The amendments to the new Forestry Code bill that aim to legislate green belts nationwide got the green light from the committee for environment and ecological balance in the Chamber of Deputies on November 5, marking an essential step in the bill's legislative process in the Parliament. Two other expert committees must also debate and issue an opinion on the legislation before the deputies' final vote.

According to the Together for the Green Belt/Împreună pentru Centura Verde civic platform, which drafted and submitted these amendments to Parliament with support from across the political spectrum, safeguarding the forests of Ilfov county, a keystone for the future Bucharest-Ilfov green belt, was also kept in the form adopted by the Senate.

The amendments, supported by the Ministry of Environment, emphasize the health and environmental benefits of preserving and expanding forest areas near urban centers. Environment minister Mircea Fechet highlighted that green belts around cities would provide essential natural spaces for public well-being, "be it in Bucharest, in Bacău or in Craiova." 

Meanwhile, high-altitude climber and conservationist Alex Găvan, founder of the Together for the Green Belt platform, praised the unanimous vote in the environment committee as a significant step toward healthier, climate-resilient cities, urging a final vote before upcoming elections to secure necessary EU funding for implementation.

"There is no longer any good-faith argument to delay it or prevent it from being on the agendas of the agriculture and legal committees as soon as next week. The Together for the Green Belt civic platform is taking all necessary steps to ensure this happens," Găvan said.

The Forestry Code reform passed the Senate in the spring and moved to the Chamber of Deputies for the final vote. The environment committee was the first to give an opinion on the bill, with the agriculture and legal committees coming next. Then, the reform will go to the final vote in the Chamber of Deputies.

To become law, once it passes both chambers of the Parliament, the legislative proposal also has to be signed by the president. 

The Together for the Green Belt civic platform was initiated amid the worrying pollution in Bucharest and other cities in Romania and the concerning cutting of forests around the capital and other peri-urban areas. The platform gathers under its umbrella, in an apolitical approach, the support of more than 150 non-governmental organizations, civic groups, and public persons, and benefits from the support of the Presidential Administration.

As its initiators say, the platform is a public health project with a strong social, climate change mitigation, and anti-pollution component, which also involves environmental actions. Details are available here.

The Bucharest-Ilfov Green Belt project took a significant step forward on October 31, when planting the first 15,000 trees began on an area of 3.5 hectares.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo: courtesy of Alex Găvan)