Forests cover 30% of the planet land, or almost four billion ha.

Originally shared by ****

Forests cover 30% of the planet land, or almost four billion ha. Seven million ha are in Romania, which represents 29% of the national territory; 60% of our forests are located in the Carpathian Mountains. According to World Wide Fund for Nature, out of the 320,000 ha of virgin forests still existing in Europe, 250,000 ha are located in Romania.

As a child, I learnt from my grandparents who lived in a small village in the Carpathian Mountains that “the forest is Romanian’s brother”. This metaphor comes from the remote Middle Age and encapsulates perfectly the essence of our history. As inhabitants of a country whose social, cultural and economic fabric was closely linked to forests, and whose defense when outnumbered by foreign invaders consisted in retreats into the huge wild Carpathian forests, followed by deadly counter-attacks against the enemy – a strategy that kept my ancestors always free – Romanians are genetically connected to mountains and forests.

The Turks beat the crap out of us on several occasions though. The Germans as well. So , ya know , hide better ! )))

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-ion-jinga/wild-carpathia_b_17232378.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-ion-jinga/wild-carpathia_b_17232378.html