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Date:         Sat, 18 Dec 1999 14:21:59 EST
Reply-To: Fed-Forests <[log in to unmask]>
Sender: Fed-Forests <[log in to unmask]>
From: David Orr <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:      FSC certifies Poland's Bialowieza ancient forest
To: [log in to unmask]

Activists:

The Bialowieza ancient forest in Poland is the last remaining significant
stand of old growth in Europe.  It is home to the endemic and endangered
Polish woodland bison.  Activists have been working for years to enlarge
the protected zone from a core of 100 sq. km. to 600 sq. km.  Now comes
the news that the outer 500 sq. km. zone has been certified by the Forest
Stewardship Council for logging.  The Polish Government is in the final
decision-making process on whether to log or protect this incredible
area.  Below is an alert from activists in Germany seeking intervention
by the international environmental community.

Hopefully this will be a wake-up call to activists world wide that an out
of control certification program threatens forests instead of protecting
them.

David Orr

---------------- Begin Forwarded Message ----------------
Date:        12/16/99 3:24 PM
From:   [log in to unmask] (Philipp Kuechler)
To: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]


URGENT FAX AND LETTER WRITING ACTION - PLEASE  DISTRIBUTE WIDELY

ENLARGEMENT OF BIALOWIEZA NATIONAL PARK (POLAND) IN DANGER - THE LAST
PRIMEVAL FOREST IN THE CENTRAL EUROPEAN LOWLANDS NEEDS YOUR HELP!

The proposed enlargement of the world famous Bialowieza Forest National
Park from 105 to 600 square kilometers is seriously threatened:

The National Forest around the current National Park just obtained the
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certificate. This could mean that the
Polish Ministry of Environment and Forests plans to continue timber use
in this forest. Two years ago the same Ministry promised to declare the
entire forest as National Park and thus protect the ancient trees and
stands of primeval forest in the woods around the current National Park.

The decision-making for or against the National Park enlargement might
take place very soon. It is expected that Parliament will follow the
proposal of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Your opinion could be critcal. Please fax and write to Poland this
Millenium! Tell them, that you and your organization want a National Park
in the ENTIRE Bialowieza Forest and not just sustainable forestry!

____________________________________________

CALL FOR ACTION:  PLEASE SEND FAXES AND LETTERS

Please send a polite letter and fax to the adress in the letter sample
below. Until now the fax works night and day, but we do not know when it
will run out of paper. It might be a good idea to send a copy of your fax
as letter.

Letterheads and signatures of environmental organizations, scientific
institutes or touristic groups could help to emphasize the importance of
your letter/fax.

Please send a copy of your letter or a short e-mail notice as reference
to:

       Society for Bialowieza Forest Protection (TOPB)
       ul. Waszkiewicza 1b
       PL-17-230 Bialowieza
       e-mail: [log in to unmask]

Don't forget to forward this call for action to friends, environmental
groups, mailing lists, and newsgroups you know. Thanks!

Mark, copy, and paste the sample letter text into your letterhead, if you
don't want to formulate your own letter. A letter sample as MS-rich-text
document will be provided as attachment in a separate e-mail.

____________________________________________

LETTER SAMPLE


Mr Marian Cieslak
Director of Department of Forestry, Nature Protection and Landscape
(DLOPiK)
Ministry of Environmental Protection
ul. Wawelska 52/54
PL-00-922 WARSZAWA

Fax. +48-22-8254705


Dear Mr. Cieslak,
We would like to express our deep concern about the fate of Bialowieza
Forest. We are impatiently waiting for the National Park to be enlarged
to cover the whole forest complex.

The entity of Bialowieza Forest represents the last large complex of
natural and seminatural forests of  the Central European lowland. Its
extremly high conservation value and importance is internationally well
known. Already two years ago, the Polish Minister for Environment,
Resource Management and Forestry declared officially, that the National
Park enlargement to the whole Bialowieza Forest is the goal of the
MinistryYens policy. National and international organisations and
institutions, such as the Polish National Council for Nature
Conservation, the Polish Academy of Sciences PAN, the Coalition for
Bialowieza Forest Protection, WWF and IUCN gave their opinions in favour
of a National Park enlargement.

According to our information by the Society for Bialowieza Forest
Protection (TOPB), the Regional Forestry Department of Bialystok (RDLP
Bialystok), that is responsible for Bialowieza Forest, is actually
granted the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certificat. Although we
hereby congratulate to this decision for sustainable timber production in
the exploited forests of Bialystok region, we are very concerned about
the possible negative effect on National Park enlargement. We are
irritated about the information, that the FSC argument was misused to
fight the National Park idea, even more than two weeks before FSC
certificat really was granted.

FSC is meant as a label for "sustainable timpber production" to minimise
environmental damages by destructive forestry methods. As such, FSC
focuses on exploited forests with the purpose of economic benefit by
timber production. The FSC certificat can by no means replace a National
Park! Bialowieza Forest as a precious natural world heritage should not
be regarded as a timber production site. It has to be maintained with the
focus on ancient forest conservation, including acceptance of natural
processes, and hence deserves the status of a National Park.

Please make sure that all of the Bialowieza Forest obtains protection as
a National Park this year.

We would greatly appreciate to be informed about your further activities
in this matter.

Yours sincerely
YOUR NAME AND ORGANISATION

_________________________________________

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Please contact Sabine Stosiek in Germany if you have further questions:
[log in to unmask]


********************************************************
    Koordinationszentrum Natur und Umwelt e.V.
                       KNU
    Coordination Center for Nature and Environment

    c/o Philipp Kuechler,
    Petrikirchstrasse 22,  D-37077 Goettingen,  Germany
    Phone/Fax +551-35217   e-mail: [log in to unmask]

********************************************************

----------------- End Forwarded Message -----------------

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