REPORTAGE | "The forest is not just wood"

A community from Iași fights to save the forests near the city: they oppose illegal logging and try to transform the area into a natural park, despite resistance from local authorities.

In Dobrovăț commune near Iași, the streets are most often empty. The wind whizzes through the branches of tall trees that separate the villages from the ever-busy city.

Although it's still quite a while until March and nothing indicates that spring is coming, snowdrops have already started to bloom in the Codrii Iașilor, as the area is called.

Early in the morning, you won't meet anyone on the street. Only dogs barking in the distance can be heard. Next to the wooden church, cars from the city begin to appear. It doesn't take long before hikers fill the street in front of the church.

It's February 1, 2025, and we have joined the nature lovers who came to relax with a "light" walk of several good kilometers through the woods, despite the weather. They greet each other, introduce themselves, and pray silently that it won't start raining.

They have been gathering and walking for six years now. The woods recharge their batteries after work and city hustle, but it's more than that: it's about the effort to protect the forest they love from the increased logging and to transform it into a natural park, despite opposition from local authorities. They started in 2019 as an informal group of nature enthusiasts, which later became the NGO Codrii Iașilor, fighting to obtain legal protection for the city's lungs.

It all began with Facebook

A few kilometers south of Romania's second urban agglomeration, there still stand 250-year-old trees. The forest is a true "anomaly": beech and oak trees have remained from a period when Romania's climate was colder and wetter, and the highland area where it is located kept the forest alive.

This is also the reason for the value of all the trees that the community struggles to protect.

Codrii Iașilor means 12,500 hectares of forest that "guard" the city from pollution. Only 1% of the forest is strictly protected.

Nothing can be cut in certain designated areas: Pietrosu Forest, Poiana with Schit, Cărbunărie Clearings, and the Fossiliferous Area of Dealul Repedea. Together, they cover about 100 hectares of protected forest.

The remaining 99% is exploited for production. The priority is to cut as much as possible to generate profit.

Hundreds of animal species affected by constant logging are ignored.

The area is a true monument of biodiversity: Dacian beech, oak, and hornbeam forests.

According to the classification of protected habitats in the Natura 2000 network, "Dacian" forests are typical of Romania's territory before human intervention. Hundreds of bird species, dozens of reptile and mammal species, most protected by law, live here.

Moreover, the Codrii area hosts numerous archaeological remains dating back to prehistoric times. Such a forest is unique and would deserve a higher level of protection, especially since there is no natural park in the hilly area of Moldova.

Codrii Iașilor was initially a Facebook page, then a Facebook group, which has now reached 26,000 members. Among the founders is Mihai Diac, who remains one of the main driving forces of the community to this day.

He now speaks with great energy about their mission, but at first, he didn't want to step into the spotlight at all. "I practically didn't exist. I had just created a Facebook page. I only mentioned colleagues who made videos or took photos, but when I posted my own photos, I didn't even say they were mine," Mihai recalls.

In his daily life, he works in IT, but he's passionate about movement and nature. He lives nearby and, before taking responsibility for Codrii, ran through the forest thinking he wanted it to remain a place just for himself.

However, he decided that more people should enjoy it, both locals and Iași residents who need relaxation.

Over time, the group has become a place where people vent their anger about the worsening state of the forest year after year.

Besides those seeking solutions, there are also more acerbic voices. "Even now, from time to time, someone says we're doing wrong, that we should go to the Forest Directorate, set fire to the machinery," Mihai says.

To be or not to be firewood

We walk together along paths that are already difficult to cross. Some give up because the mud is getting higher, up to their knees. Continuing is a test of strength, both physical and mental.

Luca, our guide, explains quite gloomily: the road becomes impassable during rainy periods because of the logging machinery.

It doesn't take long before we meet some loggers. They stop their chainsaws as we make our way through the sawdust and greet Luca. They try to excuse themselves: "It's cold, we need to warm up a bit."

The local residents' need for firewood is one of the arguments the Forest Directorate always brings up when discussing the forest's purpose. It's a real need, as many families rely on it to get through winter.

"Firewood is indeed necessary, but if you look at the timber transports, many leave from the county," Mihai says.

"They go to Vaslui or to a plant in Rădăuți. The Forest Directorate people mix the figures a lot, maybe they even issue some fines."

Posts on the group show weekly cut trees, much to the dismay of hikers.

"Is there anything left of Dobrovăț Forest?" they wonder each time.

Why a Natural Park?

In the hope of finding a healthy, long-term solution to protect at least part of the forest, volunteers from the Codrii Iașilor group started collecting signatures to stop the cutting of old trees in 2021.

Meanwhile, they amended the petition to support the establishment of the Codrii Iașilor Natural Park. It would be the first natural park in Moldovan extra-Carpathia and a step forward in defending a place that hundreds of Iași residents fear they will lose.

