Some historical facts set a good example for Polish authorities; centuries
ago the greatest Polish kings protected nature: Boleslaw Chrobry preserved
beaver, W. Jagiello protected yew, and K. the Great started conservancy of the
whole forests. Unfortunately, looks like there is always hard to go follow the
good example. Although there is 22 National Parks in Poland, they cover only
0.97% (little bit more than 350 000 ha)of Poland. 6 of those Parks (Bialowiza
N.P. since 1977) are on the Unesco list of biosphere preservation, and since
1979 Bialowieza forest became the only natural area in Poland on the Unesco list of
human heritage-one of 7 such worldwide.
Chemikalia w puszczy. (in
Polish only) VALUE OF BIALOWIEZA FOREST
The forest is important for biodiveristy conservation. Only on account of its
diversified avifauna the forest should be preserved as a site of global
significance for bird protection (Bird Life International criteria). Yet, it
is not only single rare species but whole bird assemblages showing primeval
characters (high diversity, low numbers) which are to be preserved. The
diversity of other animal and plant taxa, is equally high, especially weighty
are species depending on old-growth or decaying wood. It is also of vital
relevance for biological sciences. If we want understand evolution, if we want
to restore Europe’s nature we must have a reference site, a yard-stick with
which to measure amount of anthropogenic change. It has the same value for
biological science as Hubble telescope has for astronomy or CERN lab for
particle physics. The only difference is that in the case of CERN or Hubble
destruction we could build their replicas, whereas the loss of primeval forest
would be irreversible. Last but not least, the primeval forest with its huge old
trees (tallest spruces exceed 55 m, tallest oaks exceed 40 m height), being
inspiration for generations of people constitutes also an important part of our
historical/cultural heritage.
If you wish to send one of the follow, or any other letter to Poland, you may
email a copy of it to PAEA and we will send it for you.
Dear Mr Prime Minister, While I am sympathizing with the Polish people struggling in their difficult
economic situation, there is no justifiable explanation for ravaging this
invaluable fragment of wilderness for the interest of one generation.
Polish American
Environmental Alliance Jerzy Buzek, Z uznaniem i wielkim poparciem przyjęlismy jednoznaczne zaopwiedzi Ministra
OSZNIL sprzed kilku miesięcy o poszerzeniu Bialowieskiego Parku Narodowego w
2000 roku obejmujac cala polska czesc Puszczy Bialowieskiej. W imieniu Polish American Environmental Alliance,
Hubert Radomski, Jelight Co.Inc.Network Administrator, Janusz Sikora, newspaper Editor, Przemyslaw B. Sobanski, Action Resource Center, 1999.12.27 top
It seems that the environmentalists have already exhausted
possibilities of influencing the politicians. We ask you for help in
our campaign to save the forest. To learn what you can do, contact
the Polish American Environmental
Alliance:
Long Beach, Ca 90 801;
tel/fax: (562)
628 1545;
contact@paeasite.com 
What we
want to achieve? To save the Bialowieza forest, it is necessary to protect whole
its area in the highest possible form. In Poland, the highest form of protection
is granted to areas declared as national parks. All human activities within the
national parks have to be subordinated to the demands of nature conservation. No
other form of protection (area of protected landscape, landscape park) sets so
stringent conditions, and „biosphere reserve” has no meaning in the Polish legal
system. Therefore, our goal is to persuade the Polish government to include
the whole area of Bialowieza Forest into the Bialowieza National Park. The
final, furthest reaching aim of environmentalists campaign is to create a
trans-boundry national park in which both Polish and Belarusian parts of
Bialowieza Forest would be protected.
From the administrative point of view
the enlargement of the park will not be difficult, as there is no issue of
changes in ownership involved. Whole Bialowieza forest constitutes already
public (state) property, thus the enlargement of the park would denote only
replacement of one manager (administration of state forests) by another
(national park service), actually a change between two departments within the
same ministry.
