How legal is it in Romania to practice motorized sports in the middle of the forest and how they affect nature. What environmental activists, environment ministry and game wardens have to say

In recent times, motorized sports in mountain areas in our country have taken on an unprecedented scale. In addition to enthusiasts, most mountain resorts have filled up with centres offering ATVs, off-road vehicles or enduro motorbikes for hire for rides through forests or alpine hollows, many of which are even nature reserves.

„Whether it’s forest or muddy forest roads, you’ll come out on top in the face of nature. If you’ve never used an ATV before, you’ll have a great experience because of the ease with which you ride”, sounds the advert with which an ATV rental centre in the Prahova Valley is trying to attract customers.

The problem is that these outings in forests, whether state or private, are outside the legal framework.

Activists and environmental authorities alike say outright that motorized sports in the middle of the forest are forbidden without the written consent of the forest administrator, or without a special permit from the Ministry of the Environment in the case of organized competitions.

„The law says they can only access the forest with the written consent of the forest administrator. If there is no agreement, the fine starts at 2,000 lei and goes up to 5,000 lei for access to the forest with motorized vehicles. The problem in this case is that the fines are too low. We don’t currently have so many policemen and gendarmes to patrol all the forests in Romania to stop people with ATVs from entering them”, Ciprian Gălușcă, Greenpeace Romania coordinator, told G4Media.ro.

„Access to the forest is allowed only in the framework of competitions that require a special permit from the forestry directorates or other institutions under the coordination or subordination of the Ministry of Environment,” Bogdan Bălănișcu, secretary of state in the Ministry of Environment, told TVR.

Forest rangers and hunting officials consulted by G4Media.ro admit that the phenomenon of motorized sports in the middle of forests has recently become more widespread and that nature is being affected, but say that their powers and resources are limited to intervene.

„It’s very hard to recognize someone. If the man doesn’t want to talk when you try to talk politely to them, there’s nothing you can do. You can’t stop them, you don’t know who they are because they don’t have any identifiable stuff and it’s very hard to intervene yourself as a game warden or a ranger. In the woods, to upset the balance just for the sake of adrenaline seems idiotic to me. Everything in the forest gets scared, from mice and hedgehogs to bears,” Adrian Titianu, in charge of hunting at the Bacău Forestry Department, told G4Media.ro.

What the law says

According to the National Forestry Authority, „public access to the national forest with motor vehicles, motorcycles, ATVs or mopeds is prohibited, except for organized sports, recreation and tourism activities, which can be practiced on forest roads or on specially marked and approved trails, only with the consent of: a) the head of the forestry office, in the case of administration; b) the owner, with the opinion of the head of the forestry office, in the case of forestry services”.

Only in the case of non-governmental organizations, access to the forest land with motor vehicles, motorcycles, ATVs or mopeds is allowed only after signing a protocol with the administrator, in the case of public forest land owned by the state, or with the administrator/owner, in the case of private forest land.

Translated