Belovezhskaya Pushcha - XXI Century | Report on the joint UNESCO-IUCN mission

REPORT ON THE JOINT UNESCO-IUCN MISSION TO BELOVEZHSKAYA PUSHCHA / Bialowieza Forest, Poland and Republic of Belarus (2004)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The IUCN/UNESCO mission would like to acknowledge the perfect organization of this complicated transboundary mission by both Polish and Belarus authorities. Both ministries of environment as well as the Belarus Presidents Administration did not only actively participate in the missions, but also considered and used it as a unique possibility to meet and discuss current issues of cooperation. Thus, in an exemplary way, this mission was used to foster co-operation between the two countries.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS

A joint UNESCO/IUCN Mission (the Mission) visited Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Bialowieza Forest in Poland and the Republic of Belarus from 15 to 20 March 2004. This mission had been organized by the authorities of both state parties in responce to the decision of the 27th session of the World Heritage Committee. The main tasks of the Mission were to:

1) review the state of conservation of the property
2) evaluate possibilities for multi and bi-lateral co-operation in the management of the site
3) to clarify issues of zoning of the World Heritage site as well as fencing along the international border, and
4) to meet with all relevant stakeholders in both Belarus and Poland.

The Mission concluded that the integrity and the World Heritage values of the site in both countries are not threatened directly by logging or any other kind of actions done inside the boundaries of the World Heritage Site. The Mission observed and noted however a few potential common threats, which can have adverse impact on the long term integrity of the World Heritage Site. These threats are:

1. Global warming
2. Long distance air pollution
3. Change of hydrological regime and groundwater levels
4. Lack of integrated landuse planning and forest management around the WH site.

The mission found that the integrity of the World Heritage Site is rather vulnerable to external factors due to its relatively small size (5,316 ha on the Polish site, 5,000 ha on the Belarus site). The situation has however improved during the last eight years. The area of the Polish National Park was nearly doubled in October 1996, when the Council of Ministers approved an extension of 5.186 ha. By the year 2003 altogether 12 000 ha of surrounding State Forest have been declared Nature Reserves. The administration of the National Park on the territory of the Republic of Belarus has also received additional territories under its jurisdiction, which will serve as additional buffer zone to the WH site.

Yet, there exist some issues of long term concern, which if not managed or controlled could potentially evolve to become threats to the integrity of the World Heritage site:

1. Insufficient management integration of the World Heritage sites on both sides of the border into the surrounding forest and ecological disconnection of the two sites due to the border fences,
2. Management activities in the forests surrounding the World Heritage site (mainly sanitary loggings) reducing the amount of dead and rooting wood,
3. Growing impacts of tourism, concentrated in Bialowieza/Kamenuki villages adjacent to the World Heritage site.

The Mission found that both State Parties, their National Park Staffs and partners were well aware of these threats and had identified, where possible, measures to avoid or contain them. The Mission pointed out, that some of the threats could be diminished by handling the whole forest as one management unit, where the protection of old-growth forest ecosystem and its biodiversity would be the main goal.

The Mission noted that the co-operation between the State Parties in the field of conservation and management of the WH site was not yet adequate. However, the Mission noted with satisfaction that the state parties on their own initiative used the event of the mission to arrange a bi-lateral meeting and discuss ways to improve co-operation with regard to the management of the World Heritage site and the forest in general. The results of this meeting were recorded in form of an agreement, which the two State Parties signed

The mission furthermore noted, that there is need for better information about the boundaries and values of World Heritage site in each country. The forest on both sides also holds the diploma of the Council of Europe and is part of the UNESCO network of Biosphere Reserves. However, each of the above has separate borders, not even the borders of the World Heritage sites match with the borders of the National Parks. This creates a lot of confusion especially among those not directly involved in site management. Better information can thus be seen to be one means to avoid future conflicts between World Heritage site management authorities and the general public.

Based on the findings of the mission, the following recommnendation is proposed for the World Heritage Committee meeting:

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Notes the information provided by the mission to the site and welcomes the cooperation by both States Parties;

2. Encourages both state parties to review options to phase out "sanitary loggings" in the nature reserves with valuable old-growth forests and national park extention areas and change the forest management practices in the rest of the forest complex in a way, which would favour possible enlargement of the World Heritage site in forthcoming years.

3. Requests both State Parties to create a management body or joint structure for dealing with the whole World Heritage area on both sides of the boundary to enable coherent planning and management with the main goal to preserve the old growth forest and its natural dynamics and to promote sustainable tourism where possible.

4. Encourages both States Parties to manage the property within the context of a greater territory in an integral, holistic and environmentally sound way. This would help to reconcile the needs of nature conservation with those of the local communities and to provide best protection for the World Heritage sites as the core areas.

5. Urges both States Parties to further evaluate possibilities to reduce the negative impact of the fence and the border line as an ecological barrier especially for ungulates and other mammals, preferably by using a step by step approach, and in case the removal of the fence is not possible, by searching for relevant techniques, which would allow the exchange of animals along certain corridors.

6. Requests an update report on the transboundary cooperation by 1 February 2005 in order that the World Heritage Committee can examine the state of conservation of the property at its 29th session.

1 1. BACKGROUND TO THE MISSION

Criteria and World Heritage values

The transboundary WH site was inscribed for meeting criteria III for World Natural Heritage sites: unique, rare or superlative natural phenomena, formations or features. The site was regarded as a unique natural complex, the only of its kind in Europe least subject to human influences and with a protected population of threatened animals and plans.

Inscription history

The Polish part of this transboundary World Heritage site was first inscribed in 1978 for the above mentioned values. The Belarus part was nominated in 1992, were the World Heritage Committee noted that that this site was an extension of the Bialowieza National Park of Poland. The Committee inscribed the transfrontier property as a single entry on the World Heritage List as Belovezhskaya Pushcha/Bialowieza Forest of Belarus/Poland. The Committee commended the authorities of the two States Parties for recognizing the ecological unity of the transborder site and agreeing to inscribe the whole area as a single entry on the World Heritage List. The Committee requested the Belarus authorities to prepare a management plan for the area, and encouraged the two States Parties to share management experience. The Committee recommended that the fence between the two parks be removed if the management plan indicates that it would lead to enhanced viability of animal populations.

The Committee recalled that IUCN recommended to the twenty-third extraordinary session of the Bureau that the proposed extension would provide an important contribution in conserving the biodiversity of the Polish part of the existing World Heritage site, in particular through the oligothrophic pinewoods. However, they are not significant for the existing World Heritage site as a whole. The Committee decided not to include the extension into the existing World Heritage site. The Committee commended the Polish Government for its initiative for expanding the existing National Park and to give legal protection to the whole unit.

Justification of the mission

A "State of Conservation" report was prepared by IUCN for consideration during the 27th Session in June/July 2003 of the World Heritage Committee. This document is attached as Annex 1 of this report. In the light of the "State of Conservation" report, the World Heritage Committee made the following conclusion (Decision 27 COM 7 (b) 14):
"The World Heritage Committee: 1.

1. Notes the information provided by both States Parties; 2.

2. Encourages UNESCO and IUCN to undertake a monitoring mission to visit the property in 2003 in co-operation with the States Parties to review the state of conservation of the property and possibilities for transboundary management co-operation and to meet with all relevant stakeholders in both Belarus and Poland; 3.

3. Requests a report on the mission to be provided in order that the World Heritage Committee can examine the state of conservation of the property at its 28th session in 2004."

2. NATIONAL POLICY FOR THE PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE WORLD HERITAGE PROPERTY

A) POLAND

Protected area legislation and institutional framework

The protected areas in Poland can be established according to the Act of Nature Protection from 16th October 1991. The original Nature Protection Act has been the object for number of later changes in details. The Act defines the concept of a national park as well as other forms of nature protection, whereby national parks are giving in Poland the highest degree of protection which is administratively implemented by the state. The responsibility for the national parks lies within the Polish Ministry of Environment in the Department of Nature Protection.

There are 23 national parks in Poland with total area of ca. 315,000 ha, which cover approximately 1 per cent of the country's area. Polish National Parks are exceptional in Europe for their range of wildlife, their size and varying geographical interest.

The Bialowieza National Park was re-established after the Second World War by Ordinance of Council of Ministers in 21th November 1947. The National Park covered the area of 5,069 ha comprising three areas of different type: the Strict Reserve (4,747,16 ha), the Research Restitution Centre for bison (Bison bonasus) and wild forest horse of tarpan type (Equus caballus gmelini f. silvatica) (271,83 ha) and the Botanical Park (50,01 ha). All three areas were included in the World Heritage Site nominated by the state party of Poland in 1979. The area was recognised as Biosphere Reserve in 1976. The Bialowieza National Park has been enlargened to the extend of 10,502 ha on the basis of Ordinance of Council of Ministers in 16th July 1996. The extention area is surrounded by a bufferzone of 3,224 ha in size. In 1997 the park was awarded the European Diploma by the Council of Europe. The Diploma expired in 2002 and has recently been renewed.

