Forests sans Frontiers

Forest Sans Frontiers

Inspired by

Prepared by Bajinder Pal Singh, GEM (Erasmus)

Photo courtesy: EurAtlas



A look at forests in Poland

Geological factors

Poland is placed on contact point of Europe’s tectonic plates: Precambrian east

European mid-European,

Palaeozoic formations

younger alpine systems [Gilewska 1991].

2 case studies:NorthEast and SouthWest North-East:

Edge of the ancient monolithic east European plate Crystalline foundation dips very steeply covered in

places by a layer of sedimentary rocks Sedimentary rocks are only a few centimetres thick.

South-West Varied west European Palaeozoic structures Crystalline foundation is extremely deep Sedimentary rocks several kilometres thick.

1 forest : 2 countriesA

Because nature knows no political boundaries

1 forest : 2 countriesBiałowieża Primaeval Forest

Poland Belarus

Białowieska Belaveskaya Pushcha

National Park Biosphere Reserve

100 km² 1,771 km²

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Białowieska:transboundary reserve

HISTORY The oldest national Park in Poland started in 1921 Hunting ground of Lithuanian princes, Polish kings

and Russian Czars Until World War II: the forest was located entirely

within Poland. Then borders were redrawn. Bialowieza National Park was granted the status of

World Biosphere Reserve in 1977 and World Heritage Site in 1979.

Since 1994 the forests of Bialowieza other than the National Park have been granted the status of Promotional Forest Complex "Bialowieza Forest".

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Animal kingdom: Bialowieza

It is a part of the oldest existing European forest and the sanctuary of

the virtually extinct European bison, or wisent. 70 mammal species, including deer, fox, wild pig, wolves, and the

common squirrel. 280 bird species, including doves, kestrels, wrens, bullfinches, and

woodpeckers. Forests contain grass snakes and vipers, while rivers are the habitat of

fur-bearing animals such as mink and otter.

Endangered animals. Lynx [Lynx Lynx]. Deer [Capreolus Capreolus]. Moose [Alces Alces]. Brown Bear [Ursus Arctos].

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The Bison (Bison bonasus)

The B&B bison, Europe's largest herbivore in Europe.

once ranged throughout much of Europe. “Lithuanian Statutes”: declared by Polish King

Sigismund the Old in 1553. The death penalty was imposed for killing European

bison by Sigismund August (1520–1572).

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The Bison (Bison bonasus)1 Geographical range ofgenus Bison2 Probable range3 Range unknown4 Sites of discovery5 Routes’ of bisonmigration in Plioceneand Pleistocene6 Range of Bisonbonansus in Holoceneand early historicaltimes

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Source: Zdzisaw Pucek, 2002, Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan:European Bison, IUCN

The Bison (Bison bonasus)DisappearanceEngland 12th century

France 14th century

Germany 18th century

B&B forest 1919

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The Bison : Good News

Bison was successfully reintroduced in the forest. The animals that survive today are descendants of a

handful of animals that had been bred in captivity in German and Scandinavian zoos.

There is differing opinion by some taxonomists, but most scientists consider the B&B bison, also called the Lithuanian bison, to be a different species to American bison.

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The Bison : Good News


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The Bison : Bad News

The Lithuanian bison, the form found in B&B, is one of two sub-species; the other is the now-extinct Caucasian bison.

Two herds of rare European bison range in protected areas along the border of Poland and Belarus.

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A 2 ½ meter high metal fence prevents bisons from moving between Poland and Belarus


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•Imagine telling bison to get a passport and a visa!

A 2 ½ meter high metal fence separates Poland-Belarus

The Bison & the fence

A ten meter wide dirt security road, patrolled by guards, slices the forest.

The fence was created in 1981, when Belarus, then part of the Soviet Union, following the beginning of the Solidarity movement in Poland.

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The Bison & the fence

Location Initial 1970 1980 1990 2000

Poland 28 197 242 272 306

Belarus 41 63 `69 315 265

Poland* 15 7 60 66 60

Demographically stable, with low risk of genetic variability losses in 100 years

* Populations functioning at risk to the loss of genetic variability

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Importance of Belovezhskayaend of Cold War

Leonid Kravchuk, Stanislau Shushkevich, and Boris Yeltsin (left to right), the three signatories of the Belavezha Agreement

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Problems know no political boundaries Air pollution Impact of tourism Trampling (vegetation and soil damage) Introduction of alien invasive species Railway line near by that carries harmful chemicals and the

disturbance of water regimes by land reclamation in contiguous Belarus forests, to create a reservoir on the Narew River some 12.5km from the park.

Commercial logging is allowed in the surrounding forest complex, and there are fears that the remaining old-growth stands will have disappeared within the next ten years.

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Hope for the future

Conservationists hope that the Bialowieza National Park on the Polish side, and the Belovezhskaya National Park on the Belarus side (B&B for short), will become an international peace park

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1 forest : 2 countries Western Sudety Mountains The Krkonose/Karkonosze Mountains are

part of the Sudetes in north-east Bohemia, a mountain system shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany.

Known as “Kingdom of the Spirit of the Mountains”

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1 forest : 2 countries Western Sudety Mountains The area is known for its high biodiversity in four

altitudinal vegetation belts, from submontane to alpine.

