One year after Broșteni, the same wrong question
A year after the flash flood at Broșteni, which killed three people and buried hundreds of households in mud, public debate again seeks a single culprit. A study…
All articles
180 articles with English titles and abstracts. The full texts are in Romanian.
2026
Strict protection on 10%: what environmental organisations ask for and what they leave out
Ahead of the vote on Romania’s government programme, environmental organisations demand that at least 10% of the territory be strictly protected by 2030 and that 75% of every…
I saw a Romanian forestry tractor in Munich. Now I want to see it in the forest
On 15 October, at INTERFORST in Munich, IRUM launched the TAF-X Combi, a forestry tractor designed in Reghin by a plant with over 70 years of activity, whose…
The fourth government goes to a vote without a secure majority
The government of the fourth prime minister-designate faces its investiture vote on Tuesday, 20 October, needing 233 votes; success would give Romania its first fully empowered government since…
Smart forest operations are built with the people in the forest
At the FETEC 2026 panel on the future of smart forest operations in Brașov, alongside Prof. Mauricio Acuna and Prof. Sercan Gülci, ASFOR argued that technology makes harvesting…
A fourth prime-ministerial nomination, and the crisis goes on
On 5 October the president made the fourth prime-ministerial nomination since the crisis began in spring, yet no stable majority has emerged and Romania enters a sixth month…
Pastry rows in Bucharest, the ETS in Luxembourg
While Romania is absorbed by scandals and coalition red lines, the rules for the next fifteen years are written in Brussels. On 17 July the European Commission proposed…
Government rejected, but the rating holds
A weekly briefing covering three items. On 30 September the proposed government was rejected in Parliament with 182 votes, below the 233 needed for investiture — the third…
A voice for the forest, in time
On 28 September 2026 the Bucharest Tribunal recognised the national employer representativeness of the Confederation of Entrepreneurs and Investors of Romania (CAIR), of which ASFOR is a member.…
We are not burning the forest, but we will not put out the village hearth either
On 23 September environmental organisations asked the EU to remove the zero emission factor for woody biomass from the carbon market during the EU ETS revision. The 2021…
The investiture vote decides whether we have a government
The prime minister-designate submitted a governing programme with 372 measures and a cabinet of 16 ministries and three deputy prime ministers, promising a leaner state, lower taxes on…
A new government, the same problems
As a new government drafts its programme, the forest sector hands over the same inventory. Diesel has hit a record of almost 11 lei per litre; agriculture gets…
Prime minister designated: the political crisis nears its end
A weekly briefing. On 17 September, after more than four months without a fully empowered government and two failed attempts, the President designated a new prime minister, who…
Wood in construction: what I wish builders on their day
Romania's National Builders' Day, established by Law 350/2018, commemorates 14 September 1895, when the first train crossed Anghel Saligny's Danube bridge — a lesson in engineering courage. On…
The shortage of forestry workers: a strategic resource without people
According to the ASFOR Integrated Sector Report 2025, Romania's forestry chain, from silviculture to primary processing, fell from 73,705 employees in 2021 to 66,688 in 2025, a loss…
Inflation falls to 6.2%: the first good news for household budgets
A weekly briefing. According to the National Institute of Statistics, annual inflation fell to 6.2% in August from over 10% at the start of summer, the clearest sign…
The architecture of silence: why the wood that keeps us alive is not considered a strategic resource
Opening Foresters' Day at Cheile Grădiștei, the president of ASFOR describes forestry as a profession that is felt rather than seen. Wood heats over 3.5 million Romanian households…
Forestry schools: the forest calls its apprentices
On 7 September 2026, forestry schools begin the school year on the same day as Foresters’ Week in Azuga and Cheile Grădiștei. The message to ninth-grade students is…
Four months of political crisis, but signs of a breakthrough
A weekly briefing. On 5 September Romania marked four months without a fully empowered government, after two failed prime-ministerial designations and a long summer pause; now a party…
Jakob Wyssen IS COMING to Foresters' Day: timber can travel through the air
Jakob Wyssen, head of Wyssen Seilbahnen AG, the Swiss company founded in Reichenbach in 1926 whose founder invented the cable crane in 1939, has accepted an invitation to…
Foresters set their course in a changing economy. Foresters’ Week 2026: five days in Azuga and Cheile Grădiștei, with technology at the forefront
Foresters’ Week, held for the first time from 7 to 11 September 2026 in Azuga and Cheile Grădiștei, builds on ASFOR’s 2025 Integrated Sector Report: the forest sector…
PNRR closes on 31 August: results and what comes next
A weekly briefing. Romania's Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) reaches its deadline on 31 August: of a budget of about EUR 20 billion, Romania has received almost 13…
Drought on the Danube: when will Cernavodă restart
Both Cernavodă reactors remain shut as the Danube has fallen to about 1,300 m³/s, against a summer average of nearly 3,900, leaving Romania’s nuclear output at zero. After…
