The Białowieża forest, located on the border between Poland and Belarus, is Europe's oldest remaining primeval forest, where large-scale logging threatens to destroy the richness of biodiversity. The last remaining primeval forest in European lowlands offers the habitat for the last largest European bison herd on the continent (nearly 900 individuals), also for several rare bird and animal species [8]. Since 1976, the Białowieża forest has been under Polish state protection, it is also a protected area of the Natura 2000 network. This forest belongs also to the UNESCO World Heritage list [4]. In the last couple of years, the area has attracted attention with the increasing number of logging were more than 10,000 trees have been taken out of the forest (in 4 months, 2017), including trees older than 100 years [4; 2]. In March 2016, the Polish authorities gave permission to triple the clearcutting operations. However, documentation showed that forest management measures are not in line with the conservation rules, moreover, they exceed those necessary for ensuring the sustainable use of the forest. Noticing increasing large-scale logging in the protected Białowieża forest, the European Commision sued Polish Government to the European Court of Justice in 2017, requesting also immediate cessation of the logging operations [1]. Poland's Minister of Environment, Jan Szyszko justified the need for logging because of the spruce bark beetle invasion, according to which over 10% of the Białowieża forest spruce trees suffer from [6]. The authorities added that more than half a million trees were infected with the parasites. This was also the reason why the Ministry changed the European Union forestry plan by 2021 [7]. Rafal Kowalczyk, the director of the Mammal Research Institute said that the removal of diseased trees for forest remediation (especially ancient trees) is ineffective, since in this case at least 80% of spruce trees should be removed, but this is impossible thanks to the protected area (17% of the total forest, ~10 500 ha). According to scientists and ecologists, the forest is managed only for economic reasons. The researchers also added that bark beetles infect the forest every 10-15 years [6; 5]. Injustice forest management has involved many protests by environmentalists, which have often become violent demonstrations. Krzysztof Cibor from Greenpeace said that the clearcuttings should be stopped as soon as possible in order to save forests, because the final decision whether Poland will violate EU law will be made no sooner than in 2018 [3]. In that case, when Poland is admitted guilty both of violating the law and the injunction, it would be fined at least over 4 million euros for unfair management of the forest [5]. Szyszko claimed that the Bialowieża forest was annexed illegally to the UNESCO World Heritage list and insists for its removal from the list. In July 2017, the environment minister said that they continue to fell trees despite protests and EU injunction [7].

Location

Białowieża Forest, Białowieża, Poland

https://www.google.ee/maps/place/Bia%C5%82owie%C5%BCa,+Poola/@52.7015239,23.5790816,10z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x47205d61fe70a32f:0x7e81b4d4c798a8f2!8m2!3d52.7007132!4d23.8676724

Environmental impact

• Land degradation (e.g. drought, soil contamination, erosion and desertification)
• Biodiversity loss – Ecosystem destruction
• Depletion of natural resources (fossil and mineral, forest, water, etc)
• Alteration of landscape aesthetics and built heritage

Ethical/ legal issues

• Life and personal security
• A clean and prosperous environment and a safe and pleasant habitat
• Access to public goods/ resources and products
• Democratic participation to decision-making on community and national affairs

Information sources & materials

Contributor(s)

Pille-Riin Meltsas, pilleriin.meltsas @ hotmail.com , MSc student of Estonian University of Life Sciences

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