Logging in the Białowieża natural forest reached a new level, and now includes its oldest and most valuable tree stands. Polish minister of environment, Jan Szyszko, ignored both Polish and European laws, as well as Poland’s commitments to the UNESCO. Therefore environmental NGOs – Greenpeace Poland, WWF Poland, Wild Poland, Greenmind and Pracownia na rzecz Wszystkich Istot have started next phase of the campaign, which includes peaceful direct actions in the forest, aiming at protecting Europe’s last lowland natural forest.
Dawid Kaźmierczak from Wild Poland: Forest patrols of Wild Poland and Greenpeace Poland provided evidence that logging in the Białowieża Forest increased. Patrols proved that logging has started in the oldest and most valuable parts of the forest which – because of their environmental value – were excluded from forestry works in the past. Big part of documented logging in the oldest stands cannot be justified by safety measures, as they were conducted away from roads and tourist routes. That means that minister Szyszko allowed devastation of natural parts of the forest for commercial purpose.