{"id":6678,"date":"2025-09-09T09:04:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T09:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=6678"},"modified":"2025-09-09T09:04:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T09:04:02","slug":"ikeas-wood-sourcing-fuels-logging-in-romanias-ancient-forests-greenpeace-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=6678","title":{"rendered":"IKEA\u2019s wood sourcing fuels logging in Romania\u2019s ancient forests – Greenpeace report"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a new report<\/a>, Greenpeace accuses IKEA of contributing to the destruction of some of Europe\u2019s last remaining wilderness areas in Romania\u2019s Carpathian Mountains, warning that the company\u2019s wood sourcing practices are threatening irreplaceable ancient forests. The group projected its findings onto an IKEA store in Bucharest on Sunday night to mark the report\u2019s launch.<\/p>\n

In the new investigation, Felling the Future: IKEA\u2019s Sourcing Threatens Romania\u2019s Irreplaceable Forests, Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) said it found evidence that IKEA suppliers are logging High Biodiversity Value Forests, including the Rusca Montan\u0103 Forest, one of Romania\u2019s last old-growth ecosystems.<\/p>\n

Robert Cyglicki, Head of Biodiversity at Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe, stated: \u201cWe have evidence that shows that IKEA is deliberately ignoring warnings to stay out of precious forests that should be protected. Its suppliers are sourcing wood from Europe\u2019s richest wildlife habitats, including one of the last ancient forests of the Carpathians.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis starkly contradicts the company\u2019s claims of responsible forest management, sustainable sourcing, and commitment to protect biodiversity,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The investigation, which combined satellite imagery with field studies, documented the loss of nearly 59 square kilometers of High Biodiversity Value Forests in 2024 alone \u2013 an area larger than 8,200 football pitches. Greenpeace said the rate of forest loss in Romania was 2.5 times higher than in neighboring countries Poland and Ukraine.<\/p>\n

While IKEA did not deny sourcing from the forests identified, the company has defended its practices as legal under Romanian law and in line with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. Greenpeace countered that Romania\u2019s FSC standard has not been updated since 2017 and fails to integrate EU biodiversity targets, making it inadequate to protect vulnerable forests.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnalysis of last year\u2019s canopy loss revealed a disturbing trend: forests proposed for strict protection had already been logged before politicians could decide their status under the EU Biodiversity Strategy,\u201d explained Monika Hoffmann, PhD, Nature Conservation Specialist with the Polish Academy of Sciences.<\/p>\n

Greenpeace called on IKEA to immediately stop sourcing wood from No-Logging Areas, including ancient and high-biodiversity forests, even if Romanian law allows it. The NGO warned that continued inaction would make the furniture giant complicit in destroying ecosystems crucial for climate stability and biodiversity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIKEA faces a choice: protect these irreplaceable forests or be complicit in their destruction,\u201d Cyglicki added. \u201cNo one would tear apart the pyramids of Egypt just to reuse the stones \u2013 yet that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s happening to our natural heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

In 2024, another Greenpeace investigation<\/a> showed that furniture manufacturers producing for IKEA are sourcing wood from some of Europe\u2019s last remaining old-growth forests in the Romanian Carpathians, including in Natura 2000 protected areas.<\/p>\n

irina.marica@romania-insider.com<\/p>\n

(Photo source: Greenpeace)<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a new report, Greenpeace accuses IKEA of contributing to the destruction of some of Europe\u2019s last remaining wilderness areas in Romania\u2019s Carpathian Mountains, warning that the company\u2019s wood sourcing practices are threatening irreplaceable ancient forests. The group projected its findings onto an IKEA store in Bucharest on Sunday night to mark the report\u2019s launch. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6678\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}