After the migration crisis last fall, orchestrated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on the border between his country and Poland, Warsaw decided to erect an anti-migrant wall. The construction of the building, at an estimated cost of nearly 353 million euros, should begin this week. But scientists are already protesting because it will endanger the last primary forest in Europe, the Bialowieza Forest, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Because this forest is a sanctuary of biodiversity, more than 10,000 years old. There is the largest population of bison in Europe, but also wolves and lynx. Guy Debonnet, head of the natural heritage unit at Unesco, fears that the construction of this wall, 180 kilometers long and five meters high, will have disastrous consequences.
“It is clear that it is an ecological barrier where nothing could pass.”
Guy Debonnet, head of the natural heritage unit at Unescoat franceinfo
“Which would of course be a very important constraint for the conservation of this site, and especially the conservation of certain species such as the lynx, whose population is already extremely small.he explains. There are estimates that speak of a dozen lynx for the entire Bialowieza forest. If the forest is divided into two parts, it is true that the genetic viability of this population could be called into question.”
And the damage is already visible, alert scientists and civil society because of the barbed wire already installed along the border last year, in the face of the influx of migrants. “These barbed wires are already having a disastrous influence on wild animals: we received reports in the last few days that a bison had died because of it.alarmed Tomasz Pezold Knežević, specialist in biodiversity conservation at WWF. We also know that they want to make cuts over a width of 200 meters from the wall which would have terrible consequences for the forest because it means cutting around 1,000 hectares.” Added to this is the damage caused by the strong military presence in recent months, in particular the use of heavy vehicles.
But the Polish government is turning a deaf ear. He denied, a few days ago, that the death of the bison on the border was linked to the barbed wire. The border guards assured for their part that 22 passages would be created to allow the migration of animals. But it should be remembered that the area at the border is almost impossible for NGOs and journalists to access. So it is difficult to assess the extent of damage to the forest. Contacted by franceinfo, the Polish Ministry of the Environment did not wish to answer our questions.