HUNTING FOR MORE …

The article by Valeriy Vysotzkiy,
Published in «Lesnaya Gazeta» (The Forest Newspaper) Newspaper (Moscow) — specially for «Byelorusskaya Gazeta» (The Byelorussian Newspaper) Newspaper, #371,
February 3, 2003

On giving readers the good news of the forthcoming joining of 25,000 hectares of mainly afforested lands to the National Park, the Newspaper «Sovetskaya Byelorussia» (Soviet Byelorussia) has confidently declared «Pushcha will become richer». However, all the erudite people — ecologists and foresters — are far from sharing such optimism. Only last year's considerable number of discussions testifies to this.

ALWAYS WIDER AND WIDER

However, the Pushcha has been enlarged more than once by expansion on adjoining lands, though this unique territory was situated within strictly outlined borders for at least a century. But in only 5 to 10 years, some theorists have seriously undertaken the task to prove that 73,000 hectares of coniferous woods and bogs are too small a reserve for Pushcha (to be exact, the Belarusian part of Belovezhskaya Pushcha has this specific size since the end of the war, when Stalin allotted the western part of Belovezha to the Polish government). Since the middle of nineteenth century, there have been attempts to righteously design the famous green-corner of Europe. Actions have been taken to extend the buffer zone, and the Dmitrovichskoye forestry was first included, then Shereshevskoye forestry and some other lands were added. It seems that actually a new restricted zone has been created. But what is the result? Is it the creation of the Shereshevskoye Forest-Game Ground, surrounded by a massive fence, within the protected site consisting of 300 year old pines from the times of «Peter I"»?

After such an enlargement, the area of the National Park (as the former Reserve was renamed) reached 111 thousand hectares, a size the Poles didn't even dream of reaching. Nevertheless, the present management of the Park has sent a petition to the government. For the purpose of increasing and better preserving the unique resources, the adding of 25,000 hectares to the Park was proposed. In Brest Regional Industrial and Economical Forest Office a figure of somewhat smaller value was considered, but the size impresses all the same. Only 4,000 hectares should be torn away from Kamenetzkoye forestry of the Brest timber enterprise, 1,300 hectares from the Vysokovskoye forestry, and more than 4,000 hectares from the Pruzhanskoye timber enterprise.

And all these in the name of what? I have read the motivation the initiators gave to Vladimir Ganchuk, general forester of the forestry association — «to set to rights the forest economy».

Mr. Ganchuk is, from the duty point of view, a reserved man. He noticed that «Firstly, on these lands, being properties of collective farms, timber enterprises have been accepted several years ago. In fact, at that time, the Park's management refused to take them. And rightly so: they implied a lot of difficulties. Secondly, our timber enterprises were carrying out the forest taxation inventory during that time. Three new forestries have been organized. Expensive bases have been created and technology purchased. Significant own funds of enterprises were being invested. Regarding the setting to rights of the forest economy, it would not be bad to establish order in the Park».

I have read in the Brest newspapers that after the enlargement, the area of the National Park will reach up to 145 thousand hectares. A little more and the Park could accept «the younger sister», Ruzhanskaya Pushcha under its jurisdiction. We can, if we want to…

WHO IS THE SPRUCE DRYING FOR

The main problem, as the authors of this enlargement initiative explain, is the change of the hydrological regime. This time they are right. In the memorable sixties, in the great Communist achievements« period, there were hotheads who started to channel rivers and their tributaries from the Reserve and to transfer them into canals. As a result, the spruce dries in the Park even on the originally protected pieces of land. This is the main argument park managers bring in their petition. Only an authority like the country's meritorious forester Mikhail Sekerich did not rush to give a categorical answer to my question: »Is this the only reason for the decrease of the underground water level?«. He replied that »Spruce dry in other countries of Europe too, not necessarily in places where drainage works have been carried out. Let's consider the northernmost regions of the country, for instance, Dvinskaya experimental station. It is a land of plenty, where the water regime completely corresponds to the requirements of a forest stand, but there too are sites where spruces are dying like in the Pushcha. And lastly, data from the archives indicates that such phenomena occurred periodically in Belovezhskaya Pushcha 100 and 200 years ago«.

