Environmental raids expose illegal tree felling in rural Moldova
Environmental inspectors uncovered widespread illegal logging across three Moldovan districts, documenting over 170 unlawfully felled trees and environmental damages exceeding €2,970 (approx. 58,000 MDL), authorities confirmed on Sunday.
The Environmental Protection Inspectorate announced that targeted enforcement checks targeted both municipal woodland and agricultural shelterbelts in Dondușeni, Cimișlia, and Cahul.
Heavy losses in northern municipal forests
The most extensive environmental damage occurred in northern Dondușeni, where inspectors uncovered seven separate cases of illegal logging across forest tracts managed by local councils in Tîrnova, Climăuți, and Arionești.
Surveillance teams identified 128 tree stumps belonging to multiple species cut down by unidentified individuals. The stolen timber amounted to 16.35 cubic metres, causing estimated environmental damages of €2,610 (approx. 50,990 MDL).
Inspectors catalogued and marked each stump with official forensic identification stamps to build legal files. The agency warned that illicit felling severely accelerates woodland degradation and pledged ongoing raids to curb unauthorized harvesting.
Shelterbelt clearing and transport crackdowns
Further south, in the outskirts of Cimișlia, officers discovered 42 felled acacia trees within an agricultural shelterbelt—critical woodland planted along crop fields to prevent soil erosion.
The ecological damage was assessed at €395 (approx. 7,730 MDL), with case evidence forwarded to the Cimișlia Police Inspectorate for criminal identification.
Simultaneously, Cimișlia inspectors monitored regional transit routes to verify timber transport permits and provenance papers. Combined with local autumn cleanup inspections, authorities issued five contravention citations carrying total fines of €600 (approx. 11,700 MDL).
In Cahul, inspectors cited unlawful tree felling involving walnut trees situated in a field shelterbelt owned by the Moscovei local council. Authorities confiscated the cut timber while assessors calculate total damages, alongside ongoing monitoring of heavy transport carrying commercial mineral resources between Cahul and Taraclia.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
