The Ministry of the Environment, Water, and Forests (MMAP) won the first-instance ruling in the lawsuit regarding the Control Body’s report on the road in Băneasa Forest, a document contested by the National Forest Administration (RNP) – Romsilva Ilfov, Minister Diana Buzoianu announced on Tuesday on her social media page.
"Today, the Ministry of the Environment won the first-instance lawsuit regarding the Control Body’s report on the road in Băneasa Forest, a report that was contested by none other than Romsilva Ilfov! I congratulate the ministry’s legal team! Using public funds and time, Mr. Răduţă, director of the Romsilva Ilfov Forestry Directorate, tried to explain that the problem with the road in Băneasa Forest was the Ministry’s Control Body report, not the illegal contract he signed. He lost on the merits. Directors of the Forestry Directorates can be dismissed by the General Director of Romsilva. Does anyone believe that the old-new Director General of Romsilva will dismiss the directors who clearly do not protect the forests? We continue to work with purpose. Romania’s forests deserve a reformed Romsilva,” Buzoianu emphasized on Facebook.
Last month, the Bucharest Natural Park Association and the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Forests (MMAP) announced at a press conference that they had submitted the Scientific Feasibility Study for the establishment of the Baneasa Forest Natural Park to the Romanian Academy.
According to the study, based on data from the forest management plan (U.P. II Băneasa, 2020), the studied forest area consists of public property (36%—439.7 hectares) and private property (64%—781.8 hectares), and forestry management is provided by the National Forest Administration (RNP Romsilva) through the Bucharest Forest District, part of the Ilfov Forestry Directorate.
The total area of the Băneasa Forest protected natural area is 1,221.5 hectares and, from an administrative-territorial perspective, overlaps with Bucharest Municipality, Sector 1, and the localities of Voluntari and Tunari in Ilfov County.
According to environmental activists, establishing the protected natural area status in the Băneasa Forest is the only measure that can guarantee the forest’s long-term integrity, conserve habitats, and provide people with access to healthy recreation and clean air.
The scientific feasibility study for the Băneasa Forest Nature Park was conducted by the Bucharest Nature Park Association as part of the Rewilding project, funded by the Environmental Platform for Bucharest, a program initiated by the Bucharest Community Foundation and ING Bank Romania.
A report by the Inspection Body of the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Forests (MMAP), published on February 10, 2026, shows that the length of forest road FE002 located in the Băneasa Forest was modified by including an additional section of approximately 0.72 km, and the extension was carried out without the required legal documentation regarding the change in land use category, without a technical design, and without the approvals required by current legislation.
The Băneasa Forest is the largest area of primary nature in Bucharest, one of the last remnants of the Codrul Vlăsiei, part of the Capital’s Green Belt. Hundreds of species of animals, birds, amphibians, and insects call this place home, 46 of which are protected or threatened with extinction — the black woodpecker, the hazel grouse, the hazel snake, the crested newt, the zebra butterfly, the dusky bat, the badger, the squirrel, and the roe deer.
AGERPRES