Wildfires in Europe: a season that rewrites the average, not the record
Copernicus EFFIS data show over 616,000 hectares burned in the EU since 1 January 2026, about 1,750 large fires and roughly 26 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions. The…
669 million and an old habit
National Bank of Romania data show foreign direct investment of EUR 669 million in the first half of 2026, against EUR 3.72 billion a year earlier — a…
Cernavodă shut down: drought leaves Romania without nuclear power
On Thursday, 13 August, Cernavodă shut its second reactor, the first having been disconnected since 28 July, leaving the plant fully stopped for the first time since 2003…
Trust in forests: Romanians trust people, but not forest statistics
Eurostat ranks Romanians highest in the EU for interpersonal trust (7.5 out of 10, against a European average of 5.8), yet European perception studies reveal a paradox: forests…
A two-speed economy: construction sites boom, factories brake
National Institute of Statistics (INS) data for the first half of 2026 show industrial output down 3.3% year on year, driven by a 4.4% fall in manufacturing (6%…
The Neptun Forum: thirty years in which the direction was reversed
In June 1995 at Snagov, all parliamentary parties signed a joint declaration on Romania's EU accession: politics decided and society followed, anchored by Brussels. Thirty years later, at…
The echo of wood revived
On 8 August the restored Spa Casino in Vatra Dornei, long a ruin of Austro-Hungarian splendour, regained its voice with a concert of the national tour ‘ANOTIMPURI’, organised…
Moody’s rating: Romania remains investment grade
On 7 August, Moody’s kept Romania’s sovereign rating at Baa3, the lowest investment-grade notch, with a negative outlook, a week after a similar Fitch decision. It expects the…
Forestry in 2025, read from the tables: what INS data show and what they do not
A technical reading of the INS publication on forestry activities in 2025. The national forest estate reached 6,617 thousand ha (27.8% of the country), only about 170 ha…
A good householder doesn't pray for rain. He fixes the roof.
Romania faces an August of crisis: the Danube at a historic low, both Cernavodă reactors shut down because of drought, an interim government for three months and an…
Diesel in the forest: why we submitted amendments to the Senate
A bill before the Romanian Senate would let farmers buy chemically marked diesel without excise duty, based on a user certificate, instead of waiting for reimbursement. Its list…
Romania avoids junk, but the warning remains
On 31 July, Fitch kept Romania’s rating at BBB-, the lowest investment-grade notch, with a negative outlook and a warning on public pay law risks. The budget deficit…
The purpose of the tree and the blindness of the moment
Data from issue 2 of Meridiane Forestiere (June 2026) show that Romania’s forests grow faster than they are used: of an annual increment of over 62 million cubic…
Fuel prices: same petrol, different bills. Why we pay ten times more than our neighbours
Eurostat data published on 22 July show fuel and lubricant prices in June 2026 up 13.7% year on year across the EU, but 23.1% in Romania — the…
Romania's inflation remains the highest in the EU: anatomy of an unwanted record
Eurostat's June 2026 data put Romania's harmonised inflation at 9.2%, more than three times the EU average of 2.9%, far ahead of Lithuania (5.4%) and Bulgaria (5.2%); the…
The fire in the hearth and the smoke in the speeches
The bill on decarbonising heating and cooling (Pl-x no. 522/2026, registered on 24 July 2026 under urgent procedure) implements PNRR Milestone 128 and sets renewable shares in heating…
The biodiversity strategy and forests: five years whose effects will be seen in a hundred
Romania adopted its National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2026–2030 on 23 July, meeting PNRR Milestone 31 and thus avoiding a 972,455,220 euro penalty, money that does not flow to…
Drones shot down over Romania and the Fitch decision
Romanian F-16s shot down three Russian drones on three consecutive days near the eastern border: on 24 July near Buzău, on 25 July over the Danube Delta and…
The prejudice that does not depend on damage
A satirical close reading of Romania's Forest Code exposes inconsistencies in its liability provisions. Annex 1 defines ‘prejudice’ only negatively, as losses not dependent on ‘damage’, while ‘forest…
Environmental taxes: a record that says nothing about the environment
According to Eurostat, Romania recorded the EU’s largest increase in environmental tax revenue in 2024, +21.7%. The structure tells another story: of the 371.9 billion euros collected EU-wide,…
The Bușteni floods: anatomy of a reflex. Why we choose a simple culprit over a complicated truth
On 19 July 2026 a cloudburst over the Bucegi plateau dropped about 42 litres per square metre in three hours at Vârful Omu and close to 70 in…
Who really pays the Romanian state’s bill
Of about 5.6 million active employees at the end of 2025, around 1.28 million work for the state, while some 4.3 million private-sector workers and their employers carry…
EUDR in Romania: working three times over for the same forest
From 30 December 2026 the EU deforestation-free products regulation (EUDR) applies firmly, and in May 2026 the European Commission confirmed there will be no further delays. Yet the…
The World Cup final, inflation and flash floods
Spain and Argentina meet in the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, the European champions against the world champions, Lamine Yamal against Lionel Messi; England took bronze by…
