Moldova's Green Journalists Mobilize Public to Save Forest

By Aleku Renitse

The first people to tackle Moldova's environmental problems openly were not scientists, but rather creative intellectuals, mainly editors, writers and film makers. Environmental journalism in Moldova has a long history, about two decades of activity with great public, social and political resonance. From 1986 to 1990, environmental stories were featured prominently in national newspapers, radio and television. Even local newspapers began to include articles on the environment. One particularly famous program was a "Telemarathon for Soul and Health" organized by Moldova National Television, which dedicated an entire day's programming to environmental problems. Legislative leaders and over two million viewers participated in this event.

Unfortunately, beginning in 1991, the public's interest in environmental problems began to wane, and since 1994 ecological topics have rarely been covered by the conventional media. This information vacuum, combined with official disinterest in environmental protection and an upswing in business interest in exploiting all demonstrated the urgent need for a national environmental newspaper that could serve as a forum for NGOs, ecologists, scientists, policy makers and others interested in preservation of the environment.

A group of journalists, alarmed at the lack of public interest in the environment, established their own newspaper in 1990. But with limited resources, they failed to reach a wide audience. In 1994, with support from ISAR-Kyiv, they launched a new newspaper, Natura, for distribution throughout Moldova, Romania and Ukraine's Odessa and Chernovitsy regions. Natura has since become an important source of information for the NGO community, but perhaps its most important function has been to create a watchdog mindset in the public, mobilizing them against the exploitation of Moldova's natural resources by private or government interests.

An example is the well-known case of the Seabeco-Silva forest. The government of Moldova secretly drafted a contract to sell 7,000 hectares of forest to a foreign firm for industrial exploitation. This forest was one of Moldova's last remaining forest stands-most of its other trees have been cleared for agriculture.

Before the deal was complete, Natura learned about the plan and wrote an article publicizing the case. The article provoked a chain reaction; local and national press took up the story and the public began to fight to preserve the forest. For three weeks, members of local communities directly affected by the deal repeatedly appealed to the government and requested a public hearing on the Seabeco-Silva project. The staff of Natura was invited to participate in several meetings to describe the project's damaging effects. We estimate that Natura mobilized more than 200,000 people, especially from the affected areas of Ungheni and Calarasi.

Under public pressure, and after a parliamentary inquiry and presidential intervention, the Prime Minister was forced to give an explanation on national television. Despite the fact that the decision had been endorsed by government officials, the Prime Minister asserted that the government knew nothing about the deal and was not involved in selling the forest lands. However, the goal of Natura's campaign had been achieved: the Seabeco-Silva project was stopped and the forest was preserved.

The case dramatized the influence that environmental mass media can have on the public, as well as the power of public participation in environmental protection. Today, Natura serves not only as a source of information, but also as an independent grassroots effort to promote new democratic values and raise the prestige of environmental protection.

Aleku Renitse is executive editor of Natura. Translated by Rachel Griffiths. Natura, 13 Sergeya Lazo Street, Chisinau 2004, Moldova; phone: (0422) 23-71-49; fax: (0422) 23-71-57; e-mail: emm@envinet.kiev.ua