Nearly 600 old and sick trees will be cut down in the historic center of the capital, and another 800 will be cleaned.

The trees are over 50 years old and are growing in a tourist area. The decision belongs to the municipal authorities, who say they are dangerous to residents. Officials must obtain permission from representatives of environmental institutions to start thework.

Authorities assure that other trees will be planted instead.

Some residents of the capital say that Chisinau needs logging:

"If you want for the city to be always green than you should always cut a tree and plant another one".

"It's very important for other trees to be planted instead".

"They needed to be taken care of. They're a mess right now".

Although the local authorities have been criticized for their decision, they said it was an important one. 

"These trees have more than 60 years. They need logging" , said Alexei Palancean, deputy director of the Agency "Moldsilva".

Annually, almost 2,500 trees are cut in Chisinau and over 20,000 are planted. In 2017 the budget for the work of deforestation and planting is over 3.5 million lei.