The leu at record lows, political deadlock and the World Cup
Without a fully empowered government, pressure has moved to the markets: the leu stays near historic lows against the euro, all three major rating agencies keep Romania on…
Painting on wood: the Călimani Mountains through children's eyes, at the Vatra Dornei Casino
The exhibition ‘Comorile Călimanilor’ (Treasures of the Călimani), opened on 9 July 2026 at the Cazinoul Băilor Museum Centre in Vatra Dornei, shows 100 paintings on wood selected…
Labour taxation: Romania tops a ranking nobody wants
Eurostat data for 2025 show Romania with the EU’s highest share of gross wages going to the state, 41.5% for a single worker on the average wage, against…
LULUCF: forests between climate ambition and reality on the ground
Romania's forests are its main carbon sink, absorbing tens of millions of tonnes of CO₂ each year. With the EU's 2040 target of a 90% net reduction in…
A 3-euro parcel fee, political crisis and the World Cup
From 1 July the EU removed the customs exemption for parcels under 150 euros from outside the Union and introduced a temporary 3-euro fee, until 2028, charged per…
The price at the pump: a history and what it means for us
The pump price is a stack of layers: the Brent quotation, the leu–dollar exchange rate, excise duty, VAT and a usually small retail margin. Two interventions stand out:…
More than five years of SUMAL: what court rulings teach us
Reading court rulings rather than press releases shows that SUMAL, Romania's timber traceability system, has two faces. It catches fraud — deliberately disabled mobile data, photos of screens…
Early elections, a red-code heatwave and cheap oil
On 22 June Parliament rejected the proposed government with 189 votes in favour, short of the 233 required, and the procedure restarts; early elections become constitutionally possible only…
The wood industry, a thermometer of the real economy
April 2026 data show manufacturing down 4% year on year, but a split within the wood sector: primary wood processing grew 5.3%, while furniture manufacturing fell 18.2% (over…
US–Iran deal: oil falls below 80 dollars
A US–Iran agreement has reopened the Strait of Hormuz and calmed energy markets, pushing Brent crude below 80 dollars a barrel, almost 30% below the May peak of…
Government deadlock: why no government gets through
Romania's government deadlock enters its second month after a cabinet was dismissed by a censure motion, and no prime minister-designate has managed to assemble the 233 votes needed…
Sunday Reset: political crisis in Romania and cheaper oil
Romania enters a second month without a fully empowered government: the new prime minister-designate cannot gather the 233 votes required, a governing party has called an extraordinary congress…
Istvan Kovacs, the first Romanian referee at a World Cup since 1986
Istvan Kovacs, a referee from Carei, officiated Tunisia–Japan at the 2026 World Cup, the 1,000th match in the competition's history. He is the first Romanian main referee at…
Industrial production falls: Romania lags behind
Romania's industrial production fell again in April 2026. The 10.3% month-on-month drop in raw data is seasonal noise, as the seasonally adjusted series shows a 1.5% rebound, but…
Artificial intelligence in forestry: a promise, not a threat
FETEC 2026, the 7th International Symposium on Forest Engineering and Technologies, takes place for the first time in Romania, at Transilvania University of Brașov, on 12–14 October 2026,…
Timber-frame construction: the memory of the forest and the logic of cement
Hasty modernity replaced wood with concrete, although timber structures sheltered Romanian civilisation for centuries, from the churches of Maramureș to vernacular architecture. Timber frame, CLT and SIP panels…
A real vote is not cancelled by algorithms: the hard lesson of Călin Georgescu, eighteen months on
In June 2026 Romania is again in deep political crisis, and Călin Georgescu remains part of the debate. The vote for him in November 2024 was real: over…
Inflation in Romania: the budget deficit as ‘money printing’
Annual CPI inflation in Romania reached 10.9% in May 2026, up from 10.7% in April — the highest in 12 months and the third consecutive acceleration, far above…
Prime Minister Veștea: what changed today at Cotroceni
A weekly briefing. Eugen Tomac returned his mandate before a parliamentary vote after PNL and USR refused to back his technocratic cabinet, and President Nicușor Dan designated Liberal…
Romanian exports enter the digital era
From 15 June 2026, the Romanian Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (ARICE) moves company registration for international fairs and trade missions entirely online through a new platform…
On young people, technology and a door that must be opened wide
In the same week as a Foresters' Day address at Romsilva on patient capital and forest management plans as pacts between generations, a student competition in Brașov showed…
Forestry is about TIME
Written for the 35th Foresters’ Day, the message holds that forestry is not only about trees but about time. Regeneration decisions taken today bear fruit after 25, 60…
Children, wood and the future: why ‘Treasures of the Călimani’ is more than a painting contest
At the awards ceremony of the first edition of ‘Treasures of the Călimani – Stories on Wood’ in Poiana Stampei, 187 pupils from Suceava, Bistrița-Năsăud, Mureș and Harghita…
The deficit halved in the first quarter: turning point or just a breather?
