The international experts
worked within the framework of the implementation of the decision taken at the
45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to assess the impact of the
barrier erected by Poland on the border with Belarus on the ecosystems of
Belovezhskaya Pushcha. From the Belarusian side, the monitoring session was
attended by the staff and management of the National Park "Belovezhskaya
Pushcha", the Presidential Administration, the State Border Committee, the
State Control Committee of Belarus, the SCC offices in the Brest and Grodno
regions and others.
Within two days,
the areas directly adjacent to the fence on the territory of the forest in
Brest and Grodno regions were surveyed. There were also meetings of experts
with the public, representatives of scientific circles, local self-government
and management bodies, state bodies and public organisations.
Vasily Rudenik,
deputy head of the main department of the State Control Committee, noted during
the briefing that the State Control Committee initiated and conducted an
inspection during the construction of the fence, which determined the damage
caused to the environment. According to preliminary estimates, based on the
application of the Belarusian legislation in the field of ecology, the damage
caused by the construction of the fence amounted to approximately $20 million
in equivalent.
Even more
serious consequences may occur for the forest ecosystems in the nearest future.
Due to
violations of the interconnectedness of the two systems (on the territory of
Belarus and Poland), first of all of the hydrological regime, there is a real
danger that in the next 5 years a part of the forests will die out. Disturbance
of watercourses has led to waterlogging of forests in the Belarusian part of
the forest. At the same time, forests may die out on both Belarusian and Polish
sides.
The fence has
also blocked the migration of wild animals. The passages provided in the fence
do not allow animals to move: the gates do not work, besides, there is a Bruno
net (barbed wire) behind the fence, which also prevents animals from migrating.
We would like to remind you that on 25 January 2022,
without conducting the necessary construction and environmental expertise, the
Polish side started to install a fence made of cement, iron and barbed wire
along the state border with Belarus, including in the territory of the
transboundary UNESCO World Heritage Site "Belovezhskaya Pushcha". As
a result, the groundwater level is already changing, which may lead to the
death of valuable old-growth forests in the border area, degradation of swampy
areas and wetlands.