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Opinion on the Białowieża Forest

Of all the forests of on the European continent, the Białowieża Forest is the closest to the original primeval state and therefore ranks among the most precious natural sites in Europe.

The people living within the forest itself and its nearby buffer zone frequently have contradictory needs, expectations and interests. For years now, it has been a problem that numerous forms of overlapping protective regimes apply to the Białowieża Forest (as a whole or parts thereof), including regulations pertaining to it: 1. as the Białowieża National Park and 2. Polish State Forest areas under the supervision of three different Forest Inspectorates (a. as one of the twenty-three nature reserves in Poland, b. as part of the Natura 2000 European Ecological Network, c. as a transboundary “Man and the Biosphere” International Biosphere Reserve, d. as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, e. as a protected landscape zone, and f. as the “Bialowieża Forest” Promotional Forest Complex). One potential hope for simplifying this intertwined set of social and natural complexities could involve working out a uniform set of legal regulations that will protect the Białowieża Forest effectively while also enjoying the support of the local community. 

The Polish Academy of Sciences points out that unequivocal scientific premises have yet to be put forward, demonstrating the necessity of taking sanitation measures in order to protect the biodiversity of the Białowieża Forest. On the other hand, numerous researchers have doubts about refraining from taking any measures to intervene in natural forest-shaping processes, including those provoked by the massive appearance of bark beetles. 

Given such a situation of uncertainty about which of the scientific approaches should be implemented at the Białowieża Forest, a dispute is currently playing out in the field of attitudes and values. Two noble attitudes – one concerned for the forest as a forest, the other concerned for its primeval nature – are here in conflict. In line with the former stance, the whole zone of the Białowieża Forest has been subject to human influence for centuries and it has therefore changed significantly from its original natural character. As such it should be subject to the appropriate forest-management measures, including sanitation cutting of trees and logging of wood. In line with the latter stance, on the other hand, the Białowieża Forest has indeed preserved its natural character (including in areas outside the National Park and reserves) and so the types of measures appropriate for commercial forest management should not be applied there, especially involving any use of heavy equipment – both now and in the future. A majority of us find this second stance closer to our own. The open and harsh conflict over the proper management of the Białowieża Forest is harming Poland’s image in Europe.

The Polish Academy of Sciences therefore urges for a coherent strategy to be worked out for the protection of the Białowieża Forest, above all taking account of facts and the findings of scientific research. We also declare our readiness and intent to take part in monitoring the biodiversity and forest-shaping processes in the Białowieża Forest. Moreover, we are in favor of significantly enlarging the territory of the Białowieża National Park.

Jerzy Duszyński, President of Polish Academy of Sciences

followed by signatures of 142 members of the Polish Academy of Sciences: Jan Albrecht, Jan Awrejcewicz, Jerzy Axer, Grzegorz Bartosz, Romuald Będziński, Andrzej Białas, Piotr Biler, Barbara Bilińska, Szczepan Biliński, Piotr Bizoń, Grażyna Borkowska, Jerzy M. Brzeziński, Janusz Marek Bujnicki, Andrzej Buko, Tadeusz Burczyński, Witold Cęckiewicz, Agnieszka Chacińska, Grzegorz Chałasiński, Tadeusz Chmielniak, Andrzej Ciereszko, Anna Członkowska, Stanisław J. Czuczwar, Jerzy Dera, Tomasz Dietl, Dariusz Doliński, Józef Dubiński, Jerzy Dzik, Stanisław Filipowicz, Władysław Findeisen, Elżbieta Frąckowiak, Andrzej Friszke, Zbigniew Jerzy Galus, Robert R. Gałązka, Jacek Gawroński, Z. Maciej Gliwicz, Michał Głowiński, Stanisław Gomułka, Tomasz Grodzicki, Krzysztof Haman, Jarosław Olav Horbańczuk, Ryszard Horodecki, Adolf Horubała, Adam Hulanicki, Hubert Izdebski, Andrzej Jajszczyk, Barbara Jarząb, Bogumił Jeziorski, Leszek Kaczmarek, Tadeusz Kaczorek, Roman Kaliszan, Marian P. Kaźmierkowski, Jan Kiciński, Jan Kisyński, Michał Kleiber, Jerzy Kołodziejczak, Maria Magdalena Konarska, Marek Konarzewski, Józef Korbicz, Małgorzata Kossowska, Małgorzata Kossut, Bożena Kostek, Włodzimierz Krzyżosiak, Wojciech Kostowski, Adam Kotarba, Jan Kotwica, Piotr Kowalik, Eugeniusz Kozaczka, Jan Kozłowski, Jacek Kuźnicki, Zbigniew Kwieciński, Rafał Latała, Andrzej B. Legocki, Janusz Limon, Jerzy Limon, Janusz Lipkowski, Jerzy Lis, Adam Łomnicki, Bogusław Major, Stefan Malepszy, Krzysztof Malinowski, Jacek Marecki, Stanisław Massel, Józef Modelski, Michał Mrozowski, Zenon Mróz, Karol Myśliwiec, Krzysztof Narkiewicz, Edward Nęcka, Henryk Okarma, Grzegorz Opolski, Hubert Orłowski, Wiesław W. Pawlik, Zygmunt Pejsak, Stanisław Penczek, Marek Pfützner, Mariusz Piskuła, Wiesław Pleśniak, Ryszard Pohorecki, Stefan Pokorski, Edmund Przegaliński, Ewaryst Rafajłowicz, Stanisław Rakusa-Suszczewski, Henryk Ratajczak, Antoni Rogalski, Czesława Rosik-Dulewska, Paweł Rowiński, Witold Rużyłło, Andrzej Rychard, Zdzisław Lech Sadowski, Marian Saniewski, Józef Smak, Andrzej Sobolewski, Kazimierz Strzałka, Józef Szudy, Michał Szulczewski, Henryk Szymczak, Marek Świtoński, Andrzej Trautman, Marian Truszczyński, Wacław Trutwin, Katarzyna Turnau, Andrzej Walicki, Jacek Waluk, Erwin Wąsowicz, January Weiner, Aleksander Welfe, Piotr Węgleński, Grzegorz Węgrzyn, Andrzej Więcek, Jerzy Wilkin, Lech Wojtczak, Stanisław L. Woronowicz, Andrzej K. Wróblewski, Jerzy Zabczyk, Romuald Zabielski, Jacek Zaremba, Marek Zembala, Adam Zięcik, Andrzej Żelaźniewicz, Jan Franciszek Żmudziński, Maciej Żylicz