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29.03.2024

Results of the work of the UNESCO monitoring mission in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Press briefing

Results of the work of the UNESCO monitoring mission in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Press briefing
 Representatives of the State Control Committee and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection told today about the outcomes of the work of the UNESCO monitoring mission in the Belarusian part of Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

 

The international experts worked within the framework of the implementation of the decision taken at the 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to assess the impact of the barrier erected by Poland on the border with Belarus on the ecosystems of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. From the Belarusian side, the monitoring session was attended by the staff and management of the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha", the Presidential Administration, the State Border Committee, the State Control Committee of Belarus, the SCC offices in the Brest and Grodno regions and others.

 

Within two days, the areas directly adjacent to the fence on the territory of the forest in Brest and Grodno regions were surveyed. There were also meetings of experts with the public, representatives of scientific circles, local self-government and management bodies, state bodies and public organisations.

 

Vasily Rudenik, deputy head of the main department of the State Control Committee, noted during the briefing that the State Control Committee initiated and conducted an inspection during the construction of the fence, which determined the damage caused to the environment. According to preliminary estimates, based on the application of the Belarusian legislation in the field of ecology, the damage caused by the construction of the fence amounted to approximately $20 million in equivalent.

Even more serious consequences may occur for the forest ecosystems in the nearest future.

 

Due to violations of the interconnectedness of the two systems (on the territory of Belarus and Poland), first of all of the hydrological regime, there is a real danger that in the next 5 years a part of the forests will die out. Disturbance of watercourses has led to waterlogging of forests in the Belarusian part of the forest. At the same time, forests may die out on both Belarusian and Polish sides.

 

The fence has also blocked the migration of wild animals. The passages provided in the fence do not allow animals to move: the gates do not work, besides, there is a Bruno net (barbed wire) behind the fence, which also prevents animals from migrating.

 

We would like to remind you that on 25 January 2022, without conducting the necessary construction and environmental expertise, the Polish side started to install a fence made of cement, iron and barbed wire along the state border with Belarus, including in the territory of the transboundary UNESCO World Heritage Site "Belovezhskaya Pushcha". As a result, the groundwater level is already changing, which may lead to the death of valuable old-growth forests in the border area, degradation of swampy areas and wetlands.

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