What do the next plans concerning the water regime have to offer the Park? Plans are grandiose: construction of a reservoir and of other structures. But at the Regional Executive Committee I could not get a concrete answer for my question: what are the financing sources for such works, is it the state budget or are there local sources? And why must a reservoir be located outside the present borders of the Pushcha? And, the main question, whether a powerful manager of this project will be able to finally and irrevocably destroy the thousand year old water balance in the forest massifs?

By the way, international practice shows there are much more effective and less expensive projects for correcting the mistakes of those who subjugated the bogs. In a case similar to the Pushcha, the Danes restored a canalized river bed and, you can imagine, it is in a perfect state. Isn't it better to analyze sensitively, sensibly and without haste, than to hypothesize?

NOT ENOUGH FOOD FOR ALL

There is one more circumstance that determined the Park's managers to sound the alarm: there is no food for wild animals within the original territory. Animals are numerous, overpopulation of bison is the least to be mentioned, and therefore new afforested lands are needed to join to the reserve. Newcomers to those lands will have a hearty breakfast and then will come back to a resting place, causing no serious damage to native flora.

Let's quote the «Sovetskaya Byelorussia» newspaper once again «Joining new lands would allow the fodder base for Pushcha's inhabitants to adjust to normal, will protect animals and solve some other problems». What kind of other problems? We leave the newspaper editors to solve this dilemma. But what about the «normal fodder base» indicated, by the way, in the mentioned petition? It turns out that a tribe of poachers has thrown aside all restraints exactly on state forest lands, subordinated to neighboring timber enterprises. Therefore it would be necessary to call them to order. There is also an enlightening example — the above mentioned Shereshevskiy forest, isolated from the world by a reliable fence. Beyond this area foreign tourists shoot and axes vigorously strike, as foresters from the Pruzhanskoye forestry say they heard more than once.

Boris Mikhalkovich, general forester of the Brest timber enterprise, knows what he is talking about when referring to hunting and animal behavior. «An animal will not migrate to these new buffer zones», says Boris Nikolayevich convincingly. «The adhesion to the places where the animal was born is inherited. Only one bison, coming from »abroad« was seen in Vysokovskoye forestry in the last years. He wandered and came back». Then Boris Mikhalkovich added more seriously «Regarding animal protection, our system is not weaker than in Pushcha's restricted forests. I do not want to offend the neighbours, but it is incorrect to use only own estimations and not consider the data gathered by colleagues».

The forester and I remembered that the Forest-Hunting Ground of the Pruzhanskoye timber enterprise, which is open for people (is not fenced), has became the first one in the country where the whole area is held in trust, with the consent of an executive committee. And imagine, even though a regional centre is nearby, amateurs of the free fresh meat avoid entering the Pruzhanskoye groves. So actually what does the fodder problem and well-being of Pushcha's animals consists of?

The explanation is quite simple.

THE FOREST AND THE SAW

Motors of the large timber processing plant make a continuous noise in the outskirts of Kamenyuki village. Kamenyuki is the centre of the National Park and during its history has received the most famous persons of the past and the present. The sawmill has been purchased in Germany on a credit of one and a half million dollars when Ivan Titenkov was head of the Presidential Property Management Department. But it is not even a new machine. Moreover, due to its specification, it requires the supply of large quantities of raw materials. And workers have to comply. Those of you who wish and are able to go and see the exploitation zone, bypassing the vigilant guards of the Park, will enjoy the sight of extra-rich stacks of yet unprocessed logs. There are also stacks of raw wood, covered by snow and left out on cutting sites since last year. Experts asserted: such sites are created only for operation of large timber enterprises. Moreover, cutting is carried out even in protected areas.

I expect indignation from somebody among the Park's heads: «But the spruce dries out!»

Alas, it dries, but already for a couple of years they struggled to put an end to this illness and to different kinds of bark beetles in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha. The life-and-death struggle seems to be more «death» oriented, since both dry and healthy trees are felled, as workers of the Park wrote time and again. Famous sanitary clearings have got on such a large-scale that caused scientists and ordinary enthusiastic supporters of nature, including foreign ones, to seriously worry. The Ministry of the Environment was compelled to create a special commission with the representation of skilled experts, which in the end condemned with a majority such a practice and offered for managers of the Park to stop arbitrariness. You see this is the sad truth.

Any self-respecting manager of protected territories would not allow the cutting of a tree even if it has only one living branch. This rule is what gives forests the «protected» status.

