The government has a new idea for forests. Finally, a positive change
The government plans to change its approach to Polish forests. This time it’s good news.
Above all there will be less cutting of trees in Polish forests. In addition, there will be an 13 Community Forestswhich will be available to residents of 14 Polish cities and their surroundings. The forests are actually already there, but citizens fear they will lose them, and therefore these areas will be covered by additional protection.
Forests for people, not furniture
During the announcement of the plan, Mikołaj Dorożała pointed out that according to Polish law, forests are to fulfill economic, environmental and social functions. We have already worked out the economic aspect, the environmental aspect is the responsibility of national parks, but the social aspect requires many corrections. It is this aspect that the Social Forests in the close vicinity of cities are to improve.
The Ministry sees them as a place of recreation, where you can walk and ride bikes, go mushroom picking and have contact with nature. These areas will be legally protected, but they will not be strict reserves with limited access. In the long term, the Social Forests are to familiarize us with the idea of a green area around concrete islands. They will also be an excellent base for educating city dwellers about biodiversity, the impact of forests on climate and the like.
We are working to protect forests that are used by a total of 13 million Polish women and men. That is why it is so important. | @hennigkloska pic.twitter.com/TWL7qYDM7D
— Ministry of Climate and Environment (@MKiS_GOV_PL) July 30, 2024
The cities that will benefit are: Bielsko-Biała, Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, Gdynia, Katowice, Kielce, Kraków, Łódź, Poznań, Sopot, Szczecin, Toruń, Warsaw and Wrocław. The Ministry of Climate and Environment reports that the Social Forests will be available to 13 million residents of Poland. Who knows, maybe they will be expanded in the future? That would be nice.
Formalities related to the demarcation of forest boundaries is to be completed by October 31, 2024. This is part of the current government’s plan to reduce tree felling by 20 percent In addition the first national park in two decades will be created in the lower Odra valley, and the boundaries of existing ones will be moved to include larger areas. National parks cover only 1.1% of Poland’s area, while the European average is 3.7%.
