MEP Thomas Waitz: Bulgaria has fantastic protected forests, a very strong civic society and weak institutions

published on 7/8/21 10:43 AM

Thomas Waitz

Bulgarian forests still have a good genetic fund but the law on illegal logging has to be applied more strictly, Austrian MEP Thomas Waitz, co-chair of the European Green Party, said in an interview for the BNR’s Horizont channel.

Waitz, who is a forest and agriculture expert, commented his reasons for paying a visit to Bulgaria:

Thomas Waitz on why he paid a visit to Bulgaria

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“The situation is partly very good, because you have a lot of protected areas, but partly, especially far away from the road you find also illegal logging, over-harvesting, illegal clearcuts. (…) It is really urgent that the institutions do their job, and really check if the forest management is done in the right way, unfortunately there are many illegal loggings,” Thomas Waitz says.

Thomas Waitz on the state of Bulgarian forests and protected areas

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“It is the first time in history that all European countries stand together for the recovery. This is the so-called recovery and resilience fund. (…) It is very important that Bulgaria also uses that money for the green transition. (…) This is a unique chance for the country.”