Romania's budget deficit in Q1 2026 was 21.09 billion lei (1.03% of GDP), against 43.66 billion lei (2.28%) a year earlier and about 6.3 billion below forecast. Revenues…
Science and the forest: 20 years of research at the Romanian Academy
The “Acad. David Davidescu” Centre for Agro-Silvicultural Biodiversity Studies and Research (CSCBAS) of the Romanian Academy marked 20 years of activity. The address delivered at the anniversary stresses…
24 May, European Day of Parks: the year we admire less and decide more
European Day of Parks, launched by EUROPARC in 1999 and marking the first national parks created in Sweden in 1909, carries a different stake in 2026: the move…
Dear fellow foresters, partners and friends of the forest
An invitation to the second pilot project on “Innovation and Efficiency in Forest Harvesting”, presented on 22 May 2026 in Petriș, Arad County, by ASFOR with Forest ONE…
Water before panels: on the proper order of things
Responding to prosumer associations that called the 2026 Environment Fund (AFM) budget a ‘water and sewerage budget’ and its 250 million lei for afforestation ‘absurd’, the text argues…
Let’s put wood to work!
On 11 May 2026 the Council of the EU adopted its Recommendation on the New European Bauhaus, backed by over 700 supported projects and about 1.4 billion euros…
The doctrine that turns the forest into a killer, and the algorithms that applaud it
In six days in May, two people died in suspected bear attacks: a 65-year-old man in the Kecset forest, Harghita, and a 53-year-old woman in Telciu, Bistrița-Năsăud. In…
Romania, Europe’s champion for electricity prices relative to income
Eurostat data published on 5 May 2026 for the second half of 2025 show Romania with the EU’s highest household electricity price in purchasing power terms, 49.52 PPS/100…
Beyond milestones, lives
On 27 April 2026 ASFOR sent the Ministry of Environment observations on the draft methodology for priority biodiversity zones (ZPB), in effect the impact assessment the ministry should…
Eight, eight, eight — and what we forgot to ask for next
On 1 May 1886 almost 350,000 US workers struck for the 8–8–8 formula: eight hours of work, rest and free time. After Haymarket, the idea survived and became…
The future of forestry is written with vision and respect. My message to the Class of 2026
While representing Romanian forestry in Porto within the Horizon INTERCEDE project, the ASFOR president sent a message to the Brașov forestry graduates of the Class of 2026, delivered…
The forest owner's tax maze in 2026: between digital simplification and administrative burden
Following a seminar by the Brașov regional tax directorate, the text reviews 2026 tax rules for individual forest owners. Income from up to 20 m³ per year of…
Old-growth, T I, T II: anatomy of a confusion with century-long effects
ASFOR's position on the draft Order on Priority Areas for Biodiversity (ZPB) proposes five technical corrections. Bulgaria shows the risk: harvesting fell to 42% of annual growth and…
Survival mode and the risk of economic seppuku
Written from Brussels as the Social Democrats withdraw support for Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, the analysis contrasts Hungary and Bulgaria, where power shifted through elections, with Romania's risk…
Farewell to the marking hammer: notes on a day when the forest crossed a threshold
On 17 April 2026, in the forests of Oituz, the first pilot project replacing the traditional marking hammer with video monitoring, LiDAR and 3D scanning was demonstrated with…
Romania, April 2026: between the fiscal deadline and structural reconstruction
In March 2026 annual inflation reached 9.87%, the eighth month above 9%, while the BNR kept its policy rate at 6.50% and the IMF cut Romania’s 2026 growth…
The lesson of the larch: beyond the numbers, we build character
The ‘Children's Forest’ project closed Forest Month 2026 with plantings in Poiana Stampei, Dorna Candrenilor and Șarul Dornei, alongside Călimani National Park rangers — the last of over…
The forest is in no hurry — but it knows where it is going
This spring Brussels made the bioeconomy a pillar of Europe's industrial sovereignty, and Romania should lead by virtue of its resource. Romania manages 6.9 million hectares of forest…
Sunday reset: between the bill for the past and tomorrow’s stakes
A weekly overview of five issues facing Romania. A Belgian court ruled that Romania must pay Pfizer about 600 million euros for undelivered vaccine doses, rising towards 3.5…
Romania, EU inflation champion: a sober analysis
Eurostat data for February 2026 show Romania with the EU’s highest harmonised inflation, 8.3%, against 1.9% in the euro area and a 2.1% EU average, for the seventh…
The Strait of Hormuz blockade threatens sawn timber exports worth nearly 30 million euros
Speaking on Știrile PRO TV on 2 April 2026, the ASFOR president warned that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the traditional route for Romanian sawn timber…
Forestry diesel: an economic necessity between agriculture's ‘green drop’ and forestry's ‘black drop’
At the National Foresters' Conference in Miercurea Ciuc, ASFOR called for an end to fiscal discrimination between agriculture and forestry. Romanian farmers receive excise relief on diesel under…
The lesson of the larch: why we plant the future in the Călimani communities
Through the ‘Children's Forest’ project, ASFOR and the Călimani National Park Administration planted European larch (Larix decidua) with local children in Stânceni, Lunca Bradului and Răstolița, one tree…
The future of Romania’s forests: between the “fetish” of non-intervention and active management as a pillar of national security
On 27 March 2026, over 400 foresters, owners and managers attended the fourth Conference of Forest Managers and Owners in Miercurea-Ciuc, organised by Harghita County Council and APAPET…
Wood built Europe for millennia. Let it build tomorrow's Europe too!
