Managing bark beetle outbreak in Białowieża Primeval Forest conference
The international conference on managing bark beetle outbreak in Białowieża Primeval Forest, organized by the Polish Academy of Sciences, was held in Warsaw on December 4, 2017.
The introductory lecture was given by Prof. Per Angelstam (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), who spoke of the conflict of interest in protecting forests. Dr. Simon Thorn (Julius-Maximilians University Würzburg) presented research results showing the impact of salvage logging on biodiversity of mountain forest areas. Dr. Rastislav Jakuš and Dr. Pavel Mezei (Institute of Forest Ecology, Slovak Academy of Sciences) shared their research on managing bark beetle outbreaks in national parks. Next, Prof. Paweł Koteja (Jagiellonian University) discussed the methodological aspects of reasoning in the matter of selecting the best solution to manage bark beetle outbreaks. The first part of the conference ended with a presentation by Prof. Jacek Hilszczański (Forest Research Institute), who argued that bark beetle outbreaks should be treated as disturbances within the ecosystem of Białowieża Primeval Forest.
The second part of the conference included an Oxford-style debate between the advocates and adversaries of active protection in Białowieża Primeval Forest. After the statements, the panelists and the audience engaged in a short discussion.
The meeting was closed by Prof. Jerzy Duszyński, President of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He stressed that thanks to the conference, the General Assembly of the Polish Academy of Sciences will be able to issue a statement on Białowieża salvage logging and work on recommendations for future actions in Białowieża Primeval Forest.
The complete conference recording is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFCDbAp24sk
Photos: Jakub Ostałowski
