In Poland, the 10 most environmentally and socially valuable forests have suspended or limited logging for 6 months.
This was the first stage in the implementation of the country's sustainable forest development policy, Forsal.pl reports.
It is noted that deforestation will be limited to the territory of such forests:
- Augustovsky;
- Romnytskyi;
- Boretskyi;
- Świętokrzyskie;
- Knysinskyi;
- the area around Ivonich-Zdroj;
- forests around Wrocław and Trujmist;
- Bieszczady Mountains;
- relict Carpathian forest.
"These are the most valuable natural places and forests with an important social aspect," said Poland's Minister of Climate and Environment Paulina Hennig-Kloska. – In general, this is approximately 1.5% of the total area of forests managed by the State Forestry Agency."
She added that this decision is an emergency measure in emergency circumstances and the ministry is working on a systemic solution to increase such areas. These decisions will be coordinated with representatives of the State Forestry Agency, local authorities and communities.
Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment Mykolay Dorozhala emphasized that forestry companies for which these restrictions were imposed will still be able to perform contractual work. For example, cutting down of hundred-year-old conifers will be stopped in the Boretsky Forest, and in the Carpathian Forest – on the territory of 8,000 hectares of the future Turnytskyi National Park.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that eco-activists from the "Ukrainian Nature Protection Group" accused the state enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" of continuing the illegal destruction of ancient forests during sanitary logging.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, according to Global Forest Watch, during 2000-2020, the area of virgin forest landscapes (NFL) in the world declined by 155 million hectares, that is, by 12%.
