Białowieza – Forest Protecters – Poland

”Forests are good for us. For your eyes, your ears… for your nose. Nature is forest without forester. Nature is where I come from. It’s where I want to be. All the time. And nature is not only landscape, it’s also soundscape. Listen now; can you hear the river? Now a woodpecker.. And bison.” – said by Michal, forest defender.

Last week we visited Bialowieza forest and the forest defenders. Bialowieza forest is one of the only wild forests left in Europe. In 2014 the Polish government started illegal cutting of trees in the forest. This created massive protests from forest activists who defended the forest and managed to stop the illegal harvesting after they were supported by the EU Commission and EU Court.
The forest defenders are now fighting for making a bigger area of Bialowieza forest a national park, and in that way protect it completely from harvesting and commercial interests.