Management structure

The administration and management is under the responsibility of the Polish Board of National Parks. National parks are directly managed in the field by the special governmental bodies employed by the Polish Ministry of Environment. Art.15 and 16 of the NPA specifies tasks and rules for the director of NP.

Preparation for the new management plan, defined in the Nature Conservation Act as a plan to protect the national park, were launched in 1998. The plan has been drawned up by several specialist research bodies coordinated by the Univerity of Bialistok. At the time the Mission took place the plan had already been finnished. However, it was not yet entered into force, because it had not been approved by the Polish Ministry of Environment. After entering into force the new management plan will be valid for 20 years and it will be rewieved after ten years.

The Bialowieza World Heritage Site is a small part of the Bialowieza forest complex with the total area of 61,000 ha. The whole forest complex is included on the list of European forest ecosystems covered by the "Dobris Assesments" of the European environment, published by the European Union?s European Environmental Agency. The Bialowieza forest was declared a "promotional forest complex" in 1994. It was the first one in this category, where there are now eleven such complexes, covering 6.5 % (474,500 ha) of the country?s state owned woodland. These forest complexes where chosen on account of their importance and representativeness in order to promote a more eco-friendly forestry policy by using management methods that conform with sustained, balanced development. Each complexes are managed in collaboration with a scientific and social committee comprising local stakeholders, foresters, scientists, NGOs and the relevant local authorities.

According to the latest management plan for the period 2003 -2013 the significant part of the state forest is given over to different protection categories. By the year 2003 altogether 12,000 ha of the state forest have been declared Nature Reserves of different kind. Within the existing World Heritage site 4,747 are under strict protection without any human activities besides very limited access to visitors.

B) BELARUS

Protected area legislation & institutional framework

The legal basis for the conservation of biological diversity in the Republic of Belarus is structured around general and special laws. To mention are the Land Code of the Republic of Belarus (1999), Forest Code (2000), the Law of the Republic of Belarus on Special Protected Natural Areas (1994, 2000), the Law of the Republic of Belarus on State Ecological Examination (Environmental Impact assessment) (2000).

The priority that the authorities give to preserving biodiversity is being translated into policies: the legal framework has been completely revised in the recent years and plans are being implemented to further increase the territory under special protection (especially through the establishment of new National Parks). Nature conservation is listed in the national and sectoral programs, strategies and action plans (National Strategy of Sustainable Development, National Action Plan for Rational Use of Natural Resources and Environment Protection in the Republic of Belarus for 2001-2005, National Strategy and Action Plan for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity, Strategic Action Plan for Forestry Development in 1997-2015 in the Republic of Belarus, etc.). The efficiency of nature conservation is hampered by the limited funding means of the government, but expenditure for the management of protected areas, although relatively low, appears to be stable.

The protected areas of national importance of the Republic of Belarus are governed directly by the Administration of the President, while the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, responsible for the conservation of biodiversity and the use of natural resources, has regulating and controlling functions.

According to national data, Belarus today conserves an area of 1573.3 thousand ha or 7.6% of the country's area (January 2001). This includes four national parks with an overall territory of 316.300 ha and 94 nature reserves of nation-wide importance with a total area of 814.1000 ha. The Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park is the second biggest, with a total area of 88,100 ha (to be possibly enlarged to 96,000 ha). It was founded in1940 as a state game reserve. During the Soviet period, only sanitation or maintenance cutting was practised. In 1991, the newly independent Republic of Belarus recategorized the site as a national park. Additional territory was added until its current size of 88,000 ha. The park aims to conserve a unique natural complex typical of the Republic of Belarus and Europe and to provide for natural evolution processes.

Management structure

A management plan for the new national park was drawn up for the period 1992-2012. The plan, essentially a forestry programme, places the emphasis on protecting the forest and combating biotic and abiotic threats: fires, storms, insects, detrimental fungi. The plan was later updated, taking account of the expansion of the National Park's territory and encouraging stronger economic development in view of the difficult situation faced by the local community (some 30,000 people live in the Park's 22 villages). This included opening up the controlled nature management zone for professional and recreational hunting and fishing.

The National Park consists of the following zones:

- the total protection zone (15,700 ha/18%). In this zone, only activities linked to scientific research and environmental conservation are allowed. The total protection zone consists of some 5 plots of a size between 500 and 7.000 ha. Only the territory directly opposite to the WH site on the Polish side has been nominated as a World Heritage site. It has a size of approximately 5.000 ha.

- the controlled nature management zone (57,000 ha/65%). In this zone, authorised activities concern the maintenance or restoration of ecosystems, including measures linked to near-natural silviculture or certain traditional activities. The zone surrounds all territories of the total protection zone;

- the leisure zone (10,700 ha/12%) This zone is intended for tourism and the installation of leisure facilities, small camping areas, picnic areas etc;

- the economic activities zone (4,000 ha/4.5%), This zone contains the villages, the Park's administrative and logistic buildings, (museum, hotel, wild animal enclosures), farmland and farm installations.

There is a buffer/transition area (90,000 ha) around the National Park where economic activities (collective farms) are governed by certain prohibitions or restrictions protecting the Park from: introduction of flora (forest species) or fauna alien to the native species, elimination of pond or river vegetation, any use of water likely to affect the hydraulic system, and any other activity that might harm the Park's natural ecosystems.

The National Park as a whole has also been included into the world network of biosphere reserves. However, the ideas of the UNESCO Seville Strategy for Biosphere Reserves are not actively implemented in the site. Making better use of the Biosphere Reserve concept could be beneficial also for the World Heritage site.

3. IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF ISSUES

Management of the world heritage site and the surrounding forest

The core areas of the World Heritage site has been protected as strict reserves in both countries. This gives well protection for the unique world heritage values inside the World Heritage site. For the strict protection no active management practices besides the limitation of the access of the visitors are needed for maintaining the integrity of the world heritage site. However, the core areas are relatively small patches inside the bigger forest complex used for economic, turistic, recreational and other purposes. Thus the core areas of the World Heritage site are the only nearly untouched old-growth forest islands inside the forest complex of 150,000 ha in size. This fact makes the World Heritage values from an ecological point of view very vulnerable for the negative changes in natural processes outside the site. They have been summarized very clearly in the 1999 IUCN Evaluation Report (EVALUATIONS IUCN: WHC-99/CONF.209/INF.6).

It is noted that with the exception of the total protected zone of the park, forest management activities are not fully prohibited in any other part or zone of the forest complex including the extention part of the national park on Poland side. Whilst forest management activities have been limited in many ways, the removal of dead timber, thinning of fragments of pine and spruce monocultures and harvesting of seed trees can take place. These activities have already changed both the natural dominance between different trees and other plant species and the natural age structure in the forest complex. In Belarussian side outside the core area there are small forest regeneration areas, where the natural succession have been nearly totally confined by fencing the areas. Some soil preparation activities used in these plots for promoting regeneration were also noted by the Mission.

The previously mentioned forest management activities combined with the increasing fragmentation of the forest ecosystem caused by the building of more roads and other infrastructure can in long term stimulate the isolation process of the existing World Heritage site. This is not good for the many relics of natural primeval forest living inside the core areas. Many of them are already very rare or highly threatened. The essential part of the natural old-growth forest is the ecosystem formed by species living in or dependent on dying, dead, fallen and rooten wood with spesific microhabitats. In particular the saproxylic, stenotopic invertebrates requiring a steady input of large amount of dead and rooten wood.

It is likely, that such small core areas would not guarantee the favorable conservation status of the old-growth forest specialists. The Mission feels that the whole forest complex should be managed in a more holistic way to reduce the fragmentation of the forest ecosystem and the isolation of the World Heritage site from the remaining part of the forest complex. More attention shoud be given to avoid reducing the amount of dead and rooten wood and the preservation of natural dynamics of the forest ecosystem.

The spruce bark beatle (Ips typographus) and "sanitary loggings"

The logging of spruce trees and the removal of dead wood is connected with the latest outbreack of spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus), which began in 2001. It is aimed to eradicate spruce bark beetle trough the removal of trees attaced by bark beetles. Such kinds of "sanitary loggings" are allowed to carry out in the managed part of the forest, as well as in Nature Reserves with old-growth forest values and even in the extention part of the BNP in Poland. The Mission could not clarify the situation well enough on the Belorussian part of the forest complex. However, the Mission had an opportunity to visit one of the plots outside the World Heritage site, where the execution of sanitary logging measures could be observed. Spruces infected by bark beetles were cut down independent of the thickness and age of the trees. The thicker trunks of felled trees were collected and transported outside of the plot along a forest road. The branches and the tops of the felled trees were gathered to heaps and burned on the plot.

