Romania’s Forestry Guard launches digital platform for complaints
Until now, citizens who submitted petitions regarding possible illegal tree cutting had no tool available to track what happened to their complaints.
Radu Dumitrescu · Journalist
· 4 min read

The National Forestry Guard launched a new digital platform on Monday, October 12, through which citizens can submit and track complaints regarding illegal tree cutting and other irregularities in forests, as well as consult a map showing the locations of inspections carried out by inspectors, the damage identified, and the penalties imposed.
The new application, presented by interim environment minister Diana Buzoianu and National Forestry Guard general inspector Florin George Gârbacea at a press conference, aims both to increase the transparency of inspections and to change the way complaints regarding violations of forestry legislation are registered, resolved, and evaluated.
The application includes information on the historical boundaries of forest land, dating back to 1990, data from forestry management plans, and a system for evaluating the performance of the nine regional forestry guards. It was developed within the institution, without contracting external programming services.
The minister explained that, until now, citizens submitting petitions regarding possible illegal tree cutting had no tool available to track what happened to their complaints. Inspections could take months, and petitioners had to wait for the institution’s response without being able to access information about the progress of the inspection or its results.
Through the new platform, each complaint submitted online will automatically receive a registration number, which will be sent to the petitioner by email. They will subsequently be able to check the status of the petition, the time elapsed since registration, whether an inspection has been carried out, and the conclusions of the checks. The system includes a timeline of the complaint resolution process, from registration to the communication of the response.
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Moreover, the electronic form allows for documents that can help inspectors identify the location and nature of the reported irregularities to be attached. Citizens are encouraged to submit photographs with GPS location data, geographical coordinates, cadastral documents, and other relevant materials. Gârbacea explained that this information can be particularly important when unmarked tree stumps, suspicious tree cutting, or interventions in areas where the boundaries of forest land are unclear are reported.
The application also tracks compliance with deadlines for resolving petitions. The general inspector stated that after a complaint is registered, the system automatically calculates the 30-day response deadline. In the internal module, petitions that are still within the deadline are marked in green, while those that have exceeded it are highlighted in red. Depending on the complexity of the inspections, the deadline may also be extended in accordance with the law.
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