Wild nature destruction in the plain flood of the Pravaya Lesnaya River for simulation of sustainable management – haymaking and clearing ground for fireworks 2009

Wild nature destruction in the plain flood of the Pravaya Lesnaya River for simulation of "sustainable" management – haymaking and clearing ground for fireworks (2009)

Violations: Articles 26 and 27 of Belarus' Specially Protected Wilderness Territories and Sites Act, Article 55 and 63 of the Forest Code of the Republic of Belarus; violation of the environmental balance within the protected area, and damaging the biological diversity.

Events, facts, documents and evidences: The year of the 600th anniversary of nature protection in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha (October 3, 2009) was marked by especially intensive destruction of its wild nature in the areas adjacent to the administrative and tourist centre of the National Park. On the previous pages we have already described how the nature was "acquired" and destroyed in the very administrative and tourist centre, on the roadside alder forest, and down the tourist road. This page is devoted to the destruction of nature in the plain flood of the Pravaya Lesnaya River from the right side of the road heading to the National Park's administrative and tourist centre.

Previously the village of Kamenyuki (located on the Pravaya Lesnaya River) was the home for a large beef herd grazing in the plain flood. Approximately 10 years ago the livestock numbers started rapidly decreasing. Nowadays very few villagers have livestock. Therefore on the former feeding grounds the wild nature typical for plain flood ecosystems of Belovezhskaya Pushcha started to recover. Several photos below show the beautiful nature of the Pravaya Lesnaya River plain flood.

(A road sign indicating the Pravaya Lesnaya River; September 27, 2009)




(The common view of the plain flood of the Pravaya Lesnaya River; September 19, 2009)

(*See more photos of the plain flood of the Pravaya Lesnaya River in the photo-gallery.)

The idea to destroy the wild nature of the plain flood meadow (according to the NP personnel) consisted in "adjustment" of the flood plain meadow and showing the tourists that "sustainable" economic management (haymaking) was organised there. In substance, all this looks like the organisation of window dressing aimed at convincing numerous guests of the 600th anniversary, administration and tourists on the existing "order" and "well-groomed appearance". Another goal was to maintain a level ground for the organisation of festive fireworks (we have to mention though that the fireworks take place in the sky, not on the ground). The issue is that there had been no wide-scale haymaking here before. There was only the grassing land.

Being currently one of the highest priorities of the country’s economic development, the agricultural sector is intensively being developed in Belarus. Unfortunately in the case of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha this programme has been turned into absurdity – there is a collective farm which belongs to the National Park (with a typical for such enterprises machines and tractors park, staff, fields and milk farms) causing all the negative consequences to the general park management. It is not possible to handle such heavy and complicated tasks without harming the main directions of organisation of environmental activities. There is no such a practice anywhere in the world where a national park has in its disposition collective farms, timber-mills and other industrial workshops, which do not fall into the main scope of its activities. In reality in the case of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha we do not deal with the normal national park anymore, but have a sort of agricultural-industrial-commercial-tourist-forestry complex, where nature protection, biodiversity preservation, science and environmental education became ancillary activities. In the Belovezhskaya Pushcha it goes exactly like this. And that is why the destruction of the wild nature of recovering plain flood ecosystem seems logical and correct for the current administration of the National Park. But in the substance everything is vice versa.

To show how it was in reality - whether it was a real sustainable agricultural usage or purposeful nature destruction – we shall show using the photographs below..

Just three weeks before the 600th anniversary of nature protection in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha (in the middle of September 2009) the part of the plain flood on the left bank of the Pravaya Lesnaya River was mowed. This parcel is located near the road which is used by tourists to get into administrative and tourist centre of the national park. Mowing was done in a way to create a visible illusion that the whole opened territory was "acquired". The plain flood was not touched any further.



(Grass moved down the plain flood of the Pravaya Lesnaya River, September 18, 2009)


(Grass moved down the plain flood of the Pravaya Lesnaya River, September 18, 2009)

The willow bush was partially destroyed. Some of its parts were cut by rotary cropper, other thicker and stronger parts were either crippled or not violated.


(The willow bush destroyed through rotary cropper, September 18, 2009)

1	2
(Maimed bush; 1 - September 18, 2009; 2 – September 27, 2009)

One week later the rest of the bushes were cut down. The ones that grew closer to the road were rooted up. The goal was to create a plain and far visible landscape.


(The bushes cut down in addition; September 27, 2009)

(The rooted up bushes; September 27, 2009)

Dried hey was raked up and stacked. These haystacks were demonstrated to the guests and tourists during the celebration in different parts of the mowed territory.


(Haystacks from the different photo-angle; September 27, 2009)

In the deep meadow some additional haying was made.


(Additional haying; September 27, 2009)

Then the part of this hay was brought to a far standing hill and stacked.


(Haystacks placing far on the hill; September 27, 2009)


(Rut to the haystacks on the hill; September 27, 2009)

The excessive hay was rolled into big bales and hidden behind the forest so that no one could see it from the road.


(Hidden hay bales; September 27, 2009)

That is the way the territory looked like after the end of the works.

(The territory looked like after the end of the works; September 27, 2009)

(The border of the area with the cut grasses; September 27, 2009)

(The cut grasses on the wet meadow; September 27, 2009)

From the ecological point of view it was absolutely not understandable and absurd that the grass was mowed along the very forest edge, also deep ahead the mowed area. The goal of this was most probably to destroy the coppice naturally stretched to the territory of the economically disused meadow. This process (natural afforestation) is normal for wild nature laws. Hence, the natural afforestation should be welcomed in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Therefore, the only explanation of the current situation is that the authorities try to implement weed control on the agricultural headlands to limit their sowing and spread. However, these measures are acceptable only in collective farms or agricultural enterprises. Such activities in the national park just prove the lack of environmental literacy and simple incapacity of the current administration of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park.


(Natural afforestation and covering with bushes; September 27, 2009)

1	2	3	4
(The forest edge being cut down; 1 and 2 - 18 September 2009; 3 and 4 - September 27, 2009)

Conclusion. Celebration of the 600th anniversary of nature protection in Belovezhskaya Pushcha was marked by a meaningful action when another parcel of (recovering) wild nature in the plain flood of the Pravaya Lesnaya River was destroyed. As it was mentioned above it had nothing to do with intended agricultural activities – the National Park has sufficient land resources for such activities. Therefore there is the only rational explanation of the situation – these measures can be called not otherwise but foofooraw (window dressing)! Was it necessary for the organisation of 20 minute fireworks for a crowd of the National Park guests? Hardly, since the fireworks take place in the sky but not on the ground. And the wild nature could not be any kind of obstacle for the entertaining of the NP guests.

Therefore, the wild nature has to extremely overpay for the short-term entertainment of the egoistic people. The way how the wild nature has been destroyed on this parcel of land contains another prove on who currently manages the Belovezhskaya Pushcha and what is the real level of their environmental literacy and understanding of the protected areas management..

(So looked the destroyed parcel of the plain flood of the river recoverable to the wild condition; September 30, 2009)

(A frog, smashed by tractor wheels during the haymaking; September 27, 2009)


(Haystacks create a false idyll impression between men and nature; March 9, 2010)