The European Commission demands that Poland stops logging in Białowieża forest

The European Commission has requested the EU’s Court for Interim Measures to demand that Poland stops logging in the primeval Białowieża forest immediately. It also referred Warsaw to the EU’s Court of Justice. “These measures - which include the removal of century-old trees - pose a major threat to the integrity of this Natura 2000 site. The Natura 2000 site protects species and habitats that are dependent on old-growth forests, including the availability of dead wood. For some of these species, the Białowieża Forest is the most important or the last remaining site in Poland. The available evidence shows that these measures are not compatible with the conservation objectives of the site and exceed those necessary for ensuring the sustainable use of the forest,” the Commission said in its statement. The Commission has asked Polish government to stop logging in the oldest parts of the forest back in April. The same request was made by UNESCO last week. Despite such calls, Poland did not stop cutting down hundred-years-old trees. “Following our repeated calls, we had evidence that logging was still going on and after assessing the reply of the Polish authorities we decided to refer the case to the court,” EU environment spokesman Enrico Brivio said. Polish government responded to the accusations claiming it has “hard evidence” that its actions protect the forest from bark-eating beetles, and the trees are cut down only in state-managed parts, leaving the park itself unaffected. Since logging started, timber harvesting has increased threefold in Białowieża. The Bialowieza forest, which covers about 1,500 square kilometers of north-eastern Poland and Belarus, is a Unesco World Heritage site and a part of it forms a national park. It’s one of the few remaining parts of the primeval forest that covered most of Europe for thousands of years.