At a conference on EU industrial policy in the European Parliament's Spinelli Hall, hosted by MEP Maria Grapini, with Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu stressing the 13 million workers…
Forests, the engine of Romania's economic sovereignty: ASFOR's vision at the Romanian Academy
On the International Day of Forests, the Romanian Academy hosted the scientific event ‘Sustainable forest management — between biodiversity conservation and the economic use of the forest’, organised…
Romania’s OECD “exam”: between robust growth and tight pockets
The 2026 OECD Economic Survey of Romania notes the economy’s resilience but warns that the budget deficit remains its Achilles’ heel. For government, it calls for fiscal reform,…
‘Treasures of the Călimani – Stories on Wood’: a partnership for education, art and respect for nature
ASFOR, Romsilva – Călimani National Park Administration and Poiana Stampei town hall launch ‘Treasures of the Călimani – Stories on Wood’, an art and culture education project for…
Hyper-flat Romania: why 2026 is the year we board the train of the future or stay on the platform with a suitcase of excuses
Starting from a conversation with a young Bucharest taxi driver who trains AI agents at night, the editorial describes a “hyper-flat” Romania where globalisation, climate change and artificial…
The asymmetric subsidy: why forestry diesel deserves the same tax shield as agriculture
Agricultural tractors in Romania benefit, under Government Decision 1174/2014, from an excise refund that lowers duty to the EU minimum of 21 euros per 1,000 litres, while forestry…
Forester surveillance: how the forest looks from Facebook
A satirical response to a recent episode reported by Jurnalul Național, in which an ‘investigation’ consisted of saving photos from a colleague's public Facebook profile. While the Romanian…
Smart bioeconomy and agile management: a vision for a resilient forestry sector
In an interview with ForestMania, the transition to a new forest bioeconomy is described as a chance to redefine the relationship with nature: the forest is a complex…
The geopolitics of timber: when the Hormuz blockade hits Romania's economic resilience
The near-paralysis of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, on top of disruption in the Red Sea, forces Romanian wood exports to the Gulf around the Cape of…
Forest biomass: a Romanian answer to an energy crisis
Millions of rural homes burn raw wood in outdated stoves while residual forest biomass, such as branches, bark, treetops and processing waste, rots unused. The RED III directive…
The forest bioeconomy needs coherence, not restrictions: Romania must be at the decision-making table
At Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, the Austrian government hosted a three-day COLI summit on the forest bioeconomy in support of the UN Forum on Forests. Commissioner Jessika Roswall…
Independent observer in the selection of Romsilva's director general: a first for transparency in forest governance
For the first time in Romsilva's history, representatives of academia, protected areas, the forest associations and civil society — Ciprian Dumitru Muscă, Cătălin Roibu, Florin Stoican and Daniel…
Romania on the chessboard: stability through partnerships and clear lines
Romania’s recent diplomatic activity outlines a coherent strategy built on three pillars. The European anchor, the relationship with Brussels and Berlin, underpins access to development resources and depends…
Sagrada Familia reaches the sky: a historic record after 140 years of waiting
With the completion of the Tower of Jesus Christ, Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia has officially become the world’s tallest church at 172.5 metres, overtaking Ulm Cathedral. Antoni Gaudí deliberately…
Romsilva, civil society and the spectre of informing
Inviting citizens to submit information about candidates for director general of Romsilva has been branded as “informing” reminiscent of communist practice. The comparison is false. Romsilva manages about…
Eurostat analysis: Romania cuts greenhouse gas emissions while its economy grows
Eurostat data released on 13 February 2026 show that in the third quarter of 2025 Romania was among nine EU member states, alongside Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia and Lithuania,…
Sessile oak, Brâncuși's silent architect
Marking 150 years since Constantin Brâncuși's birth, the text presents sessile oak (Quercus petraea) — slow-growing, dense-fibred, resilient on stony soils — as a partner in the sculptor's…
The wood equation in a world without a compass
Lessons from the 24th Wood from Finland conference in Helsinki, with nearly 600 professionals from 40 countries. Industry is recovering on data centres, the green transition and defence.…
Those who tend the forest are those who protect it
The debate over the draft emergency ordinance on strict protection zones has turned into mutual accusations. The real choice is not protection versus exploitation but between withdrawing people…
Protection or abandonment? Why foresters do not oppose nature, but a flawed definition
Foresters, rural mayors and local communities are often accused of opposing nature protection. In reality they reject a definition of protection as strict non-intervention, not protection itself. For…