There is no detailed estimate of costs of operation of
enlarged national park available at the moment. It is nevertheless possible to
offer some rough estimates of order of magnitude of the necessary spending. If
we add operating costs of all forestry districts in Bialowieza Forest to
operating costs of the existing national park we arrive at a figure of 6.6 mln
US $/ year (data from 1995). About 40% of those costs constitute salaries of
staff and workers (approximately 500 people). This budget item would not change
as most of those people would find employment in the enlarged park. There are
however, some costs connected with e.g. logging operations which cease to exist
in the park. There will be also some benefits from increased tourism ( as hotels
% clubs with new jobs) and sale of wood extracted during re-naturalization of
plantations, which would decrease the demand for budget subventions. The
reasonable maximum estimate would amount to ca 5 mln $/year. This is still a
substantial amount, then, it seems fair to expect some form of international
support to generate necessary resources to manage the park. If the trees will be
cut down, it will result only in temporary one time benefits, but if the old
(many of them with historical meaning) tree stands won't be cut, it will result
in continues benefits from tourism. Whatever, loggers propaganda -backed by some
politicians and some media members- points out only to one think-loosing the
money from logging.
We are running against time. Bialowieza Forest can
not wait - all the time stands of natural origin are annihilated, huge old trees
are still logged and removed from the forest. Please help the campaign to stop
this processes. Polish officials promised to include all Bialowieza forest
into the National Park yet in 1999, then in January in follow years, but it doesn’t
seams it can be done even now without continuos pressure. Bialowieza is the only
temperate-zone primeval forest, with some essentially untouched places left in
Europe. Still, many old growth trees are being destroyed, because they are "infected" by
borer, in the same time tree surrounding the "infected" one are also destroyed by the moving
machines. Trucks with heavy machines roll down more trees making a road. All this casualties
in exchange for killing -in most cases- spruce with a borer. But, according the independent
studies, it isn't even necessary to put down those "infected" trees, simply because after about
2 years of borer spreading, it's eating by his natural enemies which are gone soon after borer
(their food) population. Studies also proved that borer seldom is less destructive in the national
forest than in the rest of the forest areas. Forest Dep. officials seldom don't consider those
findings. Naturalists argue that borer was in Bialoweza since the beginning and the forest is
still there... In addition, some trees are being cut down un-necessarily, because before getting
the permission to cut (moratorium on 100+ years trees) the borer "infection" went too far to
save spruce.
Situated on the border between Poland (about 42%) and Belarus (about 58%),
the Bialowieza Forest complex (about 1506km2 or 580 square miles) is a relic of lowland
European forests that once extended across the continent. It is a place in which
the last fragments of primeval temperate old-growth forest have survived. It is
home to many species extinct elsewhere (among others - Wisent, the largest
terrestrial mammal of Europe) and one of very few places where evolution has not
been ceased. The stands of primeval characters are a sort of unparalleled living
museum, offer us a window into the past, through which we can still observe how
forests ecosystems functioned without human interference. In those facts,
preservation of these unique qualities for the future should be an issue of
highest priority, if we are really to deserve our scientific name of sapiens
(reasonable) man.
Diversity of life in Bialowieza Forest is exceptionally high, so
far about 3 000 species of fungi, 775-1 000 species of vascular plants, 250 species
of mosses, and 277-350 species of lichens have been recorded. Fauna of the
forest is equally rich, composed of ca 10 000 species, 85% of them insects.
Bialowieza Forest is locus typicus for at least 150 plant and invertebrate
species. New species are constantly being discovered and described.
Richness of avifauna - over 250 species recorded, approximately 180 of
them breeding, makes it a place of global importance for bird conservation
(BirdLife International criteria). Bialowieza Forest is also the only place
where the full community of European forest ungulates (European bison including)
still exists. Diversity of predator community is unusual too. Over 30
co-occurring species of carnivorous mammals and birds of prey make it one of the
richest such assemblages in Europe. 21 tree cover agglomerations in Bialowieza
forest making up 3.8 000 ha are now protected by status of nature reservation.
