The Polish Bialowieza Forest is one of the largest primeval forests in Europe. It holds unique and undisturbed habitats for a wide variety of plant and animal species, including the majestic European bison. The Polish forest shares borders with Belarus, which makes international cooperation for the protection of this forest crucial.

In 2016, the Polish authorities allowed a three-fold increase of logging activities in the Polish forest. The logging companies claim they only work in the economic zones, to control bark beetle damage and minimize forest fire risk. However, illegal logging operations also seem to take place in protected parts of the forest. An international group of nature conservationists protested in the field, and also lobbied in Brussels at the European Commission. Nevertheless, the logging continues.

The European Court of Justice has recently published their final ruling that the logging activities in this unique UNESCO World Heritage and Natura 2000 site violated laws of the European Union. It is a small victory, but that does not bring back the 150 000 trees that were logged in 2017 alone.

Help the European Wilderness Society to support the international lobby against illegal logging in Bialowieza Forest. With your donations, we can meet the representatives from the European Commission in Brussels. We can invest in extensive on- and offline communication to raise awareness among the general public. The case of Bialowieza forest must become an example for other countries that the people of Europe to not tolerate illegal deforestations, nor the destruction of our valuable forests. We need your help to make a clear statement that we cannot let this happen again. Not in Poland, not elsewhere in Europe. Donate now to help this woodsy beauty!