The lesson from Graz: how Romania can tackle energy poverty following the Austrian model
At the Central European Biomass Conference in Graz, Austria's home-heating policy stands out: 100% subsidies for replacing old stoves with modern biomass systems, starting at EUR 8,500 and…
Patient capital: the logic of the forest in a hurried economy
Patient capital is investment that accepts time as a partner rather than an adversary: money, work and knowledge placed today with a horizon of decades, like the forester…
Graz, capital of bioenergy: why the forest now means more than firewood in grandma's stove
On the eve of the 8th Central European Biomass Conference (CEBC 2026) in Graz, starting 20 January 2026 with over 1,400 experts from 56 countries, the text contrasts…
Money from forest ‘air’: between the mirage of millions of euros and reality on the ground
Romanian forest owners are being promised large incomes from voluntary carbon credits. Improved Forest Management projects in Eastern Europe store on average 3–6 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per…
Chemistry, not ideology: how Romania can turn the ‘forest problem’ into a climate solution
EU accounting of forests counts only direct emissions and ecosystem removals, omitting the wood substitution effect: emissions avoided when wood replaces concrete, steel, plastic or fossil gas. The…
The EU–Mercosur agreement: between the promise of free trade and the fears of European agriculture
Approved by a majority of member states in January 2026 after a quarter-century of negotiations begun in 1999, the EU–Mercosur agreement creates one of the world's largest free-trade…
Between thicket and factory: how to turn Romania's ‘wilderness’ into its most valuable national asset
Europe in 2026 balances the Nature Restoration Regulation, which requires restoring 20% of degraded land by 2030, with the 2025 Bioeconomy Strategy. While one hectare of forest managed…
Venezuela 2026: between the Monroe Doctrine and global chaos. What Maduro’s fall means
A US operation in Caracas that detained Nicolás Maduro and placed him under US jurisdiction marks a turning point for the international order. Venezuela’s collapse stems from unsustainable…
Goodbye, lev! Welcome, euro! A lesson in courage from south of the Danube
On 1 January 2026 Bulgaria became the 21st member of the euro area. Although the poorest EU country, it had pegged the lev to the Deutsche Mark and…
2025
The lesson of the tree: how to stay standing when your business is in a storm
For many entrepreneurs, December is not a holiday but a struggle with time, cash flow and exhaustion, as owners scramble to secure salaries so their teams can enjoy…
Christmas message 2025
A video Christmas message from Ciprian Dumitru Muscă, president of ASFOR, published on 26 December 2025. The page consists of an embedded vertical YouTube video, without accompanying text,…
The end of the “spam factory”: how the network behind 49 million fake accounts was dismantled. A security lesson for the end of 2025
On 10 October 2025, a Europol-coordinated operation in Riga dismantled the SIMCARTEL network in Latvia, which sold one-time verification codes from real SIM cards through gogetsms.com and apisim.com…
Beyond the background noise: the measure of our national dignity and Romania's digital bet
Romania aims to be not a log exporter but a smart wood hub built on technology and transparency, yet its weak point remains the unit of measurement. SUMAL…
A manifesto for an (ab)normal week: urgency vs. balance
Written on Monday, 22 December, a week dominated by urgency, traffic, overlapping deadlines and the pressure of ‘perfect holidays’, the text argues that the bravest choice is deciding…
ASFOR's four red lines, or how to rebuild the forestry sector intelligently in 2026
Meeting on 12 December 2025, the ASFOR Board adopted its position for 2026 and launched the analysis ‘Forestry Sector 2025 – From Challenges to Eco-Industrialisation’. The choice is…
Tomorrow's forest: a child's dream painted on glass, an adult reality in Python
Romanian forestry spans two complementary worlds this week. In Vatra Dornei, with Romsilva and Călimani National Park, over 200 pupils painted the park's flora on glass baubles in…
When the forest meets binary code. Episode 3.0: the end of the dictatorship of custom
An open letter replies to a professor who dismissed the case for laser scanning as a ‘crass lack of understanding of statistics’. Classical forest mensuration relies on sampling…
The bet of the decade: when code meets the forest. ZebraHack 3.0 and the end of the ‘dictatorship of estimation’
On 13 December 2025, ZebraHack 3.0 at Politehnica University of Bucharest brings together ASFOR, the Faculty of Automatic Control and Computers, the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests…
Romania 2025–2040: forests as a national project – vision, stability, continuity
Presented at the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, ASFOR’s concept of Strategic and Digitalised Forest Management (2025–2040) calls for a national forest project approved by Parliament and…
The arrogance of timber: why is Germany lecturing us about forests it cut down itself?
