Alex Gavan speaks about Romanian Forests

Alex Gavan speaks about Romanian Forests from EIA on Vimeo.

“I cannot imagine a life where nature would not be an integral part of it.” -Alex Gavan

Romania is home to Europe’s last remaining old growth forests and some of the largest populations of brown bear, wolves, and lynx. However, the country’s forests are being ravaged by illegal logging and at a much higher rate than they can be regenerated.

Last year, EIA released a video documenting a multi-year investigation that found a major driver behind this destruction to be Austrian-based timber company Holzindustrie Schweighofer. The company has been profiting off of this destruction.

“The companies that are not thinking about how to protect the environment…are clearly only interested in making a profit should really be boycotted by the customers,” said Alex Gavan, a Romanian environmental activist and personal advisor for the Minister of Environment in Romania. “We can put things on the right path… It is time to wake up.” A leading Romanian high altitude climber, Alex Găvan reached six 8000 m summits in the Himalayas by fair means, meaning without supplemental oxygen and high-altitude porters. To Alex, “climbing mountains outside is climbing mountains inside“. After surviving the earthquake and the Everest avalanche on April 25, he initiated “Joy for Nepal”, a humanitarian campaign for the people of the Himalayas: www.alexgavan.ro/nepal . He is also deeply involved in many environmental issues.

EIA’s report, Stealing the Last Forest, details Schweighofer’s illegal business practices and identifies Europe’s largest buyers of the company’s products. Download and read the full report here.