Ilfov County Council to combat pollution or the inclusion of the topic related to air pollution in Bucharest and other cities on the CSAT agenda”, the environmental activists say.

The memorandum was also signed by party presidents Nicolae Ciucă (PNL), Cătălin Drula (USR), Kelemen Hunor (UDMR), Dragoş Pîslaru and Ramona Strugariu (REPER), as well as the capital’s mayor, Nicuşor Dan, and Hubert Thuma, president of the Ilfov County Council.

The Civic Platform Together for the Green Belt appeals again to the president of the Social Democratic Party, Marcel Ciolacu and invites him (constantly, since half a year ago) to join and sign the Memorandum for Clean Air, Health and Future, PSD being the only non-signatory party.

“The PSD leader’s signature represents the defining signature that the residents of Bucharest and Ilfov still need at this moment for the Bucharest – Ilfov Green Belt to become a reality”, say the representatives of the civic platform.

Through an online petition that has already collected over 11,900 signatures, the Civic Platform Together for the Green Belt invites citizens to join in asking political and executive decision-makers for concrete measures for Clean Air, Health and the Future.

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