A reply to the German public broadcaster ARD's report ‘Corruption is destroying Romania's valuable forests’, republished in Romania by Libertatea, which is seen as moral lecturing by a…
Romania, Europe’s green beacon: how we sabotage our own Carpathian treasure
FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA 2025), launched in Rome on 23 October 2025, shows Romania’s forests expanding: 6.4 million hectares according to INS and 6.9 million according…
Rahova: the warning we cannot ignore. Restarting the “Rabla for Stoves” programme is part of the solution
The gas explosion in Rahova, which killed three people and injured 15, exposes Romania’s vulnerability to unsafe energy sources. ASFOR links the tragedy to the suspension in June…
Green Romania: a story of responsibility, innovation and hope
The Romanian Senate hosted a working meeting on the future of the forest sector, bringing together experts, authorities and industry. Topics included implementing the new Forest Code with…
A new disaster: do we weep on television or fight to save the forest?
Bark beetle (Ips typographus) attacks are destroying conifer forests in Bucovina, the Apuseni, Mureș County and Călimani National Park. In Apuseni Natural Park over 1 million cubic metres…
From the five-year plan to ‘statistical eco-fiction’
A right of reply to a Știrile PRO TV piece claiming Romania afforested in 30 years half as many hectares as in 1953 alone. The 90,000 hectares of…
Foresters’ Day 2025: the energy of a community and the responsibility for a future
On 1 October 2025, Romania’s forest community gathered at Cheile Grădiștei – Fundata for Foresters’ Day 2025, themed on biomass as clean, local and safe energy and on…
Without trust, the forest has no future
Trust is the invisible infrastructure of the forestry sector, linking foresters, loggers, institutions, communities and society; without it every reform collapses. EUDR illustrates the problem: each entrepreneur must…
“Romania for real”: a call for clarity and responsibility
On 23 September 2025, the National Bank of Romania hosted an ASPES conference on the need to restructure and rebuild the national economy in a changing world, opened…
More wood for a better world
Ahead of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy due in November, discussed in Brussels on 17 September by the European Commission and forest-sector representatives, the forest bioeconomy is placed alongside…
17.6 million euros for forestry technology: a step forward for forests and for people
AFIR has begun contracting a new round of investments in forestry technology worth 17.6 million euros for 62 economic operators. In the April–July 2025 session, 353 applications totalling…
Wood, the vitamin C of contemporary architecture
Research confirms that wood is a health factor, not only a building material: interiors with solid wood reduce stress and anxiety, stabilise heart rate, stimulate creativity, speed up…
Broșteni: when a profession builds where others point the finger
After the flood in Broșteni, forestry workers were the first to intervene, before the press or the authorities, with heavy machinery and people mobilised in record time: crossing…
The ‘Gate of Bucovina’ Honorary Distinction
At Poiana Stampei, during the traditional ‘Skilled Forester’ event, the commune's town hall awarded the ‘Gate of Bucovina’ Honorary Distinction, received as a testimony of trust from a…
Safety is a profession. Professionals wear protective equipment
No forest is more valuable than the lives of those who work in it. ASFOR supports FSC Romania’s campaign promoting protective equipment in forest work, which aims to…
DR-24: investment, modernisation and a clear direction for a forestry sector ready for ever more frequent crises
The DR-24 measure, worth 69.3 million euros, attracted projects totalling 90.6 million euros, a 131% oversubscription, showing real appetite for forest investment; in final figures, 353 projects worth…
The ‘3B Model’ — biodiversity, bioeconomy, climate benefits: active management, not bureaucratic illusions, is the key to resilient forests
UNECE's Forest Tracks 2024–2025 report shows Europe's forests caught between climate impacts such as drought, fire, storms and Ips typographus, competing demands for carbon, biodiversity and wood, and…
Nature restoration: a chance for Romania to replace bureaucratic deadlock with investment and jobs
The EU Nature Restoration Regulation, adopted in 2024, requires member states to restore at least 30% of degraded habitats by 2030 and 90% by 2050. For Romania, with…
The forest sector’s voice at the UN: forests and wood as solutions for Europe’s future
At the 20th session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF20) in New York, an event organised by FAO and ACSFI, the private sector advisory body on forestry,…
On Earth Day: wood and the forest, Romanian solutions for a world in crisis
Written for Earth Day, 22 April 2025, the editorial presents the forest and wood as strategic resources and real climate solutions. Romania has 6.5 million hectares of forest,…
Europe, EUDR, penguins and the art of sabotaging your friends
A satirical editorial on transatlantic trade. In Donald Trump's trade war, the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands were hit with a 10% tariff, while Europe answers with EUDR,…
Technology and prevention: how smart solutions can prevent forest fires
At the seventh General Assembly of the EU TREEADS project in Oslo in early April 2025, opened by Prof. Samuel L. Manzello, ASFOR presented the results of Romania’s…
The future of forests is being written now: Romania must be a firm voice for the forest sector’s needs
The revision of the EU Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034 will shape how much is invested in forests over the next decade. Romania, with about 6.6 million hectares…
Rebuilding Ukraine: the role of the forest sector
Russia’s war in Ukraine has reshaped Europe’s timber market. The reconstruction of Ukraine, estimated at over 500 billion euros, will raise demand for wood-based building materials such as…
Romania’s forest sector: challenges and solutions – interview with Ciprian-Dumitru Muscă, President of ASFOR
In an interview with ForestMania.ro, the ASFOR president discusses the Conference of Forest Managers and Owners in Miercurea-Ciuc, co-organised with the Harghita County Development Agency and APAPET, on…
The Romanian state's purchase of 4,063 ha of forest: significance, funding and challenges
The Romanian state, through the National Forest Administration – Romsilva, is resuming the purchase of 4,063.2594 ha of forest in Neamț County. The acquisition is to be financed…
Trump launches a new tariff investigation into timber imports: implications for the US, Europe and Romania
On 1 March 2025, President Donald Trump ordered the US Department of Commerce to open a Section 232 investigation into the impact of timber imports on national security,…
The future of forests in the age of climate change: flexibility or rigidity?
