Author: Monika Bancsina monika.bancsina@mwi.uni-heidelberg.de  Max-Weber-Institute of Sociology Heidelberg University

Author: Markus Pohlmann markus.pohlmann@mwi.uni-heidelberg.de Max-Weber-Institute of Sociology Heidelberg University

When we think about the clear-cutting of the virgin forests, the first thing that comes to mind for many of us, is Brazil and the Amazon. But there is no need to go that far. The deforestation of some of Europe’s oldest virgin forests through legal and illegal logging has become the norm in many parts of Romania. In an almost ghostly fashion, some of the most biodiverse forests in all of Europe are disappearing. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, illegal logging seems to have become largely uncontrollable. More and more bald patches are appearing in the forested mountains. More and more forests are disappearing. Despite frequent attempts to stop it, numerous EU-regulations, and the Interpol Forestry Crime Team, clear-cutting has continued to increase. How can this be explained and why is illegal deforestation so hard to stop? After all, the perpetrators are not out and about at night, like Dracula in his day, but in broad daylight.