The process, however, is arduous and lengthy, and they couldn't have done it without support from the academic community in Iași. Twenty specialists from various fields (biology, geography, ethnology) voluntarily wrote a scientific basis study.

The study gathers all the reasons why, from a scientific perspective, Codrii Iașilor deserves to be a natural park.

The natural park is a category of protected area established to preserve the landscape, which has fewer restrictions.

"They are trying to highlight conservation, natural heritage elements, and also make them accessible for ecotourism, recreational, and educational activities," explained Florin Stoican, founder of Văcărești Natural Park, the country's first urban natural park.

He also laid the groundwork for the first national park created at the request of an NGO: Buila-Vânturarița National Park.

To establish a natural park, roughly two stages must be followed: the scientific and the administrative.

In the first stage, the scientific basis study is elaborated, which must receive a scientific opinion from the Committee for the Protection of Natural Monuments of the Romanian Academy.

Then, the administrative process follows: if it receives approval, the study goes to the Ministry of Environment, which, according to the protected areas law, needs local council decisions from all localities over which the future park will be superimposed.

All mayoralties must approve the park's establishment and agree on the targeted area and proposed rules. If all conditions are met, the process of approving the Government Decision begins, with debates at the Ministry of Environment and among all ministries that could be "affected" by the park's creation.

The last step is the public debate, where citizens can express their opinions. There are 16 natural parks in Romania. The most well-known process of designating a natural park is that of Văcărești, which lasted from 2012 to 2016. The difference is that, for Văcărești, approval was needed from only one mayoralty. For Codrii, approvals are needed from 13 mayoralties.

The creation of the natural park was not always the group's goal but came as a necessity after they saw the rapid disappearance of the forest.

The scientific study proposes that 21,000 hectares of the area be included in the park.

The full protection zone, where no logging would occur, would be about 4,200 hectares, roughly 20% of the park's area.

The remaining 16,000 hectares would be divided equally: half for sustainable management (transition zones, where controlled logging could happen) and half for sustainable development of human activities (the park's edges, where locals could trade and do tourism).

"The mission of Codrii is to bring people to nature, to help create minimal infrastructure for visitation, to valorize what we have," explains Mihai.

He doesn't plan to abandon the cause once the park is established. On the contrary, he's eager to return to their motto: "We know, we value, we preserve".

They submitted the study to the Romanian Academy in May 2025. According to law, the Academy was supposed to respond within 30 days. They only responded in December, saying that "designation of protected areas is not within their responsibilities."

It's hard to estimate how long the process of establishing the park might take. "The last natural park established in Romania was Văcărești. It was established in 2016. It took four years from obtaining the Academy's approval to the Government's decision," explains Stoican.

Volunteers, the "main beneficiaries" (?)

To reach the public outside the city, to people who don't use Facebook or residents of nearby villages, Mihai has also taken on a new role. He has a weekly segment on Radio Iași starting fall 2024, promoting their efforts, talking about nature and its benefits.

He is still learning to be a radio moderator: he accepts corrections, stops when he stammers, taking advantage of the fact that it's just a recording, not a live broadcast.

He has hosted mayors, researchers, and NGO representatives. He feels nervous because it's something he doesn't fully master, but he isn't afraid to say that the head of the Forest Directorate has always refused invitations to discuss from the association.

Legally, the Directorate has no role in the park designation process. Informally, they can influence mayors not to give their approval. During a debate organized by the Iași prefect on the future park, a representative from the Forest Directorate also attended. Mihai recalls that he did everything possible to scare them. They were told that all the "beautiful things" would be lies.

They were urged not to give in to civil society pressure, because locals would be left without firewood if the park was established.

Gabriel Doncean has been head of Iași Forest Directorate since 2020. In a lengthy response a few months ago, he informed us that:

establishing a Natural Park is pointless; on the contrary, it would cause "serious damage to the forest and social conflicts."

He also states that:

"The establishment of national and natural parks, as well as other protected areas of national interest, was carried out with European or external funds for Romania, and their management is financed from taxes, levies, or other charges imposed on Romanian citizens."

He suggests that NGOs want to create the park to later obtain roles in its administration. He even considers the idea that "it is senseless" that the Forest Directorate would refuse to collaborate.

"The biggest problem is with the Forest Directorate," Mihai says. "They see themselves as losers in all this. If the forest gains a different value than timber, it impacts their income. Romsilva [the territorial units of Romsilva are the Forest Directorates] is an autonomous company, they even pay their salaries from what they cut."

"They lost about half of the managed forest fund when land was restituted, but they still have 15,000 employees. From half of the forest, they need the same number of people to earn their salaries. It's no coincidence that we see more illegal logging."

