WWF: The Government is committed to clearing our protected forests

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 06. 09. 10:57

The government ignored the president’s veto and, after some legal tricks, submitted the deforestation bill to the Parliament’s Legislative Committee without any changes. They did this knowing that the amendment to the Forest Act was against the Fundamental Law and that the justification for the amendment had nothing to do with the bill. Although the final vote is still to come, the political message is clear: the government voted in favor of the clear-cutting of our most valuable forests.

Apt question: it was submitted to Parliament on Earth Day and the Legislative Committee voted on World Environment Day, what is it? In good faith, we could think that on the eve of this year, which promises to be a catastrophic drought, this could be an extremely ambitious draft climate law. The reality, however, is that the saddest stages of the creation of a law that seriously threatens our most valuable, nature-protected forests are tied to the glorious days of environmental protection.

The amendment to the Forest Act, which the Minister of Justice submitted to the Parliament as part of a complex salad bill, would have originally transferred certain elements of the infamous 2022 Fire Ordinance to the normal legal order. However, the legislative process was accompanied by loud protests: within a week, 150 organizations and 46 thousand individuals signed a petition demanding that decision-makers protect Hungarian forests, and in addition to nature conservationists, professional organizations dealing with forestry also spoke out against the proposal. The problem with the bill, among other things, is that it would expand the possibilities for clear-cutting in our most valuable natural forests, thus even forests such as the Gemenc Forest or even the rich forest habitats of the Bükk National Park could be endangered. The protest brought little result, the law facilitating clear-cutting was voted on by Parliament despite detailed professional arguments and social uproar, and the voices of protest were tried to be silenced with a completely shocking ex post “justification”.

Legislative Committee against the Fundamental Law

President of the Republic Dr. Tamás Sulyok – who as a former President of the Constitutional Court had already advocated for the protection of our natural assets – recognized the dangers inherent in the amendment to the law and heard the counter-arguments, so he did not sign the law, but sent it back to the Parliament for consideration on May 30, which had to discuss it again. Although the head of state chose the polite and diplomatic path and made his decision citing formal reasons, in his letter to the Parliament, he argued at length against the amendment to the law that would undermine the protection of our forests, voiced his constitutional concerns and objected to the subsequent “justification” of the amendment to the law. In addition, the President of the Republic expressly recommended to the Parliament to abandon the amendment to the Forest Act during the renegotiation of the Salad Act. The legislation was thus returned to the Parliament’s Legislative Committee, which put it on the agenda on June 5, World Environment Day. The Hungarian Association of Nature Conservationists, the Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Association and WWF Hungary sent an open letter to Dr. Bence Tuzson, Minister of Justice, which was also sent to the Legislative Committee, drawing attention to the previous concerns as well as the irregularities of the subsequent justification.