The oldest primeval forest in Europe is one step away from salvation. The European Court of Justice has issued the final ruling confirming that the logging of the Białowieża forest in Poland is illegal. This is why it must be stopped
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himThe oldest primeval forest in Europe is one step away from salvation. The European Court of Justice has issued the final ruling confirming that the logging of the Białowieża forest in Poland is illegal. This is why it must be stopped.
A story that unfortunately has been going on for years but now comes what associations like WWF have defined a historic victory.
“The ruling represents a clear victory for European wildlife. Nature cannot be ignored and neither can EU law. Now Polish Environment Minister Kowalczyk must withdraw the decisions that gave the green light to intense logging. His job is to protect Białowieża's wildlife and ensure its survival for future generations, ”said Andreas Baumueller, Head of Natural Resources at WWF's European Policy Office.
Bialowieza is one of the last surviving virgin forests. With an area of 1500 kilometers it embodies what is left of the vegetation that years ago and for more than 10 thousand years extended over all of Europe. Unfortunately, however, the bark beetle, a small but dangerous beetle, has attacked hundreds of trees, especially spruces.
There are those who believe that the Warsaw Ministry of the Environment has ridden the India, by cutting down 188 thousand cubic meters of forest in ten years not to treat the trees but to take over a protected area. For this reason, the protests against the deforestazione di Białowieża have been going on for years.
Europe also took the field with warnings, threats of sanctions and now the ruling of the Court of Justice that could put an end to this mess.
In February 2018, the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union issued an opinion confirming that logging of the forest was illegal.
Bialowieża Forest is protected by the EU nature directives and has been classified as both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an EU Natura 2000 site due to its natural, unmodified processes and biodiversity. It is home to the largest population of bison Europeans, together with lynxes, wolves and ancient trees. Despite this, Jan Szyszko the former Polish Environment Minister had decided to allow logging by tripling the amount of cuts allowed in the Białowieża Forest District in 2016.
But now the court has ruled that the decision violates EU nature laws. WWF has called on the current Polish Minister for the Environment Henryk Kowalczyk to apply the ruling immediately.
"The decision is a clear signal to all decision makers that opening world heritage sites for destructive and unsustainable activities is not acceptable, for people, institutions and the planet, and that EU laws protecting these sites cannot be ignored ”says the association.
Fingers crossed.
READ also:
- This is how the oldest primeval forest in Poland dies
- Bialowieza Forest: sanctions by the EU Court to save trees
- Despite protests, Poland cuts down the primeval forest of Europe (PETITION)
