A year after the elections, citizens and non-governmental organizations are asking: where is the promised 20 percent of forests excluded from logging? One of the most important elements of the answer to this question there are to be community forests. This is a flagship project of the Ministry of Climate and Environment. Such forests would be designated this year. But the social side is increasingly afraid that the whole process is a “façade” and that it will not result in real protection of forests.
In the first stage Community forests are to be designated around 12 large cities and agglomerations (including Tricity, Warsaw, Toruń, Bydgoszcz and Kraków). The framework for this process was set by the Ministry of Climate, but the details in each place are to be worked out locally. Foresters, social and industry organizations and local governments take part in the discussions. The talks started in the summer and are scheduled to end in the fall, with decisions to be made by the end of the year.
As Marta Jagusztyn – who, apart from her work in the Forests and Citizens Foundation, is also a member of the ministerial team – explains – time pressure hangs over the entire process. – At the end of the year, the State Forests always decide on tenders for forest services – including timber harvesting – for the following year – he points out. This, as he recalls, caused great controversy around the so-called January moratorium on logging in valuable forests – because a ministerial decision limited logging for which contracts had already been signed with companies.
– That is why it is necessary to designate social forests before settling contracts for next year. Although we have been asking for a long time how the talks on community forests are planned to be reconciled with the tender calendar, we have not received a specific answer to this question, neither from the ministry nor from the management of the State Forests – explains Jagusztyn. And this is just one of the problems with the whole process around community forests, which in her opinion “is very poorly designed.”
Fears delay change
– We are hostages of the political game. The Directorate of the State Forests was de facto appointed by Donald Tusk, and the Ministry of Climate is in the hands of Poland 2050. Although the Ministry is willing to change, it is still afraid of how the State Forests (LP) will react to changes in the forests and that it will expose itself to political attacks with decisive decisions. – says Jagusztyn.
After meetings and conferences with foresters, the activist believes that the forest management sees the need for some modifications, but “does not want profound changes.” – At the same time, the management is afraid of the “pits” of the State Forests, which have become accustomed to the customs of the Ziobrists' rule, when the activities of foresters were not subject to any control. There are forest inspectors who publicly question and criticize all changes that come from Warsaw, both from the Ministry and from the General Directorate of the State Forests – he points out.
Donald Tusk himself said before the elections that “whoever is patriotic and patriotic will not allow the destruction of Polish forests.” A year after the elections, we must ask whether Tusk is a patriot, because so far, although we have been deliberating a lot, we have not recorded any specific, lasting changes in forest policy.
– assesses. Currently, 1.3 percent of the area of the State Forests is protected from logging as part of the ministerial decision – moratorium. However, this has no permanent basis. Protection of other naturally valuable forests, community forests, new national parks – remain in the sphere of development or announcement. Meanwhile, as the activist says, “lasting legal solutions are necessary, changes in laws or at least the regulation on protective forests.” – Foresters keep repeating that they must operate within the limits of the current law, which sets certain limits and requirements, and it is hard to deny that they are right – he recalls.
Forests party and host
The Ministry of Climate is the organizer of the Forest Conference – a nationwide process that is intended to provide a place for discussion and development of recommendations for changes. The situation with community forests is different: the ministry initiated the process, but left the details to the parties in individual locations. And he made foresters the host.
This raised social concerns from the very beginning. Some of these fears are confirmed. – The Ministry is talking about an equal debate. Meanwhile, the State Forests are both a party to the discussion – which cares about the smallest possible changes – and its organizer, which gives rise to a huge influence on the final decisions – says Jagusztyn. And he lists some examples:
The effects can be seen in matters as basic as the selection of debate moderators – employed by the Forests. They included people who had other contracts with LP – so there was a strong potential conflict of interest. Even people who had a history of actively fighting “eco-terrorism” and European politicians on Internet forums were suggested.
Another problem is the lack of clarity as to what area the debates on social forests should actually concern. Deputy Minister Mikołaj Dorożała announced that the starting point for work on locations would be the Map of Disputed Forests, created by the Forests and Citizens movement. It indicates places where communities have already protested against logging. But in some places, foresters assumed that protection would cover much narrower areas.
– For example in Katowice the foresters' first proposal concerned only neighborhood forests, while the Ministry's communication shows that it would mean forests for the entire Upper Silesian conurbation – recalls Jagusztyn. According to her, there are manipulations on the part of foresters. – For example, local government officials hear that they will be responsible for community forests or for accidents in them, which is not true. It is said that only modifications of forest management are to take place in community forests, while the framework arrangements clearly indicate that exclusions, restrictions and modifications can be introduced in them – he mentions.
How social?
Doubts also concern the universality of consultations and discussions on community forests. A total of over 140 organizations take part in them in designated places, and some of them try to publicize the activities and encourage all residents to express their opinions.
– Minister Mikołaj Dorożała declared at a press conference that as a result of this pilot project, as a first step, we will designate social forests for 13 million Poles. But it's hard to say that the consultation process is universal. The ministry itself is not currently publicizing the fact that talks are taking place – says Marta Jagusztyn and adds:
In all surveys we see huge support for forest protection, and if this process were truly universal, we would have enormous pressure to make specific decisions. And that would be politically troublesome.
Community organizations – many of which had previously protested against logging – now became involved in community forest designations and other processes to improve conservation. And they fear that if this does not bring results, this social energy will burn out.
– Acting – mostly pro bono – we take part in numerous meetings, consultations and conferences. And we are afraid that the game is used to burn social energy so that we will agree to anything. And in the end, most decisions will remain in the hands of the Forests and any changes will be very easy to reverse – warns Marta Jagusztyn.