Outbreaks of spruce bark beetle occur now and then in natural coniferous forests being part of the natural dynamics of this forest ecosystem. But it is also wellknown that spruce is a very sensitive tree species especially under the influence of changes in ground water level and air pollution. Also the storage of spruce timber with bark in the forest can in some circumstnces be the reason for the local outbreaks of bark beatle. Taking into account also the effect of global warming and the fact that the coniferous species have been favoured by forest managers at the expense of the broad-leaved species it is difficult to judge to what extent the current outbreak is "natural" and what is the result of the human impact. However, it is commonly known, is that dead and fallen trees or felled timber are very attractive to rare insects as a nesting substrate and an environment for their larvae to feed and develop. In this sence the outbreak of spruce bark beetle should be seen as one of key instruments to produce specific habitats for rare and threatened species outside the core areas. That is why the Mission recommends the two state parties to limit "sanitary loggings" also outside the core areas. More efforts should be done to clear up the primary causes for the outbreaks of bark beatle.

Size of the World Heritage site

In the light of the above mentioned changes and threats, the Mission considers the World Heritage site in the current boundaries to be rather small and thus vulnerable to external impacts. The territory of the old-growth forest of Polish part of the WH site covers 4.747 ha, the remaining 569 ha belong to three smaller plots with no World Heritage values: the Palace park and the two Bison Show Reserves. On the side of the Republic of Belarus, the size of the World Heritage site was said to be about 5.000 ha. More precise information was not available. The territory of the WH site of Belarus is the strongly protected area directly opposite to the Polish WH site, as indicated in the attached maps. This narrow stretch is divided by the pre-border fence running in parallel to the actual border in a distance of 800 meters. For many animals, this fence divides the WH site into one territory of about 3,000 ha east of the pre-border fence and the remaining approximately 7,000 ha west to it.

To assure the long-term conservation of the values of the World Heritage site despite climate change and changes in the ground-water level, the Mission proposes to look into possibilities to enlarge the site by adding territories with similar well-preserved old-growth forest. The Mission is aware of the fact, that the Polish authorities have nominated an extension of the site in 1999, and that this extension was not approved by the WH Committee upon the presumption that the area of the WH site on the side of Belarus was 88,000 ha when in fact is only of 5,000 ha extension. However, both Poland and especially Belarus do still have territories with similar features as those presented in the World Heritage site. This discrepancy in the actual size of the WH site in Belarus should be urgently clarified by the state party and the WH Centre.

Border issues

The Belovezhskaya/Bialowieza forest massif, with its century old reputation as a hunting place for the nobles was divided between Poland and the former USSR into two separate territories as a result of the second World War in 1945. This new frontier between the USSR and Poland left 55,000 ha remaining in Poland and 70,500 ha becoming part of the Soviet Union. Today, a T-shaped barbwire fence with a height of 2 meters as the main pre-border fence divides the territory of the stretched Balarus part of the World Heritage into two pieces (for information on the fence, see Annex 9). It runs parallel to the actual border in a distance of about 800 meters. Before and after this fence there are stripes of about 2 m of frequently ploughed ground, which are supposed to show sleds of illegal border-crossers. The actual border is marked by a barbwire, which is however does not seem to cause difficulties for the migration of animals. According to the directors of the two sides, the pro-border fence does not perfectly rule out the migration of animals: there have been cases were animals have managed to pass the fence, once even a bison herd. However, in principle the pre-border fence reduces any migration between the two sites to a minimum. While this fragmentation of the ecosystem is reducing its value, there were reservations even from the ecologists concerning a sudden removal of the fence. The fence is said to be keeping up the current distribution of free-living bisons. The dominating broad leaf forest on the Polish side is expected to attract the herds now in Belarus, which could affect both countries negatively. Hence, even from the point of view of the ecologists, a full removal of the fence is not considered advisable at this point. It was rather suggested from both the border control to establish one to three electronically surveyed gates at places where animals would be expected to pass. These gates would have to meet the requirements for border protection, especially since this boarder is now the eastern border of the European Union, and provide the means to monitor animal migration. Such a project would however require external funding.

International Cooperation

The IUCN/UNESCO mission considered that the two parts of this WH site were rather vulnerable to external changes due to their limited size. This could be mitigated by a close cooperation of the two site, considering the forest as one management unit. While a single management of the forest and the WH site in its core is currently not realistic, the cooperation of the two sites can be considerably improved. Both sides seem to be aware of the need to improve their cooperation and the coordination of their activities. In an exemplary way, the authorities of the Republic of Belarus and Poland used the IUCN/UNESCO mission to organize a meeting aiming to discuss the mechanisms and subjects of such future cooperation. A joint agreement for cooperation produced by this meeting is attached (Annex 7).

With regard to bilateral and multilateral cooperation, both sites seem to have a wide and functioning network of partners and supporters. Several projects have been implemented with funding from the Netherlands, WWF, UNDP etc. Further international assistance should contribute to the above mentioned goals of managing the forest in a unified way.

4. ASSESSMENT OF THE STATE OF CONSERVATION OF THE SITE

The Mission concluded that both national and local officials of both countries were taking the task of protecting the World Heritage values of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Bialowieza Forest World Heritage site very seriously. No evidence was found of logging or any other kind of actions done inside the boundaries of the World Heritage Site affecting its values. The Mission team hence concluded, that the integrity of the site and the values for which it was inscribed into the list of World Heritage are not threatened at this point in time.

The Mission observed however a few potential threats, which can have adverse impact on the whole territory, especially by causing a change in dominance of main tree species. These threats mainly relate to processes, which are outside of the responsibilities of the national or local authorities. The Mission considered the site as very vulnerable to these threats due to its limited size. These threats can partly be mitigated through an adapted management and an improved cooperation between the two countries, managing the two sides of the WH site as a single unit. An enlargement of the World Heritage territory could help to ensure the long term sustainability of the sites and the values it is protected for. The Mission therefore came up with the recommendations described below.

The Mission observed that logging is taking place in the forest outside of the World Heritage site, which according to the authorities are mainly related to an increasing problem with bark beetles in the fur-tree stands. The Mission took note of the concerns raised about the logging and the removal of deed wood from the forest by many local NGOs. Both NGOs and authorities have given plausible arguments for their case. Since this concerns territories outside of the World Heritage site, this dispute can only be settled at the national level.

5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

In the light of the results of the expert mission, which are summarized above, the experts suggest that the World heritage Committee should propose the following recommendations to the two concerned state parties:

-- to look into the possibilities of enlarging the WH sites (in Poland by including the whole existing NP and adjacent nature reserves with valuable old growth forests, in Belarus by adding adjacent strictly protected areas and enlarging the core area of the National Park). This would improve the protection of the ecosystem from global change and other outside factors;

-- to create a management body or an equal structure common to both State Parties for handling the whole site as one planning and management unit, where the main goals are to preserve the old growth forest and its natural dynamics and to promote sustainable tourism where possible.

-- to look into possibilities to improve the embedding of the rather small WH side into a greater territory managed in a holistic and environmentally sound way. This would help to reconcile the needs of nature conservation with those of the local communities and to provide best protection for the World Heritage sites.

-- to further evaluate possibilities to reduce the negative impact of the fence and the boarder line as an ecological barrier especially for ungulates and other mammals, preferably by using a step by step approach, and in case the removal of the fence is not possible, by searching for relevant techniques, which would allow the exchange of animals along certain corridors.

-- in case a nomination is proposed for re-designing of the boundaries of the World Heritage side by the Polish authorities, to reconsider the status for the three small territories that are intended to be added to such a nomination: the Palace park and the two Bison Show Reserves. While acknowledging that these sites are of logistic importance for the park as places for administration, environmental education and science, the expert team does not consider them of having any of the World Heritage values the site was inscribed for.

-- to facilitate and support cross border cooperation at the level of administrative units, protected area administrations/management units and of extreme importance - at the civil societies/NGOs level.

-- to involve international specialized bodies (such as UNESCO and IUCN) and secure financial support for issues exceeding national capacities of Poland and Belarus.

