UNESCO monitoring mission arrived in Belovezhskaya Pushcha to assess consequences of fence constructed by Poland
Experts from the World Heritage Centre (UNESCO) are conducting a reactive monitoring mission on the Belarusian part of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha UNESCO World Heritage Site, sb.by reports with reference to the website of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection
The monitoring mission is being organised in the framework of the implementation of the decision adopted at the 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in order to assess the consequences of the fence constructed by Poland on the border with Belarus, including through the territory of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Belovezhskaya Pushcha, on the ecosystems of this site.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus, as the republican body of state administration responsible for co-operation with UNESCO on the protection of specially protected natural areas, will co-ordinate a reactive monitoring mission from the Belarusian side.
“Following the mission, an official comment will be provided, including on the decision taken during the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (July 21st-31st, New Delhi, India),” the ministry stated.
Experts, accompanied by the First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Aleksandr Korbut, as well as representatives of the Belarus’ President Property Management Directorate, the State Control Committee of Belarus, the State Border Committee of Belarus, territorial bodies of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus, the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park, local governments, and the public, have already explored part of the forest in the Brest Region. On March 25th, according to the press service of the department, a visit to the site of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, located in the Grodno Region, is planned.
On January 25th, 2022, without carrying out the necessary construction and environmental expertise, the Polish side began the construction of an artificial barrier (fence) made of concrete, iron, and barbed wire (concertina) along the state border with Belarus, including on the territory of the transboundary Belovezhskaya Pushcha UNESCO World Heritage Site. On June 30th, 2022, the construction was completed. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, as a result of this, the groundwater level is already changing, which can lead to the death of valuable old-growth forests in the border zone, and the degradation of swamplands and wetlands.