All together in Bialowieza, there is 25 kinds of trees, 2500 kinds of mushrooms,
8500 insects, 120 birds, 54 mammals including bison.
Currently about 290 bison
live in Polish Bialowieza, outside Poland lives approximately 310 bison. Bison
protection began in XVI ac -authorities wanted save those animals for its own
hunting- but in XVIII ac there were left only 2 bison population, one in
Bialowieza, other one in Kuakas. Last bison in Bialowieza was killed in 1919 (at
Kuakas in 1927), then 10 years later restoration started from 3 bison in raising
in close facility. In 1952 first bison were released to nature, all together 12
bison from raise began current population of it mammal.
Trees in
natural stands rich impressive height - Norway spruce - 55 m, Scotch pines,
small-leaved limes - 42-45 m) and circumference (oaks - 720 cm, limes - 600 cm).
Surviving old-growth, mullet-species, multi-storey, uneven-aged stands of
natural origin preserve features of ancient European woods, of vast forests
which once covered the whole lowlands of temperate Europe. They constitute an
indispensable reference point, a yardstick with which one can measure amount of
anthropogenic change, level of disturbance in other European forests. Without
having this standard we shall be unable to restore European forests, to make
them more diversified and resilient. Bialowieza forest is also of fundamental
importance for biological science, since this is the only place where one can
still observe ecological and evolutionary processes once typical for the whole
biome of deciduous and mixed-deciduous European forests. So far, about 4 000
scientific publications dealing with studies carried out in the Bialowieza
Forest have been published. The results of those studies are referred to in
practically all recent monographs on forest biology (e.g. Faliński, J. B. 1986.
Vegetation dynamics in temperate forests (Ecological studies in Bialowieza
Forest).- Junk Publ.; Packham, J. R. et al. 1992. Functional ecology of woodland
and forests. Chapman & Hall; Fuller, R. J. 1995. Bird life of woodland and
forests. Cambr. Univ. Press).
The importance of Bialowieza Forest
is for science is increasing steadily and, due to recent political changes in
Europe, the number of studies carried out there by international scientific
teams is growing exponentially. In short, over 12 000 species of animals exist
in Bialowieza, those includes: Bison, protozoa, wolf lynx, couple kinds of deer,
moose, boar, foxes, martens, weasels, badgers, dormice, shrews, eagles,
goshawks, fowl & woodpecker. Among numerous of trees are: oak, ash, linden,
maple, pine, hornbeam, spruce, aspen & birch. The Park has over 120
breeding species of bird. Almost 5000 species of
flora exist in the Park. Currently only about 40 square
miles (from 1936 to '96 18 square miles) of Bialowieza forest are strictly
protected. The plans, maps & decisions of enlarging the National Park
reminds between the offices.
Since the XVI century till the World War I the Forest had been
protected as hunting grounds of ruling families. Only during that war the
commercial,large-scale logging operations begun. After the World War Second,
the forest has been split between Poland (42% of area) and Belarus. In the
Belarussian part timber extraction was less important, and since few years ago
the whole area of that Belarussian part of Bialowieza was declared a national
park. Before the it happened, in December '91, Boris Yeltsin went hunting with
the leaders of Belarus & Ukraine to decide over the future partnership
between Russia, Ukraine and Belarus after the Soviet Union collapse, which
happened at December 25 same year. On the other hand, in the Polish part, except
of Bialowieza National Park covering only 18% of area, the commercial cuttings
have been continued. In spite of merely 85 years of exploitation (it started in
1915 under German occupation) , timber extraction have had the dramatic effect
on the Forest. During that time majority of primeval stands were removed and
replaced by even-aged, mostly coniferous plantations, and share of old-growth
stands of natural origin has dropped to a mere 20%. In spite of some recent
restrictions, this removal of remnants of primeval stands is going
on. If we are unable to arrest this process, all stands of natural origin will
be gone in the coming years, and the last European primeval forest will only be
the history.