ANNEXES

1. State of Conservation Report of 2003
2. Terms of Reference of the IUCN/UNESCO mission
3. Itinerary and programme
4. Composition of mission team and Lists of participants to different meetings
5. NGO statement from Poland
6. NGO statement from Belarus
7. Resolution of the meeting on the improvement of bilateral cooperation concerning the management of the Belovezhskaya pushcha / Bialowieza forest World Heritage site
8. Maps

Annex 1: State of Conservation report as provided to the World Heritage Committee for its 27th session:

"The National Commission of Belarus submitted a report on the situation of the site dated 10 September 2002, providing the following information: 1. The name of the site has been changed following the Decree of the President of Belarus dated 16 March 1999. This had no impact on the legal status of the site. 2. Concerning the logging of 17 lots of relic forest and 200,000 cubic meters of forest, the report stated that these were due to an outbreak of bark- beetle. The World Heritage status applies only to the absolute preservation zone and in this area no logging took place, only in other functional zones. 3. Concerning commercial hunting, it stated that wolf hunting is allowed, as wolf numbers have increased. Within the GEF project on the "Protection of Biodiversity of Forest in Belovezhskaia Pushcha", animal counts were carried out and recommendations were made. 4. The drainage system was already set up in the 1960s - its negative effect on the adjacent ecosystems is now stabilized and the areas are gradually becoming covered by forest. Small water reservoirs are in place. 5. Concerning the gas reservoir, the report underlines that no construction of such reservoirs is undertaken in or near the World Heritage site.

In a report received on 11 September 2002 from the Director of the Polish National Park, it was stated that due to extremely dry years, the loss of spruce stands and dispersion of bark- beetles have been observed. Operations of cut-out and removal of dead spruce stock from the forest were carried out.

IUCN has received a large number of letters and E-mails from local and international NGO's and concerned individuals in relation to the state of conservation of this transboundary site. In particular, they highlighted extensive logging operations in both countries around the site, logging of trees more than 100 years old, and concern over the management of the bark-beetle infection and felled trees, which are inducing negative impacts on the site.

IUCN notes, however, that the information received from these various organizations and individuals through letters or discussions with IUCN staff, is often conflicting with that received from the two States Parties. As a result, IUCN highly recommends that a joint IUCN / UNESCO monitoring mission be invited in order to gather first-hand information on the state of conservation of the site and to meet with the various stakeholders in each country. "

Annex 2: Terms of reference of the IUCN/UNESCO monitoring mission

According to the letter of the Director of the World Heritage Center to the authorities of Poland and the Republic of Belarus, the terms of reference of the IUCN/UNESCO monitoring mission were the following:

1) to review the overall situation in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha/Bialowieza Forest with regard to the state of conservation of the site in its wider context, its integrity and authenticity, and how logging in the forest and other activities affect the outstanding universal value of the site;

2) to evaluate possibilities for multi and bi-lateral cooperation in the management of the site as well as the implementation of conservation and development projects;

3) to clearify the issue of zoning of the World Heritage site as well as of fencing along the internal boarder (as the World Heritage Committee at its 16th session in 1992 requested to remove the fence if the management plan determines that such an action would prove viable of the site) in the view of the integration of Poland into the European Union;

4) to provide a detailed report in order that the World Heritage Committee can examine the state of the property at its 28th session in June/July 2004.

Annex 3a: Stakeholder meeting on the state of conservation of Belovezhskaya Pushcha/Bialowieza Forest (Belarus/Poland)

18-19 March 2004

Provisional agenda
1. Welcome by Belarus and Poland
2. Background information and the decisions of the World Heritage Committee by UNESCO Moscow Office
3. Observations on the state of conservation of Belovezhskaya Pushcha/Bialowieza Forest by IUCN
4. Discussion on specific issues and threats
5. Discussion on possible bilateral and multilateral co-operation in the management of the world heritage site
6. Other issues
7. Summary and concluding remarks

Annex 3b: UNESCO-IUCN Mission to Bialowieza Forest/Belovezhskaya Pushcha

Provisional timetable

15 March (Monday)

Arrival of the experts: Mr. Jukka-Pekka Flander (IUCN) at 10.05 a.m. from Helsinki and Mr. Uli Graebener (UNESCO Office in Moscow) at 10.25 from Moscow

Departure by minibus to Bialowieza:

- Discussions in the minibus with the representatives of the Ministry of Environment

5.00 p.m. - Meeting of the experts with the director of the Bialowieza National Park

Accommodation in the hotel in the village of Bialowieza

16 March (Tuesday)

10.00 a.m. - Opening of the meeting by the Chair of the Polish delegation. Participation:
the representatives of public administration bodies of various levels
10.10 a.m. - Statement by the Chair of the delegation of Belarus
10.25 a.m. - Statement by UNESCO expert
10.40 a.m. - Bialowieza National Park as World Heritage site - presentation by the Director of the National Park
11.00 a.m. - Presentation of Bialowieza Forest by a representative of Direction of State Forests
11.15 a.m. - Discussion
11.30 a.m. - Coffee break
11.45 a.m. - Discussion (continued)
1.30 p.m. - Lunch
3.00 - 6.00 p.m. - Meeting with representatives of NGOs
Opening by the Chair of the Polish delegation
Statement by the UNESCO and IUCN experts
7.00 p.m. - Official dinner hosted by prof. Ewa Symonides (Mrs.),the Deputy Minister of Environment

17 March (Wednesday)

9.00 a.m. - Study tour in the Bialowieza National Park. Presentation by the Director and Vice-Director of the National Park.

- visit to the Strict Nature Reserve, the Palace Park (the Botanical Park) and "the Bison Show" area (the Research Restitution Centre for bison and wild forest horse of tarpan type)

- discussions during the tour with Deputy director Bogdan Jaroszewicz about the management and interpretation of the World Heritage site and the restrictions for visiting the Strict Reserve

1.30 p.m. - Lunch
3.00 - 4.30 p.m. - Summary remarks after the visit
4.45 p.m. Departure to Terespol by the minibus
6.20 p.m. - Departure from Terespol to Brest by train
8.06 p.m. - Arrival to Brest (local time)
8.10 p.m. - Departure to Kamyeniuki (transport provided by Belarusian side)
9.00 p.m. - Accomodation in Kamyeniuki

18 March (Thursday)

- Study tour and field inspection in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park:

-visit to the fence, the agricultural and drainage areas, "a sanitary logging plot", a Nature Reserve with the biggest concentration of old oaks and the boarder of the World Heritage site -visit to the tourist facilities of the park

19 March (Friday)

(as proposed by UNESCO World Heritage Center and Polish side)

S t a k e h o l d e r m e e t i n g

(Chaired by Mr. Uli Graebener, UNESCO Office in Moscow)

8.30 a.m - Welcome by representatives of Belarus and Poland (from Polish side - prof. Ewa Symonides (Mrs.), Deputy Minister of Environment)
Designation of the rapporteurs
9.00 a.m. - Background information and the decisions of the World Heritage Committee by Mr Uli Graebener, UNESCO
9.15 a.m. - Observations on the state of conservation of Belovezhskaya Pushcha/Bialowieza Forest by Mr Jukka-Pekka Flander, IUCN
9.30 a.m. - Discussion on specific issues and threats:
- Logging
- Fencing and border
- Other issues
10.30 a.m. - Coffee break
10.50 a.m. - General discussion (continued)
11.30 a.m. - Discussion on possible bilateral and multilateral co-operation in the management of the World heritage site
- Statements by the representatives of Belarus, Poland, Council of Europe, border control, NGOs and the UNESCO and IUCN experts
12.40 p.m. - General discussion
1.00 p.m. - Lunch break
2.30 p.m. - Concluding remarks
4.00 p.m. - Adoption of the report
5.45 p.m. - Departure by car to Brest (Polish delegation and UICN expert, transport provided by the Belarussian side)
7.47 p.m. - Departure by train from Brest to Terespol
7.05 p.m. - Arrival to Terespol (local time)
7.10 p.m. - Departure by car from Terespol to Warsaw
10.30 p.m. - Arrival to Warsaw
Accomodation in the hotel "Novotel" (near the airport)

20 March (Saturday)

10.45 - Departure of Mr Jukka-Pekka Flander

Annex 4: Composition of the Mission Team and Lists of participants to different meetings

Mission Team

Uli Grabener, UNESCO Moscow office
Jukka- Pekka Flander, IUCN International

IUCN Regional Office

Zenon Tederko, IUCN Regional office for Europe, IUCN

4.a Lists of participants to different meetings

List of Polish delegates

Chair:
Prof. Ewa SYMONIDES (Mrs), Under-secretary of state, Ministry of Environment, Chair of Nature Conservation in Poland

Members:
Mr. Jerzy BALDYGA, interpreter
Dr. Zygmunt KRZEMINSKI, Counsellor of Minister, Department of Nature Conservation, Ministry of Environment
Ms. Renata KRZYSCIAK- KOSINSKA, Specialist, Bialowieza National Park
Dr. Bogdan JAROSZEWICZ, Deputy diorector, Bialowieza National Park
Ms. Ewa OLESIEJUK, Specialist, Department of international Cooperation, Ministry of Environment
Dr. Tomasz ORLOWSKI, Secretary-general, Polish National Commission for UNESCO
Mr. Jozef POPIEL, Director of the Bialowieza National park
Mr. Jacek RULEWICZ, Director, State Center of Research and Documentation of Monuments
Mr. Zenon TEDERKO, Regional office for Europe, IUCN
Ms. Aleksandra WACLAWCZYK, Deputy Secretary-general, Polish National Commission for UNESCO
Mr. Michal WOLKOWYCKI, Deputy Chief of border department, Border Office, Section of Podlasie, Bialystok