THE ENTRY VISA REFUSAL

Ah, this situation brings up the story of the «impersonal acquaintance» I had with Mr. Bambiza, which took place already a long time ago. It was at the time, when the mentioned figure supervised another National Park — «Pripyatski». I have not received the «entry visa» from Nickolai Nikolayevich because I wanted to inform myself on the joining of new forests to the Park located in Polessje, a similar matter to that of Belovezhskaya Pushcha now. To receive permission, I was offered the possibility to address to Mr. Titenkov's department. But I have gained some perplexing knowledge after the engineers from the «Zhitkovichiles» association have accompanied me on secret roads to show me oak stands in the vicinity of Petrikov town. I have seen warped stumps, scraps, and young broken trees instead of the best of Eastern Europe's groves. The article «The sad oak rustle», published in the «Lesnaya Gazeta» (Forest Newspaper) from Moscow, has had repercussions and was reprinted in the country. The serious investigators from the capital Minsk and Gomel city visited the place of the barbarous robbery, for which I cannot find another word. There were also some promises being made that the author of the article would pay for the slander. Everything was somehow abated. However, people said that felling places have been cleared and the wood moved during a day and a night and taken in an unknown direction, so their location is unknown to this day. Soon after, Mr. Bambiza was given a more responsible task, namely to head the Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

The control decision of the commission of the Ministry of Environment has been appealed, and as expected it got lost in co-ordinations, elucidations, and vigorous interviewing of some participants, whereas brigades of woodcutters invited from different regions, punctually do their business to this day.

«But what do you want?», says the voice of the invisible opponent again. «Don't you know the situation in the country? People work to fill up the budget. It is easier only to criticize.»

Certainly, the situation is known for me. It is true in general. But why can't these virtuous fighters show their knack for business in any other Belarusian corner, which has a less protected and sacred status? There are over eight million hectares of forests in the country, excluding, probably, national parks and famous experimental forest-game grounds. Belovezhskaya Pushcha is not in the timber market range.

An opponent can absolutely disagree and accuse my subjectiveness because I actually don't have a base for my allegations: data about the income of the Pushcha in American and national currency is impossible to find anywhere, it is just classified information. In the beginning of last year during a board meeting of the Forestry Committee, which is the main keeper of the Belarusian forest according to legislation, the following line was written down separately: «to practice the steady control of all kinds of exploitation on specially protected territories, including national parks and other territories owned by the state». According to information from the Regional Industrial and Economic Forest Office, such a control mission has not been undertaken in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Perhaps the controllers tried to stay away from nuisances.

The deputy director on science of the National Park, Philosophy Doctor of Biology Heorhi Kazulka, was fired after showing support for the opinion of the majority of members of the Ministry of Environment's commission. Having 16 years of experience in the field of science in the Pushcha, he is now an ordinary teacher in the local secondary school, where he teaches lessons of morals to the young generation. Despite this, because of his international recognition, he is invited to participate in meetings of UNESCO and other similar organizations.

I interviewed him:
— What is to do, Heorhi Alexeevich, to save the Pushcha as a unique natural place? Or about the new settlers and economic planners trying to earn money by developing timber processing, hunting, trade (the Park owns all the enterprises now), mass harvesting of forest fruits and plants, horses and geese breeding?
— We should follow the idea that Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a unique natural complex and that it is necessary to learn to conserve and to manage it competently. Nobody says we should rush from one extreme to another. One possibility is to manage the Park by zones. The method consists of creating special zones, avoiding any conjectural or impulsive acts: strictly and partly protected, recreational, economic, buffer zones etc. And it is necessary to strictly follow the methods, ways and technologies approved both in our fatherland and in other countries. Pushcha has a sufficient area. There is no need to speculate on imaginary lack of space. There is room for all: flora, fauna and people.
— So does it mean that this new protective «belt» is just demagogy?
— How can we come to know what the initiators have in mind?

As the foreign press informs, in the near future in the Council of Europe, Ecology and Culture Department (an organization with a complicated name), the questions connected with the implementation of recommendations of the European Diploma by reserves and national parks of Old World, will be discussed. In other words, the representatives of the countries that received such Diplomas will meet. The Belovezhskaya Pushcha has been awarded the Diploma for some time as well. The situation of the protected territories of Belarus will also be a subject for discussion. We shouldn't make a gaffe, should we, but actually, what concerns do we have with Europe…