National and sub national laws and regulations related to the identification and/or protection of environmental values including but not limited to those relating to or affected by harvesting, acceptable level for soil damage, establishment of buffer zones (e.g. along water courses, open areas, breeding sites), maintenance of retention trees on felling site, seasonal limitation of harvesting time, environmental requirements for forest machineries, use of pesticides and other chemicals, biodiversity conservation, air quality, protection and restoration of water quality, operation of recreational equipment, development of non-forestry infrastructure, mineral exploration and extraction, etc… Risk relates to systematic and/or large scale non-compliance with legally required environmental protection measures that are evident to an extent that threatens the forest resources or other environmental values.

1.10.1. Applicable laws and regulations

Emergency Ordinance no. 195/2005 regarding environmental protection (Art. 69), [ORDONANŢĂ DE URGENŢĂ nr. 195 din 22 decembrie 2005]:

http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/67634

Ministerial Order 1540/2011 regarding the approval of harvesting instructions, dates and technologies:

http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/129446

Decision no. 1076/2004 procedure for environmental assessment of plans and programmes (Art. 2, a):

http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/54164

1.10.2. Legal Authority

Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests
Environmental Protection Agency

1.10.3. Legally required documents or records

Environmental authorisation for harvesting contractors and harvesting sites
Environmental agreement for Forest Management Plans

1.10.4. Sources of Information

Government sources

Non-Government sources

Halalisan, A.F. (2014): Certification of forest management and chain of custody in Romania: a market instrument and a mean to promote sustainable forest management [Certificarea managementului forestier şi a lanţului de custodie în România: instrument de piaţă şi mijloc de promovare a gestionării durabile a pădurilor], PhD Thesis, Transylvania University in Brasov.

Hotnews (2014) Preliminary conclusions of the report of the control body of the Environmental Ministry in the case the floods in Novaci: illegal harvests and nonconformities in sand and gravel exploitation [Concluziile preliminare ale raportului facut de corpul de control al ministrului Mediului in cazul inundatiilor din Novaci: defrisari ilegale si exploatari neconforme de nisip si pietris]. Available at: http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-mediu-17879288-concluziile-preliminare-ale-raportului-facut-corpul-control-ministrului-mediului-cazul-inundatiilor-din-novaci-defrisari-ilegale-exploatari-neconforme-nisip-pietris.htm

1.10.5. Risk Determination

Overview of Legal Requirements

Each harvesting contractor or FME with a forest harvesting division has to obtain an environmental permit from the Regional Environmental Protection Agency (REPA), for the entire activity and for each harvesting site for the coming year. The conditions for the authorisation include legislative conditions (a valid Forest Management Plan, VED, harvest authorisation from the Forest district etc.), harvesting technologies and conditions (mostly according to OM 1540/2011), biodiversity requirements (harvest of protected species, disturbance of nesting areas etc.) and requirements related to forest harvesting in protected areas (obligation to obtain a permit from the park administration or Natura 2000 custodian).

Description of risk

The FSC audit analysis of the nonconformities identified in Romanian FMEs showed that 41.8% of non-conformances were related to forest harvesting (Halalisan, 2014); the most frequent were referring to skidding trails, damage to remaining trees, and water protection.

As an example, a Report by the Ministry of Environment showed that the following illegalities were encountered: forest harvests done according to a Forest Management Plan without an environmental permit or without a ministerial decision; timber harvesting done by contractors without an environmental permit; violations of environmental legislation on the authorisation of harvesting sites (by REPA); authorisation of harvest documents without the approval of the corresponding custodian of the Natura 2000 site, and; authorisation of harvesting activities after their completion (Hotnews, 2014).

Risk conclusion

This indicator has been evaluated as specified risk. Identified laws are not upheld consistently by all entities and/or are often ignored, and/or are not enforced by relevant authorities.

1.10.7. Control measures and verifiers

Generic

  • Environmental and/or Social Impact Assessments shall be in place and approved by the legally competent authority if legally required.
  • Requirements for environmental monitoring shall be observed.
  • Environmental restrictions shall be followed in the field, such as requirements related to soil damage, buffer zones, retention trees, seasonal restrictions etc.

Country Specific

  • FME/contractors shall provide issued environmental permit prior to the start of harvesting.
  • FME shall provide proof of notification of custodian of protected areas (if applicable) and their approval of the harvest plan and VED.
  • FME shall implement a system of controlling harvesting sites that includes verifications of environmental requirements. This can be done though review of environmental permit, harvesting technology document and on-site audits.
Categories: 1. Controlled Wood Category 1 – Legality, 1.10. Environmental requirements
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