Radosław Ślusarczyk from the Workshop for All Beings warns about the possible return of logging in the Białowieża Forest. – Minister of Climate Paulina Hennig-Kloska announced that the integrated management plan would be part of the Constitution for the Forest. If the Constitution is to mean the destruction of this forest, it will be a disgrace before UNESCO and the society demanding the protection of the Forest – she says.
It's all about that works related to the creation of the Management Plan for the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Białowieża Forest”. Each site on the World Heritage List must have such a document prepared, which describes in detail, among other things, its protection plan for the next 20 years. The forest still does not have such a plan.
Workshops were held on August 28 and 29, which are part of the work on this plan. Ślusarczyk believes that the proposal presented at the workshops by the Institute of Environmental Protection (IOŚ) not only does not provide proper protection for nature, but may even lead to the Forest being stripped of its UNESCO heritage status.
Should I cut in the Forest?
As a UNESCO natural heritage site, the forest should protect key habitats, biodiversity and natural processes. As part of the management of the site, the Białowieża Forest is divided into four zones. In zones 1 and 2 (national park and nature reserves) and zone 3 (trees over a hundred years old and habitats of valuable species), forest management is prohibited – the organization reminds. However, in zone 4, forest management can be carried out.
The dispute is about what parts of the Forest – if any at all – should be included in the plan as zone 4.
– If the IOŚ proposal with the zone correction comes into effect, government Donald Tusk opens the way to the logging of the Białowieża Forest. The provisions of the document abolish protection and allow the logging of some of the over-hundred-year-old stands, including even 300-year-old oaks – says Radosław Ślusarczyk and adds: – We expect the Ministry of the Environment to completely eliminate zone 4 and protect the natural processes in the entire Białowieża Forest.
In his opinion, the proposal to allow forest management in over 100-year-old stands endangers not only nature, but also the status of the Białowieża Forest as a UNESCO heritage site. – After illegal logging in 2017 and the construction of a wall on the Polish-Belarusian border border we are still at risk of having the Forest listed as an endangered site, so we need to repair the damage done to the Forest – he says. The organization intends to intervene in the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
Białowieża National Park is the second oldest national park in Poland – it was established in 1932. However, it protects only 1/6 of the area of the forest in Poland. Naturalists and ecologists have been trying for decades to extend protection to the entire Białowieża Forest.
The Workshop for All Beings would like to remind you that in this year's Ipsos survey, which was conducted on its behalf, 89 percent of Polish women and men were in favor of protecting the entire area of the Białowieża Forest.
There is still no “Constitution for the Białowieża Forest”
Protection of the Białowieża Forest was one of the first topics that the Minister of Climate Paulina Hennig-Kloska addressed after taking office – or at least she announced it. In January, she visited Podlasie and announced a “constitution for the Białowieża Forest” – this is to be a strategic document on the management and protection of the forest's nature.
At the end of March she said that the assumptions of the act – the constitution for the Białowieża Forest will be presented “in the coming weeks”. – The Constitution for the Białowieża Forest I'm writing – assured the minister.
In May, summarizing the first six months of work, the Ministry of Climate informed that work on preparing the “constitution” was still ongoing. Since then, neither the draft act nor its assumptions have been published – although the ministry claims that “actions for increased protection of the Białowieża Forest are one of the priorities government“.