The situation makes any dialogue impossible. The Codrii group should have had close cooperation with the Forest Directorate to create better protection conditions for the forest. Instead, after numerous failed attempts at dialogue, they have ended up ignoring each other as much as possible.

"There are people used to working oppressively, with a club, and when they feel criticized, they try to silence, to end any collaboration," Mihai explains.

"We have five or six invitations for debates with Mr. Gabriel Doncean from TVR Iași, TeleM, Radio Iași, Brigada Verde, and many other contexts. He's very, very afraid. They perceive the park and, in general, free society and people who go to recreate in the forest as a threat."

"Mom, I close my eyes"

One evening in March, some of the Codrii volunteers met at a restaurant to plan activities for Green Week. For several years, they organize events to involve as many children as possible, beyond the "eco-costume" contests. They rent buses, bring snacks, and take entire classes of children to discover the woods together.

It's a new experience every time, because although adults have traversed the forest in all directions, children always find new things to observe.

Their fame in Iași has grown so much that they can no longer handle the demand. All work full-time, and their work for Codrii is "extra": after their jobs, and even on days off, they do another activity, another trail.

Lăcrămioara Curcan is, this time, in the spotlight. She works in logistics, and at Codrii, she handles everything related to Green Week, so Mihai has full trust in her.

Last year's edition was a success thanks to her. She takes care of all details: finding a good driver who won't scold children for getting mud on their shoes in the bus, giving them a "nice souvenir," and thinking about the games they'll play together in the forest.

They are all proud that the idea came from them, especially since they focus on nearby school classes for the future natural park.

Through the activities they organize, they show children a new face of the forest, different from logging and mushroom picking. They learn together that nature means relaxation, health, and a burst of biodiversity.

"Mom, I close my eyes, tell me when we pass the part with the cut trees."

One of Lăcrămioara's children surprised her with this remark during the trail celebrating six years of activity at Codrii Iașilor. Much of the volunteers' motivation comes from caring for the children's future.

"We all want the same things," Mihai says, thinking of his two children, who also love nature. "We need to focus on what we have in common because otherwise, we're very easy to divide. We all want a safe future, a healthy environment so we can stay healthy into old age, stay active. I want my children to live in a world they can trust in the future."

"Time passes and the forest is cut"

The establishment of the Codrii Iașilor Natural Park could take even longer than the four years it took to establish Văcărești.

"Unfortunately, since the law on protected areas changed, when the local authorities' opinion was introduced, Văcărești is the only park that has been established in Romania," Stoican clarifies. "I believe this has complicated the creation of protected areas, shifting more from scientific basis to political decision."

The situation on the ground remains constantly tense. Authorities seem eager to cut down the old trees so that nothing remains to be protected.

Even on the first day of this year, January 1, hikers found remarkable marked trees for cutting, despite being protected by the new silvicultural code, which came into force in January 2025.

Locally, 4 of the 13 local councils have currently agreed, verbally, with the initiative. These are mayors already involved who fully understand the proposal.

However, the refusal from the Academy creates an inevitable vicious circle.

Mayoralities can refuse on the grounds that there is no scientific opinion, a confirmation that everything is "in order".

In turn, the Academy can refuse to give its approval, claiming that the decisions of all relevant local councils are missing.

"Time passes and the forest is cut," Mihai concludes. The volunteers continue the process, even if authorities try to tire them out in every possible way. Still, they are helped by the greater mission they have undertaken.

Mihai likes to compare authorities to an old car that needs to be cranked to start. "I'm not just trying to create the natural park. We make reports, get involved, seek collaborations, and at some point, mechanisms start working, which then operate on their own."

The silvicultural arrangement in force since 2019 in Codrii allows the exploitation of about 1 million cubic meters of timber until 2029. Adding the illegal amounts taken from the forest, Mihai estimates the total at around 1.5 million cubic meters.

There's no doubt that illegal logging is happening. Even during the period when Agent Green obtained a suspension of logging, trees continued to be felled.

The status of a natural park proposes strict protection for 20% of the forest, which would mean approximately 300,000 cubic meters of timber. That would still leave enough wood for heating homes and for the furniture industry.

Anyone who has enjoyed a forest knows that it means more than just that. Mihai shares this belief with the same energy as at the beginning:

"If you give the forest only the value of the timber inside it, you lose everything that is most valuable. The forest is not just timber; it's clean air, biodiversity, a place for relaxation, and lessons for children. That's what we're trying to show people."

 

NOTE - Material written with the support of the environmental journalism scholarship offered by M100 within the Environmental School for Journalists, organized by the Urban Nature Network in 2025. M100 is a national platform supporting Romanian cities in their transition to smart and climate-neutral cities, developed by UEFISCDI. Text editing: Sorana Stănescu