Poles tend to see the ancient forest of Białowieża as home to extraordinary wildlife. For the climate conscious, the old-growth wilderness that straddles the Polish-Belarus border is a vast carbon sink. Both camps are incensed that the Polish government wants, again, to log the UNESCO World Heritage site. Forests elsewhere in Europe are under threat, too. Paul Hockenos conducted interviews with locals from Białowieża Forest in Poland. Entering the primeval Białowieża National Park is like stepping into an alien world, with its towering old-growth trees enveloping the hushed forest like a canopy. So strict is its protection, one can’t enter without a guide, who watches like a hawk to ensure no one strays from the path or touches the plant life. Since April 2018, parts of the Białowieża Forest that lies in eastern Poland have enjoyed special status that forbid human intervention. In a bitter showdown that set the conservative Polish government against environmental activists from Poland and beyond, the European Court of Justice spoke the final word, ruling that Białowieża’s oldest trees are off limits to forest … Continue reading Poland’s Białowieża forest: an endangered carbon sink and biodiversity reserve