Posted on July, 29 2001
Tree trunks stay where they fall. Dead branches decay into the ground providing a rich source of nutrients and encouraging fresh and diverse growth all over the forest floor. Mushrooms spring everywhere, 3,500 types of fungi growing on oak, lime and hornbeam stands averaging over 120 years in age.
Bialowieza is the last remaining primeval forest in Europe. Its conservation is vital, not just for the thousands of different animal and plant species in the zone, but also for the future of lowland environments throughout Europe.
This is forest as it was in the ancient past, when most of Europe was covered in trees and nature thrived unhindered by the activities of people.
Because of its remarkable biodiversity, Bialowieza is seen as an advanced bioindicator of Poland and Europe's environmental health, says PTOP, the Polish Bird Protection Society.
There are 20,000 animal and 5,500 plant species in Bialowieza, from wild bison to wolves, lynx, moose, red deer and beavers, rare types of lichen, moss and fungal flora, making it an area of outstanding biodiversity. Many species are endemic Bialowieza, while they are in decline or extinct elsewhere.
Eagles, honey buzzards and owls are just some of the birds of prey. On the Polish side alone there are over 150 species of breeding birds, including black storks, teals, redwings and green sandpipers - and all eight varieties of woodpecker.
The white-backed woodpecker is particularly rare, but there are at least 200 breeding pairs of this species in Bialowieza, feeding mainly on dead trunks and branches.
The conservation organization WWF and other NGOs have been campaigning for years for the national park to be extended in both Poland and Belarus - but the issue is low on the national agendas.
Although the Polish government has agreed in principle to work steadily towards the extension of the national park from 10,000 km� to 50,000 km�, it is conscious not to alienate foresters and local communities who earn a living from logging, mushroom and berry picking, hunting and antler gathering.
Pressing concerns in eastern Europe have relegated forest protection down the list of priorities, as Polish Bialowieza mayor Stanislaw Kujawiak explained.
"There is high unemployment in the forest communities, up to 18 per cent in some towns," says Mr Kujawiak. "Frankly there are other priorities at the moment, such as the installation of proper water and sewage treatment systems, and heating for schools.
"We recognize the importance of conserving the forest for our own future prosperity, but the reality is that we first need funds in order to take the pressure off our own daily living."
The forest communities are increasingly opening up to tourism as a way of boosting the local economy. Whether it's preparing specially designated paths for horse riding or renovating traditional houses into bed-and-breakfast accommodation, the hospitable locals are gearing up for an expected increase in foreign visitors over the next decade, as Poland prepares to join the European Union.
The big question is: can Bialowieza play host to large numbers of tourists while retaining its special character? Local ornithologist, Wojtek Jastrzebski, says yes.
"The economy needs the commerce. Tourists want to see an area of outstanding natural beauty, the like of which exists nowhere else," says Wojtek.
"As long as the approach to the national park is regulated - and the strict nature reserve is out of bounds - I think it can only be good for Bialowieza."
One way of regulating tourist entry into the forest is through board walks. One of the most used in Bialowieza, the one-kilometre 'Ribs of Bison' oak walkway, has recently been renovated by WWF.
"From this walk, you can see all the wonderful microcosms of growth on the forest floor," he adds, "as well as hundreds of species of breeding birds, animals feeding, insects and truly wild plants and flowers everywhere.
"These board walks introduce visitors to the secrets of Bialowieza, without disturbing the natural environment. They could be an ideal solution to satisfying both human curiosity and the natural health of Bialowieza, a template for other European forests in the future."
*Tony Snape is a freelance journalist based in Brussels, Belgium.
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