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Guarding the National Assets
Interview with Piotr Zbrożek, Manager of the State
Forests Regional Management Area in Białystok
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- Approximately 30 percent
of Poland is covered by forests. What is your
opinion about the condition of the forests in
Białystok State Forests Regional Management Area
(RDLP)?
- We operate in Podlaskie Province and in the
eastern part of Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province providing
forest management services on an area of 625 thousand
hectares, including 580 thousand hectares of forests.
These are huge primeval forests and numerous small
forest complexes scattered among farmlands. Each
of the primeval forests, i.e. Augustowska, Białowieska,
Borecka, Knyszyńska, Kurpiowska, Piska and Romincka,
is a real natural treasure.
During the post-war period, the foresters from
the Białystok area supplied the community with
over 100 million square metres of wood. Its acquisition
has been growing reaching 2.5 million square metres
in the recent years. This, however, does not diminish
the natural resources, since their consumption
is lower than the annual growths of the tree masses.
In their forest management activities foresters
are obliged to observe various legally effective
principles. They must ensure that forest resources
are durable and used in a continuous way. They
must also expand the forest areas and their carbon
dioxide absorption potential.
Nearly 170 thousand hectares of post-agricultural
grounds and wastelands have been afforested in
our region since the mid 20th century. This has
lead to a growth in the forest coverage index:
from 22% in 1944 to almost 30% at present. Decades
of rational forest management has given the anticipated
effects. We are observing a high increase in the
average indices, i.e. the quantity, growth and
age of the tree stands.
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- What is the greatest asset of the forests
managed by the RDLP in Białystok?
- Our region is well-known for its natural resources,
clean environment and tourist assets. It represents
a multitude of forms of nature protection, i.e.
four national parks, six landscape parks and 122
natural reserves on an area of 30 thousand hectares,
as well as 36 protected landscape sites and 1322
natural monuments. The achieved valorisation of
Poland's natural and forest resources makes our
region one of the most natural ones and gives
it the greatest significance in maintaining biodiversity
in Central Europe.
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- The RDLP in Białystok is among the 26 institutions
from the whole country, who have been nominated
for the Polish Leader of Ecology title.
- Foresters play a special part in the protection
of nature. It is the forests that are the home
of the majority of the resources that constitute
a region's natural wealth. And the natural wealth
of the whole country depends on the compliance
of forest management with the principles of nature
protection and eco-development. This may sound
immodest, but I do believe that the foresters
from the Białystok area fully deserve the Polish
Ecology Leader title for their hard work and commitment
which they have displayed for so many years.
- And what are the plans for the future?
- State Forests are now facing some new challenges.
The increased demand for wood is accompanied by
growing nature protection requirements. In order
to reconcile these needs foresters are contributing
to the community a multifunctional and sustained
forest management method. This assumes a harmonious
relationship between rational wood management
and the system of nature protection and landscape
formation. Concurrently, we must also be of service
to the community by making forests available to
tourism, recreation and science as well as to
the accumulation of coal.
Foresters hope that people will understand their
present and future social mission which combines
caring for the existence of forests and preserving
their health with meeting aesthetical, cultural
and historical needs. This also requires people
to understand the fact that we are all consumers
of wood - both the people who professionally deal
with acquiring and processing wood and the lovers
of nature alike.
The RDLP has developed a medium and long-term
programme to ensure the appropriate utilisation
of forests, one of the greatest national assets.
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