Poland endorses massive logging in Europe’s only primeval forest
Polish authorities have approved extensive logging in Europe’s only remaining primeval woodland in an effort to combat a beetle infestation amid objections by scientists, ecologists, and the European Union.
The measure that will be carried out in Poland’s Białowieża forest is intended to offset the spread of the spruce bark beetle, said an AFP report on Saturday citing Polish environmental authorities.
“We’re acting to curb the degradation of important habitats, to curb the disappearance and migration of important species from this site,” said Poland’s Environment Minister Jan Szyszko.
Greenpeace environmental organization, who has vowed to protect the forest, accused the Polish minister of “ignoring the voices of citizens and scientists, the European Commission, UNESCO and conservation organizations.”
The NGO, along with other ecological groups protesting the Polish move, further cautioned that the logging could trigger the EU to launch punitive procedures against Poland for violating its Natura 2000 program.
However, Szyszko has pledged that the logging plans would not apply to strictly-protected areas of Białowieża forest, which was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.
Under the new plan, loggers will harvest over 180,000 cubic meters of wood from other areas of the huge forest over a decade.
The Białowieża forest, which sprawls across 150,000 hectares, reaches across the Polish border with Belarus, where it is completely protected as a nature park.
The forest is also home to 20,000 animal species, including 250 types of birds and 62 species of mammals – among them Europe’s largest species of bison .
Moreover, the tallest trees in Europe, with firs towering 50 meters high as well as oaks and ashes of 40 meters, flourish in the massive woodland, in an ecosystem unblemished for more than 10 millennia, according to the report.
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