An interview with Laura Bouriaud on whether forest planning needs a new approach. In the context of climate change, many in the forest sector argue that the duration…
How is Bihor protecting itself against floods and drought?
Residents of 25 localities in Bihor County are set to be better protected against climate-related floods and droughts thanks to works still under way, carried out by the…
Forest education for the forest's little explorers
During the national ‘Green Week’ programme, 21 first-graders from the ‘Pia Brătianu’ Secondary School in Bucharest visited the headquarters of the National Forest Administration – Romsilva, where they…
School furniture, a problem in Arad and Iași
A short excerpt of a ForestMania article on new school furniture bought a few months earlier in Arad and Iași with PNRR funding, intended to improve the learning…
Nicolae Onu: faith, nature and art — the secrets of a meaningful life
A short excerpt of a ForestMania portrait of Nicolae Onu, a self-taught man described as an ally of nature against the ailments and addictions affecting society, with a…
The “Junior Rangers” programme: an investment in Romania’s ecological future
On 26 February 2025, Romania’s Environment Fund Administration (AFM) approved the first 15 projects under the “Junior Rangers” programme, with a budget of over 3 million lei. The…
Sustainable forestry and carbon credits: an opportunity for the future of Romania’s forests
Written ahead of the third Conference of Forest Managers and Owners in Miercurea Ciuc on 7 March 2025, the editorial cites Hyyrynen et al. (2023, European Journal of…
Wood in public buildings: European regulations, success stories and opportunities for Romania
The EU supports wood construction through Fit for 55, the Construction Products Regulation (305/2011), the EU Forest Strategy for 2030 and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. National…
Digitalisation in the forestry sector: the SINTETIC project
The second technical meeting of the SINTETIC project, hosted by InnoRenew CoE in Izola, Slovenia, brought together partners and experts on wood traceability and digital solutions for wood…
A worrying look at the future of the wood industry: a gloomy forecast for 2025
The WOOD FROM FINLAND event in Helsinki on 5–6 February 2025 brought together over 600 experts from 34 countries and produced a worrying outlook for 2025. Persistent inflation,…
Innovation and decarbonisation in Europe: the role of forests
Ursula von der Leyen's speech to the European Parliament at the start of 2025 makes competitiveness Europe's absolute priority, calling for innovation, mobilisation of private capital, a decarbonisation…
A living, engaged and transparent Church: reflections on the Diocesan Assembly of the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuți
The Diocesan Assembly of the Archdiocese of Suceava and Rădăuți presented its annual report as a film, ‘2024 — a synthesis in 100 minutes of the year passed…
The forest bioeconomy: sustainability and local development
Amid climate change and the depletion of fossil resources, the forest bioeconomy offers a path to a circular, green economy. Forests regulate water, protect soil, conserve biodiversity and…
The decline of global wood trade: causes and solutions
The FAO report ‘Global forest products facts and figures 2023’ shows global trade in forest products down 12%, a 64-billion-dollar drop in exports to 482 billion dollars. Causes…
The United States Congress has officially certified Donald Trump's victory
The US Congress has officially confirmed Donald Trump's victory in the November presidential election, with 312 Electoral College votes, clearing the way for his inauguration on 20 January,…
The forest: a vital economic, social and environmental resource
Eurostat data for 2022 show the EU with about 160 million hectares of forest (39% of its land), up 8.3 million hectares or 5.5% since 2000, and timber…
Poland's EU Council presidency: challenges and priorities for 2025
Poland launched its rotating EU Council presidency on 3 January 2025, taking over from Hungary amid diplomatic tensions, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk stressing European security. Poland will…
The economic benefits of Romania joining the Schengen area
On 1 January 2025 Romania became a full member of the land Schengen area, joining the 420 million people who live within it. Three benefits stand out: free…
2024
Occident Express Ro: a theatrical journey in Vatra Dornei
The play ‘Occident Express Ro’, based on a work by Suceava-born playwright Matei Vișniec and directed by Alain Timár, with actors Clara Popadiuc, Cătălin Ștefan Mîndru and Răzvan…
War and Peace at the “Cazinoul Băilor” Museum Centre in Vatra Dornei
Opening address for the graphics and painting exhibition “War and Peace” at the “Cazinoul Băilor” Museum Centre in Vatra Dornei, held under the auspices of the Archdiocese of…