Bieszczady Mountains forrest occupation Poland
Wanneer: 22/01/2021 - 11:09
on January the 3rd, activists moved in to block the access road. With two skypods, the Wolfens protect the forest on site, because petitions and blockades of the forest management company were not enough. Everyone is invited to join the protest.
We are a family group of Wolfens, that is a grassroot movement for the protection of the Carpathian Forest. We operate as an intersectional collective. We make decisions by consensus. We believe that we can function as we would like the world to function: without hierarchy, human domination over other beings, patriarchy, queerphobia and fascism. With radical empathy and care.
We do not agree to the devastation of wildlife and the exploitation of valuable forests as wood inventories. Bieszczady forests are an extremely complex, sensitive ecosystem that performs many very important functions. These forests are soil and water-protective, therefore the amount of water in the country depends on their condition. This is where the most rain and snow falls. Mountain streams feed rivers and the excess water is stored by the forest. Forests, especially the old, natural ones, play a key role in climate protection.
If they continue to be massively cut, the soil crushed with heavy equipment, and the deep ruts of skid roads continue to run a sea of mud into mountain streams, we have no chance in the fight against drought in the country, floods, not to mention the climate disaster. Meanwhile, the State Forests institution consistently implement a plan to destroy forests in areas that could be included in national parks or where reserves are designed, so as to diminish their natural value, so that there are no longer grounds for protecting them.
We believe that it is our moral duty to fight to defend our common good, and in the face of planned logging in one of the most valuable areas of mountain forests in Poland, we feel that the only way left is to block them directly. In order for us to succeed, we need financial support to cover logistics costs, purchase materials for building houses, climbing equipment, and provide legal support.
Today we, the Wolfens, stand up for the forest.
On behalf of all beings, we demand interspecies justice.
We demand the cessation of logging and hunting in over a hundred-year-old stands in the buffer zone of the Bieszczady National Park, in already planned and designed nature reserves and in all forests in the country, indicated by the public and the scientific community as forests that should be excluded from forest management.
We demand undertaking immediate protective measures and the reform of the State Forests institution conducted in line with social expectations. The climate future, our water safety and the welfare of other species depend on this for they have the same right to live, be free and fulfill their natural needs, in an environment free from human pressure.
Anthropocentric capitalism hijacks the land and destroys nature. Wild animals now make up only 4% of all mammals living on the planet. Piece by piece, we take away their habitats and transform them for our own needs, completely disregarding the rest of the creatures.
Old forests, of a natural character, such as the one we defend, are home to countless species – the Carpathian Forest is not only a bear, a wolf, a lynx and a wildcat, but also thousands of other, no less important, species of animals, plants and fungi.
Since all other methods have failed, we have decided to look after their welfare and protect the forest from greed and man’s lust for power. Shoulder to shoulder, paw to paw, no matter what, we drive back and begin the Forest Revolution!
Join us and stand on the side of those who cannot fight themselves!
Free forests for all creatures!
Why do we occupy?
The forest 219a has a rich history. Until 1945 not any tree had been cut there. Then an exclusive group of hunters “ruled” over the forest and prevented it of being cut. Now it is planned that 30% of the trees would be cut. There has never been a cutting of such a scale there.
This forest falls under the Nature 2000 area “Bieszczady” and is directly adjacent to the Bieszczady National Park. Due to its unique degree of wilderness it could have been made a natural reserve by the Foundation for the Preservation of Natural Heritage. The average age of the trees there is 120-160 years. This forest is home to among others, the Ural Tawny owl and the white-backed woodpecker which are protected bird species. It also hosts 13 species of protected mosses, lichens and liverworts. Mountain forests have the capacity of storing water. They protect the whole country from droughts and floods.
The job of cutting tree is apparently not even profitable: the two local forest management companies have received more than ~30 million euros in the last 8 years because of deficit. 3 times more than the 23 national parks of Poland.
So on January the 3rd, activists moved in to block the access road. With two skypods, the Wolfens protect the forest on site, because petitions and blockades of the forest management company were not enough. Everyone is invited to join the protest.
https://nora219a.blackblogs.org/en/
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