detektor.fm: The disappearance of forests

…there are areas where entire mountain slopes slide into the valley during heavy rain because the slope has been cleared.

Eastern Europe's forests are slowly disappearing from the map. Despite legal regulations and environmental protection requirements, illegal logging is taking place in countries like Romania, Poland, and Ukraine. Mafia structures are behind this, and the black market is profiting heavily.

Demand for raw timber in the EU is high. Romania, the Czech Republic, and Poland are among the largest exporters. Outside the EU, Ukraine has long been one of the major trading partners for the European timber industry. In 2015, Ukraine attempted to protect its forests by imposing an export ban on domestic timber, but this led to a flourishing black market. Just one year later, the law was history.

Since 2016, the Bialowieza Forest in Poland has also been under threat. The Polish Forestry Office approved the felling of 180,000 cubic meters of timber over a period of ten years. Local environmentalists criticize this plan as nonsensical and a possible violation of EU law. Read more…