A draft letter to
Polish Prime Minister:
WP Leszek Miller
Prime Minister
Kancelaria Premiera,
Al. Ujazdowskie 1/3,
00 583 Warszawa,
Poland
I am writing to you in order to express my
concern regarding the last temperate old-growth forest in Europe - the
Bialowieza Forest. It is the last lowland primeval forest, home to many species
extinct elsewhere and one of very few species in Europe where three and half
million years long evolution has not been ceased. It provides an ecological
blue-print for the restoration of European nature. In the light of these facts,
the continued logging of this magnificent forest is the single most
environmentally destructive undertaking in Europe.
It is
my greatest hope, that you, Sir, as the Prime Minister of Poland will show an
outstanding leadership to immediately stop the destruction, declare the entire
Bialowieza Forest a national park and thus, ensure the natural richness of our
planet Earth.
Thank you for your time and assistance. I am waiting to hear
from you as quickly as possible.
Yours sincerely
back
PO BOX 21128
Long Beach,Ca 90-801
U.S.A.
Kancelaria Premiera,
AlejeUjazdowskie 1/3,
00 583
Warszawa,
Polska
Bialowieza,
nasz bezcenny skarb narodowy, jest nadmiernie eksploatowana. Ciecia czesto
majacego kilkaset lat, drzewostanu pierwotnego, ktorego prawie juz nie ma na
starym kontynencie, a w Puszczy Bialowieskiej stanowiacego tez juz tylko 20%,
spowodowaly szczegolnie duze zniszczenie w tym najpiekniejszym miejscu Europy.
Puszcza Bialowieska jest ostatnia nizinna i pierwotna puszcza Europy, odgrywa
zatem niezwykle wazna rolę dla naszego i przyszlych pokolen. Istinejacy
Bialowieski Park Narodowy gwarantuje dzis ochrone jedynie 17 procent powierzchni
tego bezcennego Lasu.
Niestety, niedawno uzyskalismy informacje, ze Park nie
zostanie powiekszony w 2000 r. Srodowisko polonijne w USA jest zbulwersowane
brakiem zdecydowania ze strony Rzadu RP w tej sprawie i odwlekaniem decyzji o
powiekszeniu Parku. Jest dla nas bolesne, ze w obliczu biezacych wydarzen
(eksploatacja trwa, narastaja nieuzasadnione postawy roszczeniowe lokalnych
samorzadow), Puszcza moze zywa nie doczekac nalezytej ochrony. Uwazamy, ze
lokalne interesy nie moga dominowac nad racjami ogolnonarodowymi i
miedzynarodowymi. Pomoc z zewnatrz dla biednej lokalnej spolecznosci jest
konieczna, ale tylko w scislym powiazaniu z powiekszeniem Bialowieskiego Parku
Narodowego.
Zwracamy się do Pana o niezwloczne podjecie decyzji powiekszenia
Bialowieskiego Parku Narodowego. Bedzie to akt nawiazujacy do naszej
najswietniejszej historycznej spuscizny - Rzeczypospolitej Jagiellonow. Ochrona
Puszczy, tak niezbedna dla ocalenia zagrozonej roznorodnosci biologicznej, moze
byc tez wspanialym elementem promocji naszej Ojczyzny - jako kraju troszczacego
sie o swiatowe dziedzictwo przyrodnicze. Mialoby to kolosalne znaczenie dla
rozbudzenia swiadomosci ekologicznej, potrzebnej w dzialaniach na rzecz odbudowy
srodowiska naturalnego Polski od początku3-go tysiaclecia. Byloby tez zarazem
symbolem nowego podejscia do ochrony przyrody wraz z poczatkiem nowego
tysiaclecia.
Orange County,CA
New Jersey
Los Angeles, Ca
Tel.:
562 628 1545