Vengrai vėl protestuoja prieš „miškų naikinimą“, vyriausybei atšaukiant kai kuriuos pakeitimus

More than a thousand Hungarians protested against Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s loosening of logging regulations. This was in response to increased demand for wood due to rising electricity and gas prices.

The Cabinet of Nationalist Orban, citing the impact of war in Ukraine, relaxed regulations on logging earlier in the month. Opposition parties and activists fear that this could lead to more deforestation and damage the environment.

After the protest last week and the WWF collecting over 100,000 signatures on an online petition to reverse a decree on "forest devastation", the Cabinet reversed some of the changes and exempted nature reserves from the regulations.

Green activists called Wednesday's protest to call for a peaceful resolution. However, some protesters who attended the rally on Wednesday said that the government was only trying to ease tensions caused by the reforms.

"I believe this is a smokescreen. They are trying to calm nerves but have not abandoned their true intentions hidden in this decree," Aniko Radl (a protester) said. "If there is an energy crisis, we should adjust our consumption first."

According to the government, Hungary can produce 3.5M cubic metres of firewood annually. The loosening of rules was necessary amid increased demand. This is partly due to Orban's reduction in his subsidised household utility bills policy.

Orban's government claims that logging will only be increased in the event of an emergency. The WWF stated that only a complete reverse of the loosening rules would ensure the preservation of Hungary’s forests.

reklama

It stated that clear-cutting in private forests, floodplains, and military areas was still possible. Only the repeal of the government decree will ensure that forests are protected fully.

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