List of the Belarusian delegation to visit the Polish side of Belavezhskaya Pushcha/Bialoweza Forest UNESCO World Heritage Site

1. Mr. V.I. Malishevsky - Vice Minister for Natural Resources and Environment Protection
2. Mr. A.A. Goldenkov - Head of Department, Ministry for Natural Resources and Environment Protection
3. Mr. A.I. Luchkov, Chief of Department, Directorate of Presidential Affairs
4. Mr. N.N. Bambiza, Director- General, Belavezhskaya Pushca State Nature Conservation Enterprise
5. Mrs. A.V. Dengubenko, Deputy Director- General for Science, Belavezhskaya Pushcha State Nature Conservation Enterprise
6. Mr. A.G. Artushevsky, Echopravo Non- Governmental Organization

List of the Belarusian delegation at the events on Belarusian side (UNESCO - IUCN Mission in Belavezhskaya Pushca/Bialoweza Forest

1. Mr. U.R. Shchasny, Ambassador at large, Chairman of National Commisssion for UNESCO
2. Mr. M.E. Nikifirov, Bird Protection Society, Director of Zoolgy Institute, National Academy of Sciences
3. Mrs. N.M. Rybyanets, Belarusian Man and Biosphere Committee, National Academy of Sciences
4. Mr. V.I. Reutski, Ecovita non- Governmental organization
5. Mr. A.V. Pugachevski, Deputy Director, Institute of Experimental Botanics, National Academy of Sciences
6. An interpreter

Annex 4b: Meeting with the representatives of Bialowieza National Park, Bialowieza Forest and NGOs, Bialowieza National Park information centre 16 March

List of UNESCO and IUCN experts

Uli Grabener, UNESCO Moscow office
Jukka- Pekka Flander, IUCN International
Zenon Tederko, IUCN Regional office for Europe, IUCN

List of Polish delegates

Chair:
Mr. Krzysztof ZAREBA, General Inspector of Environment Protection

Members:
Mr. Jerzy BALDYGA, interpreter
Dr. Zygmunt KRZEMINSKI, Counsellor of Minister, Department of Nature Conservation, Ministry of Environment
Ms. Renata KRZYSCIAK- KOSINSKA, Head of Scientific Unit, Bialowieza National Park
Ms. Ewa OLESIEJUK, Specialist, Department of international Cooperation, Ministry of Environment
Dr. Tomasz ORLOWSKI, Secretary-general, Polish National Commission for UNESCO
Mr. Jozef POPIEL, Director of the Bialowieza National park
Mr. Zenon TEDERKO, Regional office for Europe, IUCN
Ms. Aleksandra WACLAWCZYK, Deputy Secretary-general, Polish National Commission for UNESCO

Mr. Andrzej Antczak, engineer in the Bialowieza Forest Department
Mr. Janusz Zaleski, Deputy director, General Directorate of State Forests
Dr. Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Deputy director, Bialowieza National Park

List of the representatives of Polish Non-Governmental Organizations:

Dr Andrzej Bobiec, Association for protection of the Bialowieza Forest (TOPB)
Dr Przemyslaw Nawrocki, WWF Poland
Mr. Stefan Jakimiuk, Ms. Grazyna Bancarewicz, Project "Bialowieza National Park", WWF Poland
Dr Janusz Korbel, Association for Landscape Protection
Ms Maria Wieloch, Polish Association for Birds Protection (OTOP)

List of Belarusian delegates

Annex 4c. List of the participants of the co-operative meeting in Belavezhskay Pushca, 19 March 2004

List of UNESCO and IUCN experts

Uli Grabener, UNESCO Moscow office
Jukka- Pekka Flander, IUCN International
Zenon Tederko, IUCN Regional office for Europe, IUCN

List of Polish delegates

Mr. Jerzy BALDYGA, interpreter
Dr. Zygmunt KRZEMINSKI, Counsellor of Minister, Department of Nature Conservation, Ministry of Environment
Ms. Renata KRZYSCIAK- KOSINSKA, Specialist, Bialowieza National Park
Jerzy LUGOWOJ, State Forests, Head of Hajnowka Forest Department
Ms. Ewa OLESIEJUK, Specialist, Department of international Cooperation, Ministry of Environment
Mr. Jozef POPIEL, Director of the Bialowieza National park
Mr. Wlodzimierz PROTOSEWICS, Regional Directorate of States Forests in Bialystok, Head of Department
Ms. Aleksandra WACLAWCZYK, Deputy Secretary-general, Polish National Commission for UNESCO
Mr. Michal WOLKOWYCKI, Deputy Chief of border department, Border Office, Section of Podlasie, Bialystok
Mr. Krysztof ZAREBA, Chief inspector, Ministry of Environment

List of Belarusian delegates

Mr. N.N. BAMBIZA, Director- General, Belavezhskaya Pushca State Nature Conservation Enterprise
Hanna DZIANHUBENKA, Deputy Director of science, SNP "Belovezhskaya Pushcha"
Mr. A.A. GOLDENKOV, Head of Department, Ministry for Natural Resources and Environment Protection
Mr. A.I. LUCHKOV, Chief of Department, Directorate of Presidential Affairs
Mr. V.I. MALISCHEVSKIJ, Vice Minister for Natural Resources and Environment Protection
Mr. M.E. NIKIFIROV, Bird Protection Society, Director of Zoolgy Institute, National Academy of Sciences
Mr. A.V. PUHACHEVSKI, Deputy Director, Institute of Experimental Botanics, National Academy of Sciences
Mrs. N.M. RYBIANETS, Belarusian Man and Biosphere Committee, National Academy of Sciences
Maksim RYZHENKOV, Councellor-Minister of the Belarus Embassy in Poland
Mr. U.R. SHCHASNY, Ambassador at large, Chairman of National Commisssion for UNESCO
S.E. VOLKOV, The representative of Border Control Service
Mr. A.G. ARTJUSCHEVSKIJ, Echopravo Non- Governmental Organization
Two interpreters

Annex 5: NGO statement from Poland

Resolution

We, the representatives of the undersigned non-governmental organisations, attending the meeting with the delegates of UNESCO and IUCN, held on March 16, 2004 at the Biatowieza National Park (BNP), hereby present the following opinion.

Both the rich comparative data gathered in the BPF and our current understandings in how ecosystems function do not support the management practices that are permitted adjacent to this World Heritage site. Although difficult to quantify, it is obvious that the impacts on adjacent forest lands are affecting the ecosystem within the protected area.

As all of the Polish section of BPF is in public ownership, the contradiction between the status of World Heritage site as a preserved area and the intensive forest management permitted adjacent to it is the result of an inconsistent conservation policy implemented by the Ministry of Environment. Therefore, in our opinion, the further application of the prestigious World Heritage label to the BNP should depend on immediate measures leading to the removal of the threats specified below.

We claim that our position is justified by the arguments as following.

I. The BNP World Heritage site in the ecological context

The status of the BNP World Heritage site was awarded in 1979 to the approximately 4,747 hectares that comprise the strict nature reserve of the Biatowieza National Park (SNR). The nature reserve dates from 1 921, when it was carved out of the Biatowieza Primeval Forest (BPF), which covers approximately 1 50,000 hectares. Unlike any other lowland temperate forest in Europe, the BPF was preserved as a compact natural ecosystem. By 1 91 5, during World War I, systematic logging and intensive forest management was initiated. This approach to managing forests replaced the natural, native stands with second-growth and tree plantations often dominated by commercial species less frequently found in the natural forest. After WWII the BPF was divided into two sections by the border separating Poland and Belarus. Since then, the Belarussian portion of BPF was not subject to logging. However, within the Polish portion, of approximately 60,000 hectares, commercial extraction of timber continues to be an important goal of management, furthering the deviation of the forest from its historic and natural character.

II. The transformation of the immediate neighbourhood of the Bialowieza World Heritage site

The changes include:

- Compositional change of stands. The coniferous species have been favoured at the expense of the broad-leaved, shade tolerant species.

- Extensive rejuvenation of stands. The coverage of stands remaining from before the BNP was established, those in the 100-140 year age class, has declined from 40 to 25 percent, whereas the coverage of the oldest stands (>140 years) has declined from approximately 30 percent to nil.

- Pest control and removal of dead wood. Suppression of the phenomena that drive the natural dynamics of the forest, in particular "pest control" aimed to eradicate spruce beetle (Ips typographies) through the removal of attacked trees.

