POLAND
Help Needed to Finalise Expansion of Bialowieza National Park
Of all the continents on our ravaged planet, only Antarctica has less surviving old growth forest than Europe. That makes this action request from Poland all the more important. It was sent to us from a recent Council of All Beings Workshop. It involves urging the Polish government to fulfill its promise to enlarge Bialowieza National Park, a move which will make it the largest National Park in Poland.
Date: September 22, 1999
Friends, please write a letter or fax as described below. The
expansion of the Bialowieza National Park is of international
significance. Please email a copy of your letter or fax to the folks
at Workshop for All Beings who have been working for more than 10
years for Bialowieza.
for the Earth - John Seed
Rainforest Information Centre
>From wapienica@pnrwi.most.org.plWed Sep 22 07:15:13 1999 From:
"PNRWI - Wapienica" <wapienica@pnrwi.most.org.pl>
September 22, 1999
Dear John,
Warmest greetings from all of us here at Workshop for All Beings in
Poland. Today we are contacting you to request your assistance in a
vitally important matter related to Bialowieza National Park and its
position as a priority for the Polish government.
Several months ago, Poland's Vice-Premier approved budget
appropriations for an enlargement of Bialowieza National Park to six
times its current size.
The enlargement, publicized internationally by the Polish government
as the Contract for Bialoweiza, is to occur prior to the end of this
year and will help the protected area of Bialowieza grow from 105 km2
to 600 km2, becoming the largest National Park in Poland.
International support has greatly strengthened the Bialowieza forest
protection and enlargement efforts.
However, months of inaction have led to no further progress on the
part of the Polish Ministry of Environmental Protection, Forestry,
and Natural Resources, which is responsible for Polish National
Parks. Process requires that the Polish Cabinet receive a decree for
Bialowieza's expansion from the Ministry. This establishment of a
decree for Bialowieza National Park is an indispensable step
according to Polish law, but the decree has yet to be made.
Workshop for All Beings asks you to draft a letter in support of the
expansion of Bialowieza National Park and send it to Poland's Prime
Minister Jerzy Buzek. In your letter, please question why the
Cabinet has not received a formal decree from the Ministry of
Environmental Protection, Forestry, and Natural Resources. Please
urge that this be completed as soon as possible. Prime Minister
Jerzy Buzek can be reached at the following address:
Al. Ujazdowskie 1/3,
00-583 Warsaw,
POLAND;
fax: International + 48-22-6286846.
For our campaign records, we would greatly appreciate receiving a
copy of letters that are sent to the Polish Prime Minister. On
behalf of the wildlands and wildlife that are Bialowieza, we thank
you for taking the time to show your support.
For Wild Bialowieza,
Janusz Korbel, and the Staff and Membership of Workshop for All
Beings P.O.Box 40
43-304 Bielsko-Biala 4
POLAND
Tel/fax: 048-33-8183153
e-mail: wapienica@pnrwi.most.org.pl