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A guide talks to tourists in Europe's last ancient forest, the Bialowieza Primeval Forest - Source: Reuters
Europe's last ancient forest, home to its largest herd of bison,
faces an uncertain future because of climate change, but residents
worry that tougher conservation efforts will damage the local
economy.
The 150,000-hectare (380,000-acre) Bialowieza Primeval Forest,
which straddles the border between Poland and Belarus, is one of
the largest unpopulated woodlands remaining in Europe.
It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
On the Polish side of the border, residents oppose plans to extend
the protected zone of this unique habitat, which is under threat
from rising temperatures and declining rainfall.
Encouraged by international conservation agencies, Warsaw wants to
enlarge the area's national park, which occupies less than a fifth
of the Polish part of the forest.
It has offered up to 100 million zlotys ($55.1 million) to be
shared among the nine communities that would be affected by broader
regulations protecting wildlife.
However, the region is among the poorest in Poland and residents of
Bialowieza district (population 2,400) are sceptical, fearing it
would discourage investment, cause job losses and reduce the
community's tax revenues.
"You may think we are fools not willing to take the money," Mayor
Albert Litwinowicz told Reuters.
"But it will only go for green investments, while we need
roads."
Forests occupy more than 80% of the Bialowieza administrative
district and provide a significant part of its income, thanks to
government cash.
Revenues come mostly from woodland and other subsidies from the
central government, plus grants and other state aid, Litwinowicz
said.
Income would be halved if the whole area were incorporated into the
national park and most of about 50 forestry workers, responsible
for maintaining the woodland as well as for cutting the timber,
could be laid off, he added.
Bialowieza district would be fully incorporated into the national
park under the current proposal.
"Building anything in the middle of a national park with strict
conservation rules would be almost impossible and we want to
develop better transport ... and other infrastructure," Litwinowicz
said.
Signs of climate change
There are no major industrial centres nearby.
Every year 150,000 people visit Bialowieza but tourism accounts
for only a 10th of the district's revenue.
However, unemployment in Bialowieza is almost non-existent, partly
because a quarter of the population has left since 1990, moving to
cities or, like many other people from eastern Poland, seeking
better jobs in wealthier Western Europe.
Signs of climate change that could threaten the forest have become
more evident.
"The average annual temperature has risen by 0.8 degrees Celsius
over past 50 years. This is a lot for a primeval forest," Elzbieta
Malzahn of the Forest Research Institute said.
"That's enough time to call it a change to climate.
"There is less rain in the summer, winters are milder and end
sooner, prompting vegetation to start earlier."
National park officials say the level of ground water has fallen by
20 inches in the past three decades.
"Spruce roots are very shallow and they just run out of water. We
are observing falling number of spruce," said park employee Mateusz
Szymura.
Bialowieza is home to 800 wild European bison, the continent's
heaviest land animals weighing up to one tonne each and standing up
to two metres high.
So far, the changes have not endangered the bison because mammals
adapt easily to a changing environment, scientists say.
They say Bialowieza had undergone many changes over the centuries
and the forest had adjusted to new conditions.
"The problem, is, however, if the changes we are now causing are
too fast and too unpredictable and leave nature little chance to
catch up," Malzahn said.
Border fence
Political arguments between Belarus and Poland have stifled joint
efforts to safeguard the forest.
Since Poland joined the European Union in 2004, the bloc's
eastern border runs through the forest, marked by a fence built by
Belarus years ago.
The barrier prevents bison from each side from intermingling.
However, they remain genetically similar since the species was
regenerated using just a few animals - and only two males - that
survived in a Polish zoo after they had vanished from the wild in
the 1920s as a result of hunting and poaching.
To extend the protected area on the Polish side, the government
needs the approval of local authorities and says the scheme would
cost between 1.5 million and three million zlotys.
"For years local people have opposed plans to enlarge the park and
we are now presenting a programme that shows they can go on
operating with an enlarged park," Deputy Environment Minister,
Janusz Zaleski, said.
"We also hope this money would create jobs in the region and help
improve it."
Mayor Litwinowicz did not seem convinced. He said he was
considering holding a referendum among residents on the enlargement
scheme.
"If where we live is so unique for the whole of Europe, why
shouldn't the residents benefit rather than suffer?," he said.
"Personally, I am against it, but the people will decide."
