1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Russia's war in UkraineIsrael-Hamas warIndia elections

The downside of nature conservation

October 9, 2012

The Bialowieza National Park is a tourist magnet. Even though it helps sustain the economy in northeast Poland, not everyone in the region sees the nature reserve as a boon. Farmers say it reduces their productivity.

https://p.dw.com/p/16Mi7
Today only 16 percent of the Bialowieza forest is protected.
Bialowieza National ParkImage: MG

If deer, bison or brooding birds have been sighted on their fields, farmers aren’t allowed to harvest their crops. Nor are they permitted to farm near the woodland. As far as they are concerned, the Bialowieza National Park simply represents lost income. The tourist industry has no such concerns:  the nature reserve is a major attraction. The Bialowieza forest has created a rift within the local community.

A report by Grit Hofmann

Ideasforacoolerworld # Letzter Urwald Europas # 08.10.2012 # Global 3000 Englisch