Extensive logging starts in Białowieża forest

Environment Minister Jan Szyszko said at a conference on Tuesday that “the process of saving the key habitats of the Białowieża forest” has begun.

Woodcutters are to fell some 400,000 trees in an area covering two-thirds of the UNESCO-listed woodland.

The figure marks a threefold higher logging quota compared to the state foresters’ initial management plan. Five years into a scheme set out for the period between 2012 to 2021, the woodcutters cleared 90 percent of the earmarked 57,000 cubic metres of wood, prompting calls for an additional quota.

At the conference, Szyszko said that the goal of the “protective measures” is to “inhibit the degradation of the forest’s key natural habitats, which are part of [the EU’s] Natura 2000 [network of protected sites].”

The Law and Justice government’s controversial plans of fighting a bark beetle outbreak through intense logging have sparked strong criticism from environmentalists from Poland and abroad, who say the logging would damage the ecosystem of the forest. They also argue that the bark beetle’s presence is a natural occurrence in the primeval forest’s life cycle.

The European Commission, which oversees the Natura 2000 programme, is now looking into the ruling Law and Justice’s decision to increase timber harvesting and has not ruled out taking legal steps against Poland. (aba/pk)

Source: PAP