Title: Forestry in Romania
Description: The Author, my father - Filip Tomulescu passed away on the 23rd of November 2009, at the age of 90, in Perth, Western Australia, where he migrated together with my mother Ana to be with me, in 2002. He was born on the 23rd of August 1919 in Focsani, Romania. This date used to be the national day of Romania, not by design though, until the revolution in 1989. His father had passed away before his birth, after returning from the First World War. He had a sister Nutica and a brother Ionel. Their mother Ioana, raised them strictly but lovingly by herself. 

He loved his work, dedicated to the sustainable exploitation and reforestation efforts in Romania. He rose from humble beginnings to become a forestry engineer, then Director of the largest region in Romania - Mures, in Transilvania. From there he become the secretary of forestry, and also FAO Vice-Chairman for European forests. Before retiring, he was Ambassador to the Philippines. 

The above book is an account of the issues and history of the evolution of forests in Romania. It is a specialty book, of interest to those in the field. His interests always lied with doing the right thing for the forests of Romania, in his work. The politics of the day, did not always point in that same direction and he adroitly managed to make the right decisions for the Romanian forests. In those days of communist Romania (socialism as it was called), you could not exactly spell out your thoughts, freedom of speech was limited. When you read this book, you have to read between the lines and let your imagination take you where the author wanted to guide you. 

The Romanian people have an amazing connection with the forest, the "bush" as it's called here in Australia, perhaps moreso than any other people. Over the centuries, being at the crossroads between Europe, Russia and the Asia Minor (Turkey), Romanians often found refuge in the comfort of the friendly forest. There are lots of stories, poems and songs about the close connection of the Romanian people and the forests. 

Romania has wonderful mountains, forests, rivers and sceneries, unrivalled anywhere. The Carpathian Mountains are a continuation of the Swiss Alps chain. There are many other older mountainous formations, picturesque, adding variety to the topography. Romania has mountains, plains, glacier lakes, the Danube Delta, with its wealth of flora and fauna, hundreds of species of birds and fish amongst other. And the Black Sea, with its beautiful attraction, spoken of in Ovid's poems (latin poet who lived near the Black Sea). All this is amazingly represented through the variety of sceneries that the four seasons bring, as a result of a temperate climate. I remember with great fondness all the trips we made everywhere, together with my father and mother, in all these wonderful places, from trekks along breathtaking sceneries of sheer cliffs and waterfalls, to hunting and sighting trips for bear, wild boar, dear, rabbit and pheasant, also trout fishing, which is a little like hunting since you have to hide from the fish's sight. We were not that keen on the hunting side of it, but went along on the trips for the other aspects of the experience. Not to forget the amazing cabins we had to stay at, in the most remote places from Maramures to the Retezat Mountains, Fagaras, Ceahlau or Cheia. 

My father was a kind, gentle but powerful man, just, and always acting with integrity. He had a strong character. To me, he was a giant. He made friends everywhere he went, he was dearly loved by many of the 40 thousand people he led and by those he came in close contact with. By none more so though than my mother and I. 
I love him dearly and miss him terribly. He passed away from kidney failure, induced by medication. I fought with him not to take side-effect inducing medications, until the end, when he finally agreed, but alas too late. I always tried to extoll the virtues of natural, healthy, balanced diet and living, according to the Zone food management principles. 
His Loving Son, 
Liviu Filip Tomulescu
Subjects: forests, forestry, romania, fao, mountains, transilvania, mures, europe, waterfalls, history, retezat, agriculture, ambassador, phillipines, Forests and forestry
Places: romania, transilvania, mures, europe, tirgu-mures, bucharest
People: filip tomulescu, ferdinand marcos, imelda marcos, alberto solera, mimma cuomo
Time periods: history of romanian forests and issues confronting the sustainable exploitation of romanian forests