- Increasing fragmentation of the ecosystem. Numerous roads and logging trails, increasing motor-vehicle traffic "open" the ecosystem to invasive species by providing invasive corridors while at the same time creating filters and sometimes barriers to native species who cannot easily cross such roadways.

- Hunting and fencing effects. Hunting pressure, coinciding with pervasive fencing, substantially alters the ecological relationships of ungulates and their predators.

III. Threats to the World Heritage site

The strict preservation policy, as applied to the SNR, should not be considered a measure sufficient to protect the area from the influence of the forest management. The SNR covers mere 8 percent of the Polish side of the BPF and is well firmly isolated from the Belarussian side by the fence erected in early 1980s, it should be considered to be a functional part of the larger forested ecosystem dominated by intensively managed forestlands. Large vertebrates can and do move freely between the SNR and the rest of the Polish BPF and carnivores, as they move about their territories, ignore the administrative borders. Other species, such as birds of prey and Black Storks as well as rare invertebrates (including about 100 species of beetles inhabiting dead wood of spruce) easily fly across the border of the SNR.

Although the area of the BMP was doubled in 1996, providing to the World Heritage site some buffering on the northern and western sides, this much larger area does not eliminate the major impacts currently threatening the ecological integrity of the protected World Heritage site. These include:

1. The change of the disturbance regime. Periodical outbreaks of the spruce beetle populations, with the resulting mortality of many trees, are considered a key process in temperate and boreal forests in which spruce is a dominant or co-dominant species. The spread and intensity of this process within the World Heritage site depends on the state and dynamics of the entire ecosystem, involving the accumulation of susceptible trees, suppression by antagonists etc.

2. High concentrations of ungulates. Temporary high concentrations of ungulates in the World Heritage site and their pronounced migrations across the border with the intensively managed forest is considered to be an artefact driven by hunting pressure.

3. "Dilution" and "pitfall" effects. Hundreds of species found in the World Heritage site are considered to be relics of the primeval forest. Many of them are rare and are threatened by extinction - in particular the saproxylic, stenotopic invertebrates requiring a steady input of large amounts of dead wood with a variety of characteristics including various stages of decay. In most cases, the ecological threshold conditions, critical to sustaining these species, are not well understood, and as such, one should not assume that they will persist through time just because they are observed today. We have no information on the long term population trends of most of these species. It has been shown, however, that logging and "forest protection" measures to reduce the bark beetle outbreaks carried out in the neighbourhood of the World Heritage site, create microhabitats (e.g. felled timber) that are very attractive to rare insects as a nesting substrate and an environment for their larvae to feed and develop. However, these habitats are often quite ephemeral with, larvae and pupae usually being destroyed by either the removal or burning of the woody material.

Although there is a lack of strong evidence for the ecological degradation of the World Heritage site, the lack of evidence is more from the continuous and fuzzy character of ecological processes, rather than ecological degradation is not occurring. The short history of systematic ecological studies at BPF, across a myriad of taxa, has simply filled in a bit more of the huge gaps in our knowledge about the biodiversity of the World Heritage site. However, both the theory of Island Biogeography and the results of studies that show an increasing ecological isolation of the World Heritage site from the rest of the ecosystem, suggests that the processes observed in the protected area are being considerably altered by the management of the surrounding intensively managed forest.

Bialowieza, 16 March 2004

Greenpeace
Maciej Muskat

Polish Socjety for the Protection of Birds (OTOP) Conservation
Director Bogumila Blaszkowska

The Society for Protection of the Bialowieza Primeval Forest (TOPB)
President Andrzej Bobiec

Society for Landscape Protection
Andrzej J. Korbel

WWF Poland
Conservation Director Przemystaw Nawrocki

Annex 6: Belovezhskaya Pushcha - World Heritage Site: Protection, threats and prospects (Belarus)

SITE DESCRIPTION

Belovezhskaya Pushcha is the largest remnant of the relic primeval lowland forests that have existed in Europe since prehistoric times. This forest massif is the characteristic of primary afforested areas of the lowland of the Central Europe. Over centuries nearly all truly virgin forests have gradually been felled, while the region of Belovezhsky is nearly the only location where the truly natural and authentic primeval forest remained more or less intact on a large scale. In 1992 UNESCO made the Belovezhskaya Pushcha a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1993 the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park was given the status of a Biosphere Reserve and in 1997 it was awarded a Council of Europe Diploma.

The territory of the Belarusian National Park covers more than 120.000 hectares. The Polish-Belarusian border crosses the Belovezhskaya Pushcha. A watershed between the Baltic and Black seas is situated in the vicinity of the Park.

The average age of forest stands within the Belovezhskaya Pushcha-complex is more than 100 years and separate patches of the forest are aged 250 to 350 years. More than one thousand giant trees in the Pushcha have been officially registered thanks to their size and age, among them are 400 to 600-year old oaks, 250 to 350-year old ashes and pines and 200 to 250-years old spruces.

The richness of species of plants and animals in Belovezhskaya Pushcha Primeval Forest is surpassed nowhere in other lowland areas of Europe. Within the Forest, 100 plant communities are occurring. The flora includes 1040 species of vascular plants, more than 3000 species of fungi (including 500 mushroom species), 375 species of lichens and 260 of mosses. The Fauna List contains 59 mammal, 227 bird, 7 reptile, 11 amphibian, 24 fish and more than 11.000 invertebrate species. The largest population of European bison inhabits the Belovezhskaya Pushcha forests. In terms of large herbivorous animals, Red Deer, Wild Boar, Roe Deer and European Elk can be found, among predators, the Wolf, Fox, Lynx, Badger, Pine martin, Otter and others, and among birds tailed Eagle, Shorttoed Eagle, Black Stork, Crane, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Eagle Owl, Great Gray Eagle, Pigmy Owl, White-backed woodpecker, Three-toed woodpecker, Roller, Aquatic Warbler and many others can be met here. The Belovezhskaya Pushcha has also retained unique associations of invertebrates, inhabitants of dead and rotten wood, Polyporus fungies and bogs and fens.

As the protected natural territory the Belovezhskaya Pushcha has been known since the 14 - 15 centuries.

The Poland's Belarusian frontier crosses the Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Since 1991 the whole Belarusian part obtained the status of the State National Park, although earlier it also had a protected regime at the whole territory. Today the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" is the large tourist centre of Belarus. Besides of the unique primeval forest, the tourists can visit the famous governmental residence "Viskuly" where the well-known "Belovezhskoe Accords" were signed in December 1991, concerning the disaffiliation of independent republics from the Soviet Union and the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

WORLD HERITAGE SITE STATUS

All these values mentioned above were the definition for including the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Primeval Forest into the World Heritage List. Today the property of this World Heritage List consists of two joint parts - the Bialowieza National Park in Poland and the core zone of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park in Belarus. The UNESCO Committee inscribed the transfrontier property as a single entry on the World Heritage List as Belovezhskaya Pushcha/Bialowieza Forest of Belarus/Poland. As the whole the area of the Bialowieza / Belovezhskaya Pushcha World Heritage Site occupies approximately 10.000 hectares. The Committee commended the authorities of the two States Parties for recognizing the ecological unity of the transborder site and agreeing to inscribe the whole area as a single entry on the World Heritage List. The Committee requested the Belarus authorities to prepare a management plan for the area, in co-ordination with the plan available for the Polish part of the site and encouraged the two States Parties to share management experience. The Committee recommended that the fence between the two parks be removed if the management plan indicates that it would lead to enhanced viability.

BIALOWIEZA / BELOVEZHSKAYA PUSHCHA WORLD HERITAGE SITE: THREATS AND DAMAGES

In the last decades four types of meaningful man-induced impact have been seen in Belovezhskaya Pushcha (its Belarus part). These include land drainage, pollution, forestry and hunting. All these kinds of human impacts influence to the World Heritage Site violating its natural successions / processes and causing an effect to the biological diversity and ecosystems.

According to the UNESCO's documents, the CONSERVATION VALUE of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a stretch of ancient, virgin, palaearctic forest, which in comparison to other lowland European forests has endured little human disturbance. The site presents a habitat for several internationally threatened species (MAB-Belarus, 1993).

In connection with the definition of the conservation value of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha World Heritage Site, it is reasonable to raise the following question. Nowadays the area of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha World Heritage Site at the Belarusian side is about 5,000 ha and includes the core area (one of the part of the strict reserve) which is adjacent area to the Polish National Park "Bialowieza" (it is also about 5,000 ha as the World Heritage property). If the conservation value of the World Heritage Site is a stretch of ancient, virgin, palaearctic forest, which in comparison to other lowland European forests has endured little human disturbance, why is the area of the World Heritage Site at the Belarusian side stated as the approximately 5,000 hectares of the core zone?!

