Romania is at the forefront of protecting Europe's last virgin forests, home to wolves and brown bears. The European Union has invited NGO's to assist officials in mapping the threatened forests in order to add them to a National Database, which will then protect them by law. It has been stated that some of the Beech Forests are candidates for UNESCO's World Heritage List.

In 2005 a partial inventory was conducted that indicated that Romania could have 250,000 hectares of virgin forest, but it is believed that the poorly-regulated logging industry has destroyed over half of that in the last decade.

In addition to their efforts to record the remaining forests, they have also completely overhauled their forest management system. There are now steep fines for those found not abiding to the regulations. They have launched a mobile app called Forest Inspector, enabling citizens to track timber trucks. Also, they have allotted funds to help small private owners protect their forests, a legal requirement that many can't afford.

Romania hope that, alongside the incredible environmental benefits that this work will bring to the world, it will put Romania on the map for wildlife enthusiasts and wilderness hikers.

Green Motion hope you will take the opportunity to explore this amazing country with one of our eco-friendly cars, available for self drive hire from Green Motion Romania, one of our newest car rental stations. To make the most of our competitive car hire rates, book online at greenmotion.com or call our Central Reservations Team on +44 (0) 2071864000.