Yesterday at a press conferene minister Jan Szyszko said that Poland would answer to European Commission’s allegations. However, what has been going on in the Forest is just and only active protection of forest habitats protected by Natura 2000.
‘We are truly grateful for the devotion of the EC and European Court of Justice to the Białowieża Forest issue,’ said the minister. However, he also regretted that the Court’s decision reached media first (and the left-wing ones), and not the Ministry itself. Once again the minister refered to the cataloguing and data collection that had taken place in the Forest and on the basis of which an experiment had been started. The experiment is to show the results of ‘active protection’ compared to its lack. The aim is to show who is right and who is to blame – what people and organizations – for what has been happening in the Forest.
‘Poland can boast with unique biodiversity. Our natural resources can serve as a model to the whole world. And all this was possible thanks to Polish mind-set.’ The minister also stated elsewhere that there are about 1.3 million infected spruces in the Forest and that everything should be done to remove them this year.
According to minister’s mind-set harvesters heal the Forest, therefore, in an unprecedented way, Poland breaks EC’s emergency ban and the logging goes on as before.
Also yesterday, to show the fact that the logging is being carried out without a stop, another blockade of harvesters took place in Browsk Forest District, near the village of Świnoroje. Despite the numerous troop of forest guards, the activists managed to block the machines for a few hours.
‘We are not going to give up our fight,’ activists say.
(photo by Małgosia Klemens)