At the same time, the whole area of the Belarusian National Park is more then 120,000 hectares. Among them more than 87,400 hectares of the afforested area represent this remnant of ancient, virgin, primeval forests with relatively little human disturbance. Only 10 per cents of 87,400 hectares of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Forest have been artificially planted, whereas roughly about 70,000 hectares of the forest area have the primary character as the continuation of the natural successions. Not 5,000 hectares but more than 50,000 hectares of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Forest have the value and uniqueness as a stretch of ancient, virgin, primeval, relic palaearctic forest with little historical human disturbance and reach biodiversity. It means that the World Heritage Site covers near 7% of the area of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Primeval Forest. So, let's state the question why are these unique forests out the property of the World Heritage List?

Belarusian World Heritage Site (we will speak further only about the Belarusian side of Belovezhskaya Pushcha) is too little to represent the whole Belovezhskaya Pushcha Forest and its biodiversity, as well as all its forest types and associations which are very valuable for the nature conservation in the Europe. If we want to reach that the core area with the strict reserve status / World Heritage Site could represent the whole Belovezhskaya Pushcha Primeval Forest, its biodiversity and all forest types and associations, we believe, we have to enlarge the Belarusian core area / strict reserve at least to 50% of the whole area of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Primeval Forest. To make this enlargement we have to create a special program with consideration of overall measures and actions for such the enlargement. On our mind, it must be the main direction of our activity for conservation of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Primeval Forest for the near future on behalf of saving this unique forest treasure of the international importance. There is one more reason for such the enlargement of the strict reserve / World Heritage Site at the Belarusian side as the people have already lost the value of the area of the Bialowieza Forest located out the National Park's territory in Poland because of too huge timber harvesting and large-scale artificial plantations there.

BELOVEZHSKAYA PUSHCHA PRIMEVAL FOREST: MAIN PROBLEMS

The staff of the National Park and the Government of Belarus has done a lot for the solution of environmental, economic and social problems in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha region. These efforts have also been facilitated by the implementation of a GEF project "Belovezhskaya Pushcha forest biodiversity conservation" (1992-1995) which has helped to carry out an integrated assessment of the state of Belovezhskaya Pushcha's forests and to elaborate recommendations on the protection of the natural complex, conservation of biodiversity, organization of sustainable forestry, water resources management and environmentally clean farming as well as cultural heritage preservation and tourism development. In this area certain success has been achieved due to the improvement of natural complex management, introduction of new nature conservation technologies, implementation of the energy saving program, development of tourism infrastructure, strengthening of international relations and so on. An agreement has been reached with the Polish side on the establishment of a transboundary biosphere reserve.

Unfortunately, over last decides the Belovezhskaya Pushcha gradually lost its scientific and nature conservation potential because of the permanent intervention of human activity (including large-scale industrial projects) to the unique relic forests and the serious financial crises.

Since 1994, as the National Park «Belovezhskaya Pushcha» was handed over to the Administrative department of the President of Belarus, the Park has began to turn rapidly into commercial use and the intensive economic activity for the purposes of receiving the commercial income. The park was assigned by managers, which in their background had nothing to do with nature protection and conservation at all. They started to breed horses, geese, cows, they extended agricultural fields. They took away shops from the state and put them under management of the Park's administration, they started wide trade. They reached high levels in procurement of birch juice, mushrooms, berries, medicinal plants. They started construction of wood processing shops and other smaller enterprises. The national park has gradually been turned into an agro-industrial complex with nature protection, biodiversity conservation, science and environmental education turned into background activities. The whole process culminated in 1998 when an idea of constructing a large wood-processing plant in the Kamenyuki village - the administrative and resident center of the Park - was realized. In order to equip that sawmill a huge national and foreign currency loan was taken to the amount over 1.5 million USD. As a result non-professional and adventurous management in the environment of strict command and administrative system has brought the national park to a brink of financial disaster.

Thus, a pick of this commercial and industrial trend was reached at the end of 1900 - the beginning of 2000. In order to "break through" the situation, in 2001 the new administration of the National Park has began the hard line for the intensive using the natural resources of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha, first of all, of its valuable wood. The new administration had imposed the policy of a timber enterprise to the reserve with old traditions of nature conservation - to harvest living forest (in 2001). Year 2001 saw a new splash of mass propagation of bark beetle which affected spruce stands on vast areas. Instead of sound and efficient organization of bark beetle control the administration of the national park attempted to carry out sanitary cuttings of forest in the protected compartments. However, public organization and mass media were on the alert. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Protection established a commission and cuttings were stopped. After this the administration has made even more secret of its activities restricting public and mass media access to Belovezhskaya Pushcha's territory. The volumes of cutting increased. In doing so cutting of life forest, including gigantic trees logging, was done secretly or in the name of forest management activities as a struggle with the bark beetles (in 2002). Even special permanent plots were logged, which have served for 30-40 years the purposes of long-term scientific monitoring. Intensive year-round cutting of dead trees causes irreversible damage to the unique biodiversity of virgin forests. Cutting volumes considerably exceed the capacity of wood-processing warehouses and capabilities of wood exportation. Therefore wood is stored in the forest and remains there for a long time. In addition to economic losses such wood becomes the source of additional bark beetle propagation and proliferation because the timber is not removed and debarked on time. As results, these trees became new centers for the bark beetle breeding and spreading. In order to establish the commercial fishing, the administration has started the reconstruction of forest lakes and the building of new water reservoirs (in 2003-2003), doing it without an ecological expertise. Since the spring of 2003, the large-scale artificial planting (again avoiding the ecological and scientific base) was applied at sites where the relic protected forest existed in the past.

All these facts and events are demonstrated at the website "Belovezhskaya Pushcha - XXI century" (http://bp21.org.by/) in the section "Photo-fact" (http://bp21.org.by/ru/ff/) made by the Initiative Public Group "Belovezhskaya Pushcha - XXI Ñentury" (unfortunately, English version of this section is still under construction whereas Russian version shows them very well).

A lot of money has been spent on the National Park management although efficiency of its use is seriously questioned. The adventurism of some business projects are is without any doubt. The similar negative and even terrible things happened in social and economic spheres. A serious conflict has erupted between the local population and the park's administration. For the last three years hundreds of local workers such as economists, foresters, scientific workers, and others have been fired, particularly the most highly professional and conscientious staff who had their own opinion on management and protection issues. They are temporarily replaced by "alien" staff from other regions. Such a policy has significantly turned the criminal situation in the Park to the worse. Oppression and persecution of locals have become as the common practice for the Park's administration. Long-term nature conservation traditions of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha are eradicated. These steps violate the principles of sustainable development which have to be complied on a mandatory basis in a biosphere reserve.

There is a lot of information concerning these problems also at the website "Belovezhskaya Pushcha - XXI century" (http://bp21.org.by/) in sections "Articles" (http://bp21.org.by/ru/art/) and "News" (http://bp21.org.by/ru/news/) (unfortunately, it is Russian version as well).

As a result natural resources of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha have been once again subjected to exploitation to such an extent and using such methods that a threat of destruction of Belovezha Primeval Forest and of loss of this unique complex for future generations has emerged. The present economic activities and management in Belovezhskaya Pushcha contravene the main principles of biodiversity conservation within SPNAs and violate the rules of wild life' science.

There are a sufficient amount of data and facts confirming that the administration is doing out the national legislation. Nevertheless all these violations of national and international legislations concerning environmental and nature protection causes, are remained out the true reaction of authorities.

National public activists appealed several times to the international community and nature protection organizations by the open letters in order to obtain their support for the sake of protection of the Pushcha. For example, in spring 2003, due to the initiative of Russian and Ukraine non-governmental organization for wild nature protection (Ukrainian Coalition «For wild nature» and Russian International Socio-Ecological Union) the international campaign for the saving the Pushcha was raised. Unfortunately national authorities did not positively react towards these troubles. The Park continues to be remained an area with the special regime of secrecy, restricting an access for journalists and "green" public activists to its territory.

By the way, as the most recent news (February 2004) about relieving the post and detaining the Ex Charge-d'Affaires of the presidential administration (because of a number of criminal cases) just put additional confirmation that the National Park is under a system which is far of the nature conservation.

So, this short description shows that now the situation in the National Park is extremely difficult and there is no guarantee to save the unique relic primeval forest and its reach biodiversity for the future generations. On the other hand, last events of the large-scale and rough intervention into the protected nature have shown that we are losing the unique relic forest located out the territory of the strict reserve / World Heritage Site as rapidly as we have an extreme danger to lost this quality already in the near future.

