- The Ministry of Environmental Protection is working to exclude 20% of the most valuable forest areas from logging.
- On April 26, 2024, the Ministry of Environmental Protection instructed the Director General of the State Forests to strengthen the protection of forests with a leading social function around the cities of: Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia, Wrocław, Łódź, Poznań, Katowice, Bydgoszcz, Toruń, Szczecin, Kielce, Bielsko Biała.
- The development of detailed proposals for forests with a leading social function has begun.
- Proposals are being prepared to conduct modified forest management in specific forest areas with a leading social function (within local teams for social forests). These proposals will take into account the guidelines of the National Forest Conference.
- On July 30, 2024, Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska and Deputy Minister Mikołaj Dorożała announced that the starting point for creating social forests is the so-called Map of Disputed Forests created by non-governmental organizations.
- The map illustrates the areas where in recent years local society and activists have been particularly concerned about forest protection, and logging aroused the greatest emotions and social protests.
Working to protect forests is important to 38 million Poles. Today we present its next stage, which is particularly important for 13 million citizens living in agglomerations – said Paulina Hennig-Kloska, Minister of Climate and Environment, during a joint briefing with Deputy Minister Mikołaj Dorozała.
The effects of the work on Social Forests will be known – in accordance with the schedule adopted as part of the National Conference on Forests by October 31, 2024. Then, specific locations and areas will be known.
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The Ministry of Environmental Protection argues that the introduction of restrictions on forest clearing will protect biodiversity
Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska emphasized that forest protection is an activity that protects biodiversity.
In January, I signed a moratorium in which we granted special protection to 100,000 people. ha of naturally valuable forests. These are spa forests, valuable in terms of nature, where today nature has a little more space to rebuild biodiversity, said Paulina Hennig-Kloska.
The head of the Ministry of Climate thanked the participants of the National Forest Conference for the prepared proposals for maps of social forest areas and announced a visit to the Regional Directorate of State Forests in Poznań, related to work on social forests around the Poznań agglomeration.
Today we are putting on the table developed areas in several specific locations where social forests will be created. Over 160 organizations were involved in their preparation. This is the term for the forests that are closest to us. 38 million Poles are waiting for the project, and it is particularly important for 13 million people living in agglomerations, she concluded.
Deputy Minister Mikołaj Dorożała recalled the process of creating the proposal.
The National Forest Conference started the process of discussion about forests that will be subject to protection, but also about various forms of this protection. So we have two areas of protection – naturally important forests and socially valuable forests. The Forest Act describes the functions of forests: economic, natural and social. The economic function was highly developed. The nature area is largely filled with national parks. In terms of the social function, we have a lot of scope for improvement. These forests are to play an important role in terms of recreation and contact with nature, but also to develop the idea of green rings around large cities. Thank you for the work and actions of activists that allowed us to designate community forests. The forests that are to survive are to be with us, where there will be no intensive felling – emphasized Mikołaj Dorożała.
– I talked to foresters in various places – we created a space for dialogue through compromises – added Mikołaj Dorożała.
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Joanna Mucha, the deputy minister of national education, spoke about the value of ecological education for forest protection.
When we think about ecology, we must be aware that it is later than we think – climate change is progressing so quickly that we are still one step behind. We have really little time to educate young people, but also all of us, on ecological topics. Let us teach them agency, so that in time Poland will prepare ecological technologies that will slow down climate change, said Joanna Mucha.
Twenty percent of the most valuable forest areas will be excluded from logging
During the "Conversation on social forests", which was attended by representatives of other ministries, the Sejm, the Senate, the State Forests, local government officials and activists of non-governmental organizations, a lecture on the "Ecosystem function of forests" was delivered by Dr. Hab. Marek Giergiczny (University of Warsaw). He presented the economic value of forest ecosystem services.
We have mapped the potential of the forest to provide recreational benefits. The recreational value is highest for forests located closest to large agglomerations. We made an attempt to value the benefits provided – in places with high employment density, the benefits may significantly exceed PLN 10,000 per year. We must be aware that the benefits of the forest are not only the valuation of the trees growing in it as a raw material. It's much more – said prof. Marek Giergiczny.
The meeting was attended by the Deputy Director General of the State Forests, prof. Bogdan Jaroszewicz.
The ability to appreciate ecosystem services and the importance of research is growing because public demand is growing. From the point of view of the impact on health, especially mental health, it is not so important how biodiverse the forest actually is, but what is more important is how necessary it is for this community – said Prof. Bogdan Jaroszewicz.
Work on the new form of forest protection will be completed on October 31, 2024. The government is working to implement the commitment from the coalition agreement: " 20% of the most valuable forest areas will be excluded from logging ."
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As Prime Minister Donald Tusk pointed out in his exposé, "I want Polish families, Polish men and women, to see what a real forest looks like again. "A forest is not a timber economy, a forest is our sacred national resource and we will protect it again as it deserves."
The Minister of Climate and Environment emphasized the determination to implement the above-mentioned commitment. The key to achieving this goal is to define social forests, in which activities will be focused on the forests' primarily social function, and not the economic and raw material function.
It is crucial to recognize the ecosystem function of forests and its economic value. It makes us aware that the economic value is not only the harvesting of wood, but also the preservation of forests that provide ecosystem services in this way. Consequently, it allows us to understand the economic consequences caused by the reduction of the forest stand in a given area of forest land.
