ING Bank and Foundation Conservation Carpathia continue the partnership started last year, by launching a campaign to collect donations in order to contribute to the ecological reconstruction of logged areas in the Făgăraș Mountains, areas that in the past have been affected by logging that did not comply with the forestry legislation or by calamities that led to the destruction of the forest ecosystem.
Although Romania has the largest areas of virgin forest in Europe, the country has lost 10% of its virgin forests in the last century, of which 4.9% in 2000-2021 alone.
The phenomenon of deforestation is all the more worrying as the regenerated area is decreasing. As an example, according to the latest data, 24,459 hectares were reforested in 2019, less than in 2015, when the reforested area was 28,750 hectares.
Moreover, only 29% of Romania’s surface is currently covered by forests, below the European average estimated at 38%.
“Climate change is a reality that we are all living today and that our children will experience even more intensely if we do not make efforts to slow down this pace,” said Mihai Zotta, Conservation Director of Conservation Carpathia. “Restoring natural ecosystems through afforestation with tree seedlings of species that have existed and evolved naturally here for thousands of years is making a beneficial change both for us humans who have mistakenly thought we are better engineers than nature and for nature itself. We need to understand and respect the extraordinary complexity, interdependence and perfection of natural systems at least before it is too late. The ecological restoration of areas affected by clear-cutting is one of the pillars of Conservation Carpathia, and the process is complex, takes many years and is extremely resource intensive.
“This spring alone, we replanted over 110 hectares with 435,250 spruce, fir, beech and alder seedlings in the Făgăraș Mountains, a record for our team. We are glad that ING Romania is still with us and we hope that our message will influence as many people as possible to join us”.
The donation campaign aims to support the ecological reconstruction projects carried out by Conservation Carpathia in the Făgăraș Mountains and the funds raised will be used to recreate natural ecosystems more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
People who want to get involved can donate directly from the Home’Bank application (for ING customers) or by bank transfer to Foundation Conservation Carpathia, IBAN: RO16RNCB0061114278450048.
Every donation counts:
With 10 lei, 100 fir seeds are sprouted;
25 lei ensures the care of 10 beech, maple and mountain ash seeds, planted in their own nursery, for one month;
50 lei is used to level 10 square metres of slippery ground;
100 lei is used to transport the seedlings up the mountain;
And 150 lei pays a worker for a day’s planting at high altitude;
Any amount: the money is used for levelling, seeding, replanting and forest care.
“Our approach as a bank for sustainability means that we run first and foremost the initiatives where we have the greatest impact as a financial institution,” said Alexandra Maier, Sustainability Manager, ING Bank Romania. “These are complemented by long-term partnerships where we follow the same approach: where can we significantly limit the effects of climate change or abusive environmental intervention through our support?
“As such, we are happy to continue our partnership to protect the forests of Făgăraș together with Foundation Conservation Carpathia, which is truly creating a protected wilderness area, the largest in Europe. It is in our power to be there for the Făgăraș National Park, both through the bank’s contribution and through the involvement of our customers, who join each time causes, whether environmental or social, by donating to Home’Bank”.
The campaign carried out by ING Bank Romania in collaboration with Foundation Conservation Carpathia aims to draw attention to the importance of forests in maintaining the balance of the biosphere and to encourage people to donate to support the reforestation of the Făgăraș area.
Since 2009, Foundation Conservation Carpathia has been actively involved in the conservation and ecological reconstruction of the forests in the Carpathian Mountains, with future generations in mind.
This campaign will run online for a period of seven weeks, where the forests are brought into focus through people’s stories.
Interested parties can also learn new information about how they function as an ecosystem from six short documentaries narrated by Romanian actor Marius Manole.
Viewers are encouraged to recall those stories in which the forest played an important role in their lives, and now play an active role in the life of the forest by donating to the future Făgăraș National Park.
