Battle for Europe's last ancient forest
Climate change, border disputes and the opposition of residents to expansion threaten eastern Poland’s unique woodlands. 
By Gabriela Baczynska A contest between competing needs of conservation and economic growth is threatening the future of large parts of Europe’s last ancient forest. The 380,000-acre Bialowieza Primeval Forest, which straddles the border between Poland and Belarus, is one of the largest unpopulated woodlands remaining in Europe. It has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1979, is home to the continent’s largest herd of bison, and resembles – in appearance and the self-contained food chain it supports – the fabled wildwood that covered much of Europe’s plain, and, indeed, England before man intervened. On the Polish side of the border, residents are opposing plans to extend the protected zone of this unique habitat, which is under threat from rising temperatures and declining rainfall. Encouraged by international conservation agencies, Warsaw wants to enlarge the area’s national park, which occupies less than a fifth of the Polish part of the forest. It has offered up to 100 million zlotys (£20m) to be shared among the nine communities that would be affected by broader regulations protecting wildlife. However, the region is among the poorest in Poland, and the 2,400 residents of Bialowieza district are sceptical, fearing it would discourage investment, cause job losses and reduce the community’s tax revenues. “You may think we are fools not willing to take the money,” Mayor Albert Litwinowicz told Reuters. “But it will only go for green investments, while we need roads.” … Signs of climate change that could threaten the forest have become more evident. “The average annual temperature has risen by 0.8C over past 50 years. This is a lot for a primeval forest,” Elzbieta Malzahn of the Forest Research Institute told Reuters. “That’s enough time to call it a change to climate. There is less rain in the summer; winters are milder and end sooner, prompting vegetation to start earlier.” National park officials say the level of ground water has fallen by 20 inches in the past three decades. “Spruce roots are very shallow and they just run out of water. We are observing falling number of spruce,” said park employee Mateusz Szymura. …
