The Carpathians curve through central Europe in a great arc, and they hold something the rest of the continent lost centuries ago: genuine primeval forest, beech and fir that has never been cut, in stands old enough that the trees fall and rot where they lie and the whole cycle of a forest plays out without interruption. Romania holds the largest remnants, and they are of global significance.
Europe’s largest populations of brown bear, wolf, and lynx live in these mountains. They were never exterminated here, and the Carpathians have functioned as the reservoir from which those species are now recolonising the west. It is not an exaggeration to say that the return of the wolf to Germany and France began in these forests.
The organizations here fight illegal logging, which has been extensive and sometimes violent, with forest rangers murdered for interfering with it, defend the last old-growth stands, and protect the large carnivores that make this the wildest mountain range in Europe.
Environmental Organizations in This Bioregion
4 organizations working across this landscape.
Agent Green
The AGENT GREEN association is a non-governmental and non-profit organization for environmental protection , established in 2009 in Romania . The organization's affi...
Foundation Conservation Carpathia
Creating the Yellowstone of Europe in the Romanian Fagaras Mountains
Fundacja Dziedzictwo Przyrodnicze
The Natural Heritage Foundation is the guardian of Polish nature . We protect forests and areas where old trees grow, preventing them from being cut down. We are loo...
Mihai Eminescu Trust
MET is a non-profit organization working since 1998 to preserve the cultural and natural heritage of the Saxon villages with fortified churches of Transylvania, some...