Road to controversy

With all the turmoil surrounding beleaguered infrastructure minister Marek Pol and the shenanigans during the no-confidence vote against him, it is easy to forget what actually sparked the crisis. It was Pol's failure to get through parliament his Vignette Act to fund express motorway construction that led to the PSL's eviction from the government coalition and largely contributed to the present political crisis.

The furore alone is enough to illustrate just how high on the government's list of priorities is the issue of transport infrastructure development. But it is not only the question of finance that is clouded by controversy. A small, but vocal, group of die-hard opponents claim that the push for the development of car transport is playing to the interests of a sinister "motorways lobby," while ignoring the well-being of the society at large.

"It is true that there is pressure in favour of motorway construction. But looking at the way things are going now, I can hardly believe that we are in danger of having too many motorways," said Tadeusz Syryjczyk, industry minister in the first transition government after 1989, scarcely able to conceal his impatience with the situation. "I am wondering where the money is going to come from to fund any motorways at all. Concerns over the impact on the environment of non-existent motorways are, shall we say, a little premature."

The problem, Syryjczyk said, is that some self-government authorities, especially at the regional level, are afraid to address the issue of developing well-balanced, rational transport systems. To do that, they would need money: first to develop the infrastructure; and second to subsidise selected means of transport. Environmental considerations play a crucial role in defining the level of support.

"It is obvious that you will try and promote those means of transport that do not damage the environment," Syryjczyk continued. "But the regions know that even if they get enough money to do the first, they will not have enough for the second purpose. So an irrational, harmful situation is perpetuated."

Home of the bison

The region to which Syryjczyk's remarks apply most of all is undoubtedly Podlasie, the home of the bison and hundreds of other unique species. It is here that Europe's only primeval forest, Puszcza Białowieska, is to be found, alongside three other national parks.

"There is no such wealth of nature anywhere else in the country, if not the continent," said Grzegorz Chocian, owner of Ekoton, a firm specialising in environmental protection services and tourism. As a biologist by education and an entrepreneur, who exploits the region's ecological potential for the purposes of tourism, he is well equipped to speak on the matter.

"It is the unspoilt nature that sets us apart, makes for Podlasie's characteristic and recognisable image," he said. "We should be thinking of ways to make sensible use of these assets. How else can we compete?"

The region could certainly do with some sensible economic thinking. While its 1.22 million inhabitants constitute 3.2% of the country's total population, it accounts for just 2.4% of GDP, making it one of the poorest in the nation. It is also second last in terms of GDP share generated by tourism, which is rather disappointing in view of its enormous potential.

Still, the authorities recognise the importance of nature preservation and tourism for the region's future development.

"Tourism is the most promising sector of the regional economy," said Wojciech Krajewski of the Information and Regional Promotion Office. "In Biebrza National Park, we have the largest national park in the country. In Białowieża, we have, perhaps, the best known one."

Via Baltica

Nor is it the only way in which the authorities approach the difficult issue of infrastructure underdevelopment. Without a doubt, tourism is hampered by the difficulties with actually getting there. With this in mind, they have set to work and enthusiastically embraced the prospect of constructing a 40-metre wide express motorway that would make Białystok, the region's capital, an important point on the route from Finland to all the major destinations in Europe. It will certainly be a boost to the local economy, and to tourism in particular.

It's a pity then that Via Baltica, as the project is termed, is planned to run across Biebrza and Puszcza Knyszyńska, two of the most important tourist attractions mentioned by Krajewski. Nevertheless, he remains optimistic.

"I am confident that things can be arranged in such a way as to make the motorway as unobtrusive as possible," Krajewski said. "I am sure that nature lovers will come up with arguments to prove that Via Baltica will represent a threat to the environment. But the world knows solutions to such problems. I am sure they can be adopted here."

The worst case scenario is that environmentalists' protests succeed in blocking all action. The state of the road and bridge that currently runs across the Biebrza river is such that an ecological disaster is looming, even if the motorway is not built. Every day 10 to 12 lorries carrying hazardous loads pass through the national park. In the last decade, 26 accidents have been classified as posing a "high level of environmental hazard."

Clearly, there are arguments for both sides.

"If you ask me, building it on the Biebrza is illegal under the current Polish and EU regulations," said Jacek Bohatkiewicz of the road construction engineering department at Kraków University of Technology. "Whether it will be built or not is a whole different story. It is a political decision, and I do not want to go into that. But what I can tell you for sure is that worse things are happening in countries such as the Netherlands, and no one seems too concerned."

"It is difficult to conduct a rational debate when the other side is not prepared to listen to any arguments," countered Chocian. "If you mention notions such as 'sustainable development,' you are just labelled an 'environment freak' and your arguments are dismissed from then on without any attention being paid to them. It is necessary to create jobs. But the benefits of the motorway will not become transparent tomorrow. By the time they do, a negative impact on the environment will also have become clear. There is no point in making access easier if we destroy the reasons why people would want to come here in the first place."

What makes the debate difficult is that the information available is far from complete.

"No comprehensive study of the impact Via Baltica will have on the environment has been made," said Marta Majka Wiśniewska, freshwater policy officer at the World Wildlife Found. "It is clear that, had such an assessment been made, the Białystok variant of the route would have to be rejected because of its disastrous consequences for the environment. Alternative routes have been suggested. It is quite possible to avoid destruction of the areas under legal protection."

It seems that not only "environment freaks" are of this opinion.

"When it comes to motorway construction, certain allowances have to be made," said Jakub Łoch, environmental consultant at Jacobs, Gibb & Partners, who co-authored the strategy for motorway construction commissioned by the government back in 1995. "You must accept a certain amount of negative impact on the environment. I can see where both sides are coming from. The really bad thing is when pretence is made that there is no problem of social consultation, of the environment. They are real problems. Whatever decision you come to, you have to discuss these things."

Łoch is convinced that both sides should be willing to reach a compromise.

"But there really has to be a point when it is experts on the environment who come in and draw the bottom line. You cannot do just anything for immediate commercial gains. It is a very shortsighted way of thinking," he said.

The authorities, however, remain firm.

"Due to the commercial importance of Via Baltica, any decision on where exactly the route will run will depend on the interests of the regional economy," said Marek Kędzierzawski, the regional environment protection inspector.