WARSAW — Defying an order from the European Union’s highest court, the Polish government said on Monday that it would continue logging in Bialowieza Forest, the last primeval forest in Europe and a habitat for hundreds of bison.
The decision is the latest challenge by Poland to the legal authority of the European Union, which Poland joined in 2004, and could result in financial penalties. [...]
The Bialowieza Forest, a Unesco World Heritage site, is a relic of ancient woodlands in the middle of the European lowlands, at the border of Poland and Belarus.
It has been at the center of a heated debate since Poland’s government tripled the logging limits last year and, in February, repealed protections for areas that include a large number of trees that are more than a century old.
After months of debate between Warsaw and Brussels, the European Commission sued Poland before the top court of the European Union. In a preliminary decision on Friday, the European Court of Justice ordered that all logging in the forest, which is home to protected habitats and species, be immediately suspended.
On Monday, Poland’s environment minister, Jan Szyszko, who had called the logging a “protective” effort to combat a bark-beetle infestation, said that he ordered an end to the cutting in a third of the forest, but that the logging would continue in the remainder.
By doing so, Mr. Szyszko said, the authorities were conducting “an experiment.” After several years, the ministry will compare the condition of both parts of the forest to determine “who is in the right” — Polish officials and foresters, or the European Commission and dozens of scientists and environmental advocates, who have vehemently opposed the logging, saying it will damage the forest irreparably.
“We thank the commission very much for such a big interest in our forest,” Mr. Szyszko said with a hint of sarcasm. “But we will not be insulted by those who don’t know about the rules of protection of environment.”
Advocates expressed shock.
“I’m speechless,” said Przemyslaw Chylarecki, a zoologist at the Museum and Institute of Zoology at the Polish Academy of Sciences. “The court has been crystal clear about the unconditional ban on the large-scale logging and the minister is resorting to these embarrassing gimmicks.”
Mr. Chylarecki said that the ministry’s experiment was pointless.
“It will be years, possibly decades, before we will be able to compare the results of both approaches,” he said.
[...]
Shortly after the minister’s announcement, the European Commission issued a statement calling upon Poland to obey the court’s orders.
“All member states are obliged to comply with interim measures by the court,” the commission said.
[...]
Konrad Tomaszewski, the head of the State Forests, the government-owned company that is behind the logging, said in an interview with a Catholic radio station on Sunday that the court “talks gibberish.”
“What we do is exactly in line with the protection and forest management plans,” he said. “This is all political.”
Tensions over the forest are rising. Polsat News, a private television broadcaster, said that two loggers attacked its film crew on Saturday in Bialowieza Forest. The police said the crew’s camera was smashed and its memory cards were seized.
The decision to defy the European court will no doubt contribute to a further cooling of relations between Poland and Europe.
[...]
#1: Hank Rearden To: A Pole (#0)
Hank Rearden posted on 2017-08-01 18:48:21 Reply Private Reply
#2: A Pole To: Hank Rearden (#1)
That is why this beautiful Polish forest has to be destroyed like those ancient monuments?
I don't understand your logic. Are you a member of "the Mooslum deathcult" too?
70 to 80% of Polish people want this logging to stop and their will is being ignored by the greedy foresters.
A Pole posted on 2017-08-01 18:56:15 Reply Private Reply
#3: Vicomte13 To: A Pole (#0)
No forest in Europe is truly primeval. They say in the article that they are cutting trees 100 years old. A forest primeval is full of 1000 year old trees. Every forest in Europe has been cut. They regrow.
Vicomte13 posted on 2017-08-01 19:26:01 Reply Private Reply
#4: Hondo68 To: A Pole (#0)
Cutting out the old growth will invigorate the young trees, making the forest denser and a better habitat for wildlife.
Hondo68 posted on 2017-08-01 21:48:09 Reply Private Reply
#5: A Pole To: Vicomte13 (#3)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_old-growth_forests
If you know better, go and fix this Wikipedia page.
A Pole posted on 2017-08-02 03:22:46 Reply Private Reply
#6: Vicomte13 To: A Pole (#5)
Vicomte13 posted on 2017-08-02 06:23:11 Reply Private Reply
#7: A Pole To: Vicomte13 (#6)
No, you did not.
It is the only significant temperate mixed old-forest in the lowlands.
Tundra and taiga, mountains and tiny French preserves do not cut the mustard.
A Pole posted on 2017-08-02 06:41:52 Reply Private Reply
#8: Vicomte13 To: A Pole (#7)
Now you're getting pissy like so many of the old men around here. And today I'm not having any of it.
All that the article said was: "the last primeval forest in Europe". It did not say "temperate mixed old-forest in the lowlands". You said that.
I noted that Finland (which is in Europe), and Russia (which is in Europe) have large swathes of ancient forest. I also mentioned Norway and Sweden.
You posted a link to Wikipedia telling me to correct it. Well, I looked at it, and it talked about "old growth" forests, and listed Finland's and Russia's - just like I said. It did not speak of Sweden and Norway, that is true.
Your article, that you posted, named the French forests. I didn't. So your grousing at me about French forests is essentially you yelling at your own shoes "Get off my lawn!" I never brought up France, YOU did, first in your article, and second in your response.
I brought up Finland and Russia, both of which feature very prominently in your article.
You then added qualifiers such as "temperate mixed old-forest in the lowlands", and decided that taiga and mountains don't count.
They don't count as "primeval forests in Europe"? Why not?
You came in hot over nothing.
Vicomte13 posted on 2017-08-02 07:39:29 Reply Private Reply
#9: A Pole To: Vicomte13 (#8)
You miss the point completely.
The articles are for the reference.
The point is that Bialowieza Forest is a unique remnant of the lowland temperate mixed forests that once covered the plains of central Europe. This is the reason why I am upset about this crazy logging. OK?
A Pole posted on 2017-08-02 07:58:39 Reply Private Reply
#10: Vicomte13 To: A Pole (#9)
Got it.
I don't like the logging of old forests either. It's not necessary.
Vicomte13 posted on 2017-08-02 09:30:53 Reply Private Reply