This book is devoted to Belovezhskaya Pushcha, a World Heritage Site of Mankind. The present situation of the World Heritage Site Belovezhskaya Pushcha and the definition of its values as indicated in documents of UNESCO are described in the book. Only a small part of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the core area of the Wilderness Protection Zone covering 5,500 hectares, is included in the World Heritage Site. Other areas – no less valuable parts of the relic forest – do not have this status. However, the entire Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park or its greatest part is considered to be World Heritage. This fact of serious contradiction is discussed. A proposition has been made to enlarge the Wilderness Protection Zone to an area of 50,000 hectares and to grant the status World Heritage Site to this extended territory. This is in accordance with criteria of UNESCO which state that Belovezhskaya Pushcha is to be conserved as a unique remnant of primary relic lowland forests.
This book is intended for biologists, ecologists, teachers and students of high schools, employees of organizations for nature protection and service as well as for the interested nature amateurs, lovers and fans.
The book is dedicated to Bialowieza Forest: an amazing preserved refuge of wild nature in a corner of the European continent. The book is the result of a unique trilateral co-operation between Belarus, Poland and the Netherlands. It contains summaries of the contributions by Polish and Belarusian park managers and leading scientists during a cross-border conference in June 2000 on biodiversity conservation, nature protection, and the cultural heritage of the Bialowieza Forest: some 160,000 ha spanning the border between Poland and Belarus. It is the last remnant of the once vast lowland primeval forest of Europe. This book presents topics that concern nature conservation, park management strategies, ecological forestry, water management, sustainable agriculture, and cultural heritage and ecotourism. In the book, the current situation in each field is described, as well as the threats to sustainable management and plans for concrete pilot projects that should be realisable within a few years. The book is illustrated with many colour photographs showing the beauty of the wild nature of the Bialowieza Forest. The book also pays attention to monuments of material and spiritual cultures that testify to the everlasting relation between humans and the forest. It will be of interest to biologists, environmentalists, foresters, teachers and students, workers and members of nature conservation organizations, and also naturalists and nature lowers everywhere.
Additional information: Interview| Heorhi Kazulka: "WE NEED TO SPEAK OPENLY AND HONESTLY TODAY ABOUT THE NECESSITY OF REVIVAL OF SCIENCE IN BELOVEZHSKAYA PUSHCHA"
In March 2003 the book «Belovezhskaya Pushcha in the Third Millennium» has been appeared. It is devoted to problems of preservation of this renown reserved forest. One of the authors is Heorhi Kazulka, the former deputy director of the National park. Today he is imparting impressions of his past practice: an international project collapsed, the book was not issued and he has been dismissed. SCIENTIST KAZULKA ANSWERS QUESTIONS OF JOURNALIST VALENTINA KOZLOVICH AND DISCUSSES SCIENTIFIC MATTERS RELATED TO BELOVEZHSKAYA PUSHCHA AND ITS PROSPECTS.
Will Belovezhskaya Pushcha be a true World Heritage Site?