Country Poland Czech

Name of National Park

Population

Karkonosze National Park

70

Krkonoše National Park

26,700 *

Vegetation Forests Meadows

Infrastructure Lesser Infrastructure Sports, Tourism

Tourists 2.5 - 3 million 6 - 8 million *

* 2002 figures

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Geological factors

The Karkonosze Mountains are situated on the division of the European water system

It divides the basins of two rivers Elbe Oder

Which means that it separates the basins of the Baltic Sea, and North Sea

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Sudety: symbol of cooperation

Czech-Polish Biosphere Reserve Bilateral Board

9 working groups on various topics (e.g. nature conservation, tourism, forestry, local communities), under an umbrella of the Czech-Polish Biosphere Reserve Bilateral Board, have been set up in order to provide a forum of communication between the decision-makers of the cross-border region, local stakeholders and experts.

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Various activities under joint board

1. Impact of air pollution on montane, subalpine and alpine ecosystems (Czech/Poland)

2. Air and water quality, pedology, pedobiology, hydrology, hydrobiology, forestry, botany, entomology, vertebratology (Czech/Poland)

3. Forest and agricultural management in the mountain areas (Czech/Poland)

4. Meteorology, climate and geology (Czech/Poland)

5. Flora and Fauna (Czech/Poland)

6. Standardising methods of the main species and ecosystem protection (Czech/Poland)

7. Limit the influence of introduced and invasive species (Czech/Poland)

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Stake holders

Private forest owners: Czech republic. Associations are often office bearers

Other organisations: Poland – support of Roman Catholic Church was regarded as important

Czech:participation by hunting organisations is necessary because they have high populations of herbivores in forests

Reference: IUCN: biodiversity in forests survey 2002, Francesca Romano & Edward T. Idle

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Example of cooperation: Sudety mountains and Black Triangle

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Changes in Black Triangle

http://www.grid.unep.ch/activities/global_change/blacktriangle/bt_schema.jpg

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http://na.unep.net/digital_atlas2/webatlas.php?id=7

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Decline in emissions in Black Triangle

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Source: Abraham J et al. 2000, Common Report on Air Quality in the Black Triangle Region

1 Nation: 2 Forests

Countries Poland-Belarus Poland-Czech

Case Studies Case A Case B

Results Lack of adequate cooperation

Good cooperation

Case B shows that “National boundaries need not be barriers”

Issue is environmental, but

Factors include Legal Economic Scientific Political, social, cultural etc

Another solution: Euroregions

Apart from bilateral Euroregions are: strengthening neighbour contacts,

developing infrastructure, economic co-operation, environment protection, tourism as well as cultural and educational activities.

The Euroregions include the Pomerania (Poland, Germany, Sweden) Nysa (Poland, Czech Republic, Germany) Carpathian regions (Poland, Ukraine, Hungary,

Slovakia, Romania).

Natura 2000

Other countriesPeace Parks Foundation Peace Parks Foundation: Seeks to create a series of

trans-frontier peace parks in Southern Africa.

One of projects: a vast peace park linking Kruger National Park on the South African side Banhine and Zinave National Parks in Mozambique.

Together with the contiguous Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, the proposed conservation area will be about five times the current size of Kruger, itself the size of New Jersey.

Other countriesPeace Parks Foundation An 80-kilometer electric "fence of fire"

separated the no-man's land between Mozambique and South Africa.

Since its construction in the mid-1980s, some 100 people have died attempting to cross the barrier, more than the number killed trying to cross the Berlin Wall.

Globally

IUCN's World Conservation Monitoring Centre has identified 136 trans-frontier protected area complexes distributed among 98 countries.

Poland is known as….

Norman Davies called Poland

“God’s Playground”

Can Poland set an example for the world

History is in Poland’s side

Poland was an architect of the peace park concept, which began with the Crakow (now Krakow) protocol of 1924 in which twin national parks were established along the then-disputed borders of Czechoslovakia and Poland.

Belovezhskaya Pushcha in folk culture

The forest is the subject of a famous Russian ballad, "Belovezhskaya Pushcha", composed in 1975 by Aleksandra Pakhmutova, with lyrics by Nikolai Dobronravov.

“Here is our long-forgotten family home.And, having heard now and then the voice of ancestors calling,Like a grey little forest bird, from far-away centuries,I fly to you, Belovezhskaya Pushcha”.

Addendum – Additional Slides

Climatic factors

Humid air from the Atlantic meets dry air originating in the east. This creates a rapid movement of barometric high and low pressures and a resultant changeability in weather systems.

Eastern Poland: Climate is more continental Winters are severer Snow cover lasts longer Temperature range is greater Growing period is shorter.

Southern Poland Climate is entirely different from the rest of the country Vertical zones caused by the drop in air temperature at high

altitudes.

Vegetation cover in Poland

Distinction between west and east (as the climate becomes more continental)

Distinction between north and south (corresponding with the parallel layering of the landscape zones)

Vegetation varies according to whether Atlantic or continental influences dominate - with even some Pontic-Panon elements.

As you move east, lowland sub-continental mixed pine-oak and sub-boreal spruce forests become more common (with Eurasian features being especially prominent in the far north-east), while the lowland beech woods and acidophilous oakwoods characteristic of western Poland gradually disappear.

Climatic factors

High soil moisture High atmospheric moisture Rocks are erodible – greater shallow soil

Animal kingdom

There are about 100 species of birds Lower levels: 100 varieties Peaks : 10 varieties.

The park has 4 species of fish, 6 species of amphibians 5 species of reptiles The park's attraction are mouflons, brought

here at the beginning of the 20th century.

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Forests sans Frontiers