Residents of localities in Ilfov, the county surrounding Bucharest, took to the streets in Corbeanca on Saturday, March 23, to demand action on air pollution and plead for their health, as they say "illegal burning of waste has made the air unbreathable" in recent weeks. They also call for the creation of a Green Belt around the capital city, which would help in the quest for a healthier environment.

Saturday's street protest gathered "hundreds of residents of Corbeanca," according to the press release, who were joined by their neighbors from Balotești, Mogoșoaia, and Buftea.

"We want clean air," "No pollution," "Forests for people," "We want a Green Belt," or "Clean Ilfov" were just a few of the messages delivered by protesters as they marched on the streets of Corbeanca for about three hours.

The rally was organized by the Activ Corbeanca Association with the support of the Împreună pentru Centura Verde/Together for the Green Belt civic platform, and the organizers say that similar actions will be held "for as long as necessary." They want the authorities to stop the illegal burning of waste or cables in the fields close to their communities, as this results in high levels of pollution and toxic air.

Alex Găvan, high altitude climber and founder of the Together for the Green Belt civic platform, commented: "Pollution is killing us. Illegal waste burning has long been out of control in Ilfov and is an exponent of a serious form of corruption, not just the passivity of those who are supposed to protect us. Also, the authorities or the environmental guard hardly respond to requests, and when they do, far too often, they say that they cannot find the source of the pollution. […] Last week, for several days in a row, the smell of burnt rubber was so strong that I couldn't do sports outdoors in Corbeanca."

Octavian Berceanu, the former head of the Environmental Guard, who also joined last weekend's demonstration in Ilfov, shared a video on social media on Sunday showing thick smoke that he says was coming from waste fires near Bucharest.

"Mr. Marcel Ciolacu, dear Romanian Police, here is the ‘thermal inversion’ phenomenon just happening near Bucharest. 30,000 Romanians die every year because you fail to do something, anything about it. People are already taking to the streets because their children's lives end 10 years earlier due to extreme air pollution. It's not the traffic, it's not the domestic heating, it's the millions of euros made from burning cables, which shorten our lives," Berceanu said.

Amid repeated warnings that Bucharest is one of the European Union's most polluted capitals, more than 150 local non-profits, civic groups, and public figures decided to unite their voices and join a multilevelled civic initiative aimed at saving the capital's surrounding forests and help make the Green Belt reality. They came together under the umbrella of the Together for the Green Belt civic platform, which includes, among others, an online petition, a draft law to put the forest vegetation of Ilfov county under protection, and a memorandum of understanding on solutions to combat the worrying pollution in Bucharest and create a Green Belt.

The bill is currently being debated by the expert committees of the Chamber of Deputies as it heads to the final vote in Parliament. The Senate passed the legislative initiative last summer with unanimity.

Meanwhile, the memorandum has been backed by several high-ranking political and executive decision-makers from all relevant parties. In fact, the initiators say that the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) has remained the only political force yet to support the project openly by signature.

Further details about the civic initiative, a project of the Alex Găvan Foundation co-initiated by high altitude climber and conservationist Alex Găvan and Florin Stoican - president of the Kogayon and Văcărești Natural Park associations, can be found here (in Romanian).

Bucharest is one of the most polluted capitals in the European Union. And air pollution not only means health issues for its inhabitants but also translates into an annual cost of EUR 6.35 billion.   

At the same time, the forests around Bucharest are systematically decimated, the project initiators say. With only 16% wooded area, Ilfov county is considered an "area with a deficit of forest vegetation."

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Centuraverde.ro)