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UNESCO ‘illegally’ added Polish primeval forest to heritage list: minister

PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea 21.06.2017 13:23
UNESCO “illegally” added the Polish Białowieża primeval forest to the World Heritage list, environment minister Jan Szyszko has said.
The Białowieża Forest. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Ralf Lotys/CC BY 3.0The Białowieża Forest. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Ralf Lotys/CC BY 3.0

Speaking in the Polish parliament on Wednesday, Szyszko said that he has already informed the prosecutor’s office to investigate the case.

International environment organisations have voiced their concern over logging activities underway at the state-run forest in north-eastern Poland, one of the last such habitats in Europe.

“In 2014, in an illegal move [the Białowieża forest] was listed as a UNESCO natural heritage site, not a cultural and natural heritage, but only as a natural site – one untouched by human hand in the past,” Szyszko said.

Last year Szyszko approved the tripling in the volume of wood to be harvested from the forest.

The minister said he would approve a proposal to increase the volume of wood to be harvested from Białowieża to about 188,000 cubic metres from the previous limit of 63,000 cubic metres for 2012-2021, the Reuters agency said, adding that the smaller limit was “close to being exhausted”. (rg/pk)

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