24.000 ha de păduri primare de fag, propunerea României pentru Patrimoniul Mondial UNESCO [24000 ha of primary beech forests, the Romanian proposal in UNESCO World Heritage]

Abstract

Under the coordination of The Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests, about 24000 ha of primeval beech forests located in 8 natural protected area from the Romanian Carpathians were included for inscription into the World Heritage List to extend the „Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany” (1133bis). The extended World Heritage property is proposed to carry the joint new name: „Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe”. Supported by 13 European countries (Romania included), the nomination proposes to establish a transnational serial UNESCO property, with a surface of more that 95000 ha, that reunites the most representative and well preserved beech forests from the natural areal of this species in order to illustrate the ecological process of extension - that is in progress at present - of beech on the European continent. The process of choosing these canditate sites was thought for completing the existent sites and for providing arguments and reflecting better on the extension of species distribution at the level of Europe. At the end of January 2016, Austria, the coordinator country of the nomination process at the international level transmitted the common dossier for the nomination to the committee of evaluation of UNESCO World Heritage List.

Keywords

• European beech forests
• primeval beech forests
• protected forest areas
• Natural World Heritage