Will there be another logging in the Białowieża Forest? The organizations appeal to UNESCO for protection

The tears of many have not yet dried up after the PiS government, against the protests of the European Union and against its bans, cut the forest to the power, and yet another attack is being prepared for the Białowieża Forest, the oldest primeval forest in Europe. And this without a shadow of opposition from the Ministry of Climate and Environment. – It is known that the minister is from a faction that is very susceptible to the influence of the State Forests, so it seems to us that the State Forests exert a very strong influence on the minister, who intends to sign these proposed changes – says Adam Bohdan, “Wild Poland” Foundation .

The goal is to exclude from strict protection about 10 percent of its Polish area, which means that trees that are over 250 years old and many endangered species of animals will be included in the zone that allows logging. – Without the forest, in fact, to put it colloquially, we will be in the forest – warns Agnieszka Veljković, WWF Polska.

Hence the appeal signed by over 100 organizations and associations to prevent another crime. The Białowieża Forest – like, for example, Wawel – is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, because it is one of the most valuable forests in the world. – This is also a historical object, contrary to what some former ministers or MPs say. A tree is a value, adds Veljković.

After the 2017 massacre, the Białowieża Forest began to cope. The ecosystem began to rebuild itself, which is the essence of primeval forests. – Now the entry with cuts shows only one thing, that the institution that stands behind such demands, i.e. the State Forests, needs to be cut, or rather to be deeply reformed – assesses Adam Wajrak, a journalist of “Gazeta Wyborcza” and a naturalist.

In the State Forests we hear that no one has any bad intentions. – First of all, there is no desire to harvest wood, but here we think about the work of active protection in the Białowieża Forest in a completely different way, and this does not necessarily involve harvesting wood – convinces Jarosław Krawczyk from the Regional Directorate of State Forests in Białystok.

It doesn’t have to, but it can, hence the protests in defense of other protected forests. For example, the Goleniowska Forest. – Such a small curtain of young trees was left, because the place suited the foresters, and those really valuable, which were valuable, were cut down – says Paweł Herbut, Klub Kniejolaza.

The same fate befell the Western Pomeranian Beech Forest near Szczecin and the Carpathian Forest. – The State Forests and Mr. Ziobro’s clique are committing an absolute crime by simply making rips and fellings that destroy this beautiful landscape of the Bieszczady Mountains – warns Hanna Gill-Piątek, Civic Coalition. In Jurata, the trees keeping the dunes in check may be replaced by a recreation center. PiS is deaf to questions, but it knows how to return the favor. There was a place for the director of the State Forests in Szczecin on PiS’s lists for parliament.