Beefed up border security could hit park tourism

Poland's adoption of European Union border regulations could indefinitely suspend a popular initiative to create a special tourist corridor for visitors to Białowieski National Park, harming prospects for tourism development in the country's economically depressed east, environmentalists and government officials said. The park, which lies on a stretch of primeval forest on the lowland border between Poland and Belarus, attracts about 100,000 tourists a year, many who come to see its endangered European bison, or żubr. Park-generated tourism is a vital source of income for locals who eke out their livings from providing services to visitors. For the past five years, park officials in Poland and Belarus have discussed the creation of a special tourist crossing for those who want to visit both sides of the park in controlled groups. The opportunity to visit both areas would likely attract more tourists and money to the region and the national park, which is not eligible for financing from EU programs. "At the moment we are not lacking in tourist visitors, but such a pass would certainly increase the tourist flow," said Bogdan Jaroszewicz, the deputy director of the Białowieski National Park. "It all depends on how (the pass) is organized. But if the tourists are delivered in an organized and collective manner, it could also be done with very little damage to the park, especially if the main infrastructure is created within the already developed part of Białowieża." Białowieża is the town located next door to the park.

But observers argue that the development of such a tourist zone could be put on hold since Poland must increase its eastern frontier border patrols by up to 5,300 guards to meet EU specifications, a measure that must be completed by July 1, 2003 since the country hopes to join the bloc in 2004. "At the moment, there are very strict rules stipulating who can cross the border and why since there is no main public border crossing, which means tourists can't just pass through," said Anna Wołoszyn-Wrona, the spokeswoman for the Podlaski division of the National Border Guard. In addition, while Poland must also introduce visas for Belorussians to satisfy EU requirements, it's assumed that Belarus will enact similar stipulations for Poles, a move that could further prevent the special cross-border tourist zone, government officials said. Furthermore, increased border regulations that might scuttle the tourist corridor plan could bode ill for boosting the number of visitors to the nearby town of Hajnówka, whose local economy has been stunted by a downturn in the logging industry, environmentalists said. "Developing Hajnówka as a tourist hub would restore the locals' faith in the forest," said Janusz Korbel, a resident campaigner for the protection of Białowieża's primeval forest. "What (residents) don't understand is that tourism creates more jobs in the area than the logging industry, so attracting tourists is essential to stop loggers from felling some of the oldest trees essential for the biodiversity and life of the forest."