SaS and Democrats Warn of Irregular Logging in Muranska Planina National Park(2)

Banska Bystrica/Bratislava, 29 July (TASR) - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party and the extra-parliamentary Democrats have raised concerns over suspected irregularities in timber harvesting in Muranska Planina National Park. Democrats claim the state may have lost up to €1 million via overpriced contracts and unfavourable pricing, while SaS alleges illegal felling of healthy trees and damage to valuable forest areas. The park administration told TASR that it's filed a criminal complaint over suspected unauthorised handling of timber. The Democrats said that the national park may have overpaid at least €478,000 in 2025 alone because of the way in which a timber harvesting tender was structured. They called on the Environment Ministry to publish the audit of logging in Slovakia's national parks that it announced in May. According to the party, the Slovak Forestry and Timber Inspection (SLDI) is currently carrying out an extensive inspection in Muranska Planina. "Publicly available information relating to selected forest areas in the Pohorela forest district, compared with satellite imagery, raises suspicions that hundreds to thousands of cubic metres of timber may have been harvested in breach of the Forestry Act, to the detriment of the state. And we are talking about only one location; it is likely that the inspection covers a larger area around Zavadka nad Hronom," said Democrats representative Michal Kica. SaS also criticised the suspected logging, claiming the national park authorities have failed to deal effectively with a bark beetle outbreak and alleging illegal felling of healthy trees, as well as possible cover-ups by state institutions. "In one forest area, hundreds of healthy trees disappeared, leaving a cleared area that was never even officially recorded. Elsewhere, bark beetle damage was reported three years ago, yet nothing was done. In the meantime, the infestation repeatedly spread and destroyed other forests," said MP Alojz Hlina (SaS). SaS also claimed that the Slovak Forestry and Timber Inspectorate has repeatedly sought police assistance in monitoring timber transport but has received no support. "If state authorities knowingly refused to act, it's another piece of the puzzle explaining why timber could have been stolen for months," Hlina noted. In its response for TASR, the Muranska Planina National Park administration confirmed that an audit began in April, as in other national parks. It added that the Slovak Forestry and Timber Inspectorate has also been conducting regulatory oversight concerning the placing of timber and timber products on the domestic market, as well as forestry inspections in the Pohorela area. Meanwhile, the police have denied that the Slovak Forestry and Timber Inspectorate has requested their assistance. In a statement for TASR, the Environment Ministry said that, unlike the previous government, its promoted cooperation in national parks primarily with the state forestry company rather than with private firms. The ministry also said it's pursuing the public interest by carrying out extensive inspections and has implemented several personnel changes to support that objective. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final three paragraphs mf/df