Polish foresters protest against the policies of the Ministry of Climate and Environment

On July 12, Forester's Day, as we reported in a previous article, Polish forest sector trade unions organized a large protest against the government's State Forest policies and the proposed new forest model. According to drewno.pl, demonstrations took place across Poland, with the focal point in Warsaw, where around 700 protesters gathered in front of the Prime Minister's Chancellery.

Polish foresters' main demands:

1. Withdraw the moratorium on logging, introduced in January and recently extended until September.
2. Stopping "experiments" that are only ostensibly considered to be environmentally friendly, but which could harm Polish forests.
3. Resignation of the Minister of Climate and Environment, Paulina Hennig-Kloska, and the State Secretary responsible for Forestry, Mikołaj Dorożała.
4. Rejection of proposals to amend the Forest Law and the Nature Protection Law.
5. Initiate a real dialog between the government and the forest sector.

Foresters warn that the planned changes could lead to mass unemployment and negatively affect the entire forestry and timber industry in Poland. They argue that recent decisions, such as the logging moratorium, have been taken without respecting current legislation.

Jarosław Szałata, President of the Union of Polish Foresters, emphasized in a letter to Prime Minister Donald Tusk: "We want to work quietly and serve society so that the sustainability and accessibility of Polish forests will never be threatened. We believe that we are professionally prepared, both theoretically and practically, for responsible work to protect nature and climate, as well as to manage state forests."

The foresters' protest was accompanied by counter-demonstrations by environmental groups, although they were significantly smaller in scale.

The impact on the timber sector is already visible. Andrzej Karpowicz, a representative of a consortium of forestry companies, said: "Since the moratorium was introduced, the staff in our consortium has been reduced by 201TPTP3T. The machines purchased at enormous costs are sitting idle."

The situation in Poland illustrates the growing tensions between conservation policies and the needs of the timber industry, a challenge facing many European countries in the context of climate change and environmental concerns. Finding a balance between protecting forests and sustaining an industry vital to the economy remains a difficult task for policy makers.