BELOVEZHSKAYA PUSHCHA WORLD HERITAGE SITE: PROPOSALS FOR PROTECTION AND CONSERVATION

In order to save the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Primeval Forest and to find a way out of the impasse it is necessary to carry out a set of activities. They are elaborated and proposed together with the Belarusian public initiative «Terra-Convention». It is proposed:

-- to develop a Regulation on the National park «Belovezhskaya Pushcha» in accordance with the republican and international nature conservation legislation;

-- to increase the area of the strict protection zone to 50 per cent or more of Pushcha's territory (for reference purposes currently it amounts to 18 per cent) and to take measures to expand the World Heritage Site «Belovezhskaya Pushcha» over the entire area of the strict protected zone;

-- to stop economic and business activities in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha that contravene the Law on the specially protected natural areas and sites, certain international conventions, terms and recommendations of the Council of Europe's Diploma (to forbid in the territory of the national park commercial hunting, to remove the wood-processing line out the territory of the National Park as well as other activities that contravene the main goals and objectives of the national park, to put an end to the authorized timber production and to increase the park's budget by 85 per cent of the total);

-- to establish a public surveillance council within the park's administration;

-- to strengthen and enlarge the scientific department;

-- to give the Scientific and Technical Council of the park the power of directive initiative;

-- to elaborate and submit for public consideration a plan of Belovezhskaya Pushcha sustainable management up to the year 2020;

-- to call on the international community to carry out an independent expertise of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha as the World Natural Heritage and to keep the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Primeval Forest under permanent strong control of the international organizations.

Taking into account the fact of a lack of guarantee by the national governmental bodies to follow nature protection / conservation principles and rules in the future as well as the existence of serious defects of the national legislation on the specially protected natural territories, the implementation of all these proposals closely depends on the changing the status of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park to the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Reserve / Biosphere Reserve. So, at the presence such increasing the level of the protection status for Belovezhskaya Pushcha and the enlargement of the strict reserve zone / World Heritage Site is only a way to rescue the natural value of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Primeval Relic Forest for the future generations.

Heorhi Kazulka
Philosophy Doctor of Biology,
Former Deputy Director on science of the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" and former Coordinator of the Biosphere Reserve "Belovezhskaya Pushcha"

Valery Dranchuk
Leader of the Public Initiative "Terra-Convention"

Igor Kutalovsky
The Ecological Union "Chernobyl"

Anatoly Smoktunovich
Former Director of the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha"

March 17, 2004

Annex 7: Resolution of the meeting on the improvement of bilateral cooperation concerning the management of the Belovezhskaya pushcha / Bialowieza forest World Heritage site

Final Document

19 March 2004, Kamyanuki, Belarus

Participants of the meeting for the review of the state of conservation of the Bialowieza Forest/Belovezhskaya Pushcha World Heritage transboundary site and the development of bilateral and international cooperation in protection and sustainable use of the Bialowieza Forest, held on the occasion of the Mission to Poland and Belarus of experts of UNESCO and International Union for Conservation of Nature (15 to 19 March 2004):

1. Express gratitude to UNESCO and International Union for Conservation of Nature for the organization of the mission of experts to Poland and Belarus and for the possibility or broad discussion on important issues related to conservation of valuable natural complexes of the Bialowieza Forest.

2. Note the significant work done by the Belarusian and Polish sides for the conservation of the unique World Heritage transboundary site.

3. Emphasize the necessity of setting up a Coordination Council of the transboundary protected territory in the Bialowieza Forest which would hold a meeting at least twice a year and consist of 6 to 8 representatives of administrations of the national parks and related ministries and institutions of each country.

4. Consider it expedient to take as a basis for the organization of interaction of both national parks the proposals of Mr. Jozef Popiel, Director of the Bialowieza National Park in Poland, agreed with N.Bambiza, Director of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park.

5. Emphasize the importance of early signing of international agreement between, the Ministry for Natural Resources and Environment Protection of the Republic or Belarus and the Ministry of the Environment of the Republic of Poland on cooperation in the environment protection including entries concerning common initiatives in the area of conservation and sustainable use of the Bialowieza Forest.

6. Consider it necessary to use more actively international experience in the development of long-term plans of cooperation in the area of the Bialowieza Forest for more efficient and appropriate fulfilment of tasks and to interact more actively with relative international organizations.

7. Admit the necessity of joint applications to international, regional and national organizations and institutions for financial, material and technical assistance in the implementation of progressive tendencies for protection and sustainable use of natural complexes and sites in the Bialowieza Forest.

8. Taking into account the fact of Poland joining the European Union, emphasize the importance or using nature protection instruments of this organization in the Bialowieza Forest area and the involvement of Belarus in the relative European programmes and projects.

9. Consider it necessary to identify following priority activities for planning and taking nature conservation measures:
- protection and restoration of old-age and disturbed forest ecosystems;
- protection, regulation of numbers and restoration of population of the European bison;
- restoraton of disturbed water regime;
- monitoring and development of measures for protection of populations of rare and endangered species, including the European bison.
To recommend for implementing these priorities the use of joint conception and programme for the biodiversity conservation and development of bilateral scientific researches developed by the Belarusian and Polish sides under the UNESCO project in 2001.

10. Underline the importance of replacing the existing fence on the border by modern means of border protection, which would ensure transboundary controlled migration of animals, and obtaining finances for assisting this issue, based on the results of scientific research, adjustment of legal basis, joint monitoring and protection of migrating animals. Targeted scientific researches are recommended for the identification of possible transboundary movements of large mammals.

11. Emphasize the necessity of active involvement of the national parks in both countries in the activity of the Bialowieza Forest Euroregion for the protection and sustainable use of natural complexes as well as for the implementation of corresponding programmes and projects.

12. Note the importance of cooperation for the sustainable development of tourism and recreation, establishment of developed tourist infrastructure in the area of the Bialowieza Forest.

13. Consider it expedient to involve non-govermnental organizations, local administration bodies and the society in the process of cooperation in the area of the Bialowieza Forest.

14. Express gratitude to the administrations of the national parks of the two countries or the provision of appropriate conditions for the mission and the meeting.

Done at Kamyanuki (Belarus) on March 19, 2004 in two copies, each in the Russian and Polish languages, both texts being equally authentic.

Aleksandr Luchkov
Head of Department of Protected Nature Territories and Nature Use, Office of President Affairs, Republic of Belarus

Krzysztof Zareba
Chief Inspector for Environmental Protection,
Ministry of the Environment

REPORT ON THE JOINT UNESCO-IUCN MISSION TO BELOVEZHSKAYA PUSHCHA / Bialowieza Forest, Poland and Republic of Belarus (2004)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS

1 1. BACKGROUND TO THE MISSION

Criteria and World Heritage values

Inscription history

Justification of the mission

2. NATIONAL POLICY FOR THE PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE WORLD HERITAGE PROPERTY

A) POLAND

Protected area legislation and institutional framework

Management structure

B) BELARUS

Protected area legislation & institutional framework

Management structure

3. IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF ISSUES

Management of the world heritage site and the surrounding forest

The spruce bark beatle (Ips typographus) and "sanitary loggings"

Size of the World Heritage site

Border issues

International Cooperation

4. ASSESSMENT OF THE STATE OF CONSERVATION OF THE SITE

5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

ANNEXES

Annex 1: State of Conservation report as provided to the World Heritage Committee for its 27th session:

Annex 2: Terms of reference of the IUCN/UNESCO monitoring mission

Annex 3a: Stakeholder meeting on the state of conservation of Belovezhskaya Pushcha/Bialowieza Forest (Belarus/Poland)

Annex 3b: UNESCO-IUCN Mission to Bialowieza Forest/Belovezhskaya Pushcha

Annex 4: Composition of the Mission Team and Lists of participants to different meetings

4.a Lists of participants to different meetings

Annex 4b: Meeting with the representatives of Bialowieza National Park, Bialowieza Forest and NGOs, Bialowieza National Park information centre 16 March

Annex 4c. List of the participants of the co-operative meeting in Belavezhskay Pushca, 19 March 2004

Annex 5: NGO statement from Poland

Resolution

I. The BNP World Heritage site in the ecological context

II. The transformation of the immediate neighbourhood of the Bialowieza World Heritage site

III. Threats to the World Heritage site

Annex 6: Belovezhskaya Pushcha - World Heritage Site: Protection, threats and prospects (Belarus)

SITE DESCRIPTION

WORLD HERITAGE SITE STATUS

BIALOWIEZA / BELOVEZHSKAYA PUSHCHA WORLD HERITAGE SITE: THREATS AND DAMAGES

BELOVEZHSKAYA PUSHCHA PRIMEVAL FOREST: MAIN PROBLEMS

BELOVEZHSKAYA PUSHCHA WORLD HERITAGE SITE: PROPOSALS FOR PROTECTION AND CONSERVATION

Annex 7: Resolution of the meeting on the improvement of bilateral cooperation concerning the management of the Belovezhskaya pushcha / Bialowieza forest World Heritage site

Final Document

Annex 8: Map of the World Heritage Site