Białowieża Forest

• Forestry/wood production (logging in the partially protected zones and removal of deadwood)
• Alterations of the hydrological regime
• Border fence impeding mammal movements
• Ambiguity regarding the boundaries of the property (issue resolved)
• Management systems/management plan (lack of an Integrated Management Plan for the Polish component of the property; lack of a Transboundary Management Plan for the property and of a Transboundary Steering Committee with adequate human and financial resources)

N/A

The States Parties of Belarus and Poland submitted separate reports on the state of conservation of the property on 31 January and 29 February 2024 respectively, available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/33/documents/, and which report the following:

Belarus:

• The concern expressed by the World Heritage Committee regarding the negative impact of the border barrier constructed by Poland along the Belarusian-Polish border is shared. The report provides details on direct impacts (habitat fragmentation, disruption of transboundary ecological connectivity, tree felling in the border strip, destruction of vegetation) and long-term impacts (blocking of animal migration routes and habitat fragmentation, disturbance of the hydrological regime and natural processes of the rivers, spread of invasive species) on the property;
• Since 2021, all transboundary cooperation on the protection and management of the property has been terminated by the State Party of Poland. There is currently no opportunity to develop a Transboundary Management Plan (TMP) for the property;
• The 2022-2031 Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park (BPNP) Management Plan came into force in 2022;
• A legal ban on wolf hunting in the Belarus component is planned to be adopted in 2024;
• Work has continued to restore the natural flow of the Narevka river and wetland ecosystems in and around the property;
• In 2023, forest management measures included felling for sanitary purposes, fire safety and tourist safety, and timber was only removed in the active forest management zone; 81 low fires were observed; the spread of invasive species continues to be a serious threat, primarily Canadian goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) observed in 86.4 ha; monitoring of tourism; and restoration of lowland bogs.

Poland:

• It is confirmed that the border barrier constitutes an obstacle to the dispersion of medium-sized and large terrestrial animals, and there is no evidence that animal crossings are effective in ensuring free migration of wild animals (e.g., European bison, lynx, wolves or moose);
• The lack of ecological connectivity is exacerbated by the modernisation of the fence in Belarus (the so-called “Sistema”) and can only be restored in cooperation with the State Party of Belarus, including the need to address illegal human migration affecting the property;
• Since it is presently impossible to ensure ecological integrity, various monitoring, mitigation and compensation measures are proposed. Monitoring will provide recommendations to improve the barrier operating conditions, the mitigation of impacts on wildlife (e.g., lynx), and an ex-post assessment of the impact of the barrier will be undertaken. Recommendations for mitigation measures are being considered and will be submitted to UNESCO in 2025; mitigation measures focus on impacts of the concertina (razor) wire on wildlife. Compensation measures focus on strengthening forest management, including provisions in national law to ensure that decisions related to the property are based on expert knowledge and are consistent with its protection;
• Given the political context and the prevailing situation of human migration on the Polish-Belarusian border, it is not possible to ensure transboundary cooperation to prepare a joint TMP;
• The draft Integrated Management Plan (IMP) for the part of the property in Poland is being revised to consider the impact of the barrier, to bring the proposed revised zoning in line with the recommendations of the 2018 Reactive Monitoring mission, and to revise the fire prevention and suppression plan by the end of 2024;
• The approval of the Forest Management Plans (FMP) for the three forest districts included in the property has been suspended pending the adoption of the IMP, and the provisions of the FMPs are being harmonised with the IMP;
• Further measures are planned to minimize the impacts of the Narewkowska road on wildlife and ecological connectivity;
• Since 2021, illegal migration across the border into the part of the property in Poland has increased, leading to anthropogenic pressures;
• Logging activities in 2017 associated with the bark beetle outbreak contributed to the dispersal of invasive species. Increased border protection activity also contributed to the spread of invasive species, with the highest number of invasive plants observed in the area of the border fence.

In September 2023, the State Party of Poland transmitted an impact assessment of the aforementioned border barrier. On 2 February 2024, the World Heritage Centre transmitted IUCN’s review, which concluded that the impact of the border barrier on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property had not been adequately assessed and that further research and monitoring was required to assess ongoing impacts of the border barrier, to determine the efficacy of existing mitigation measures, and to inform the design and implementation of adaptive management and mitigation measures, where necessary, to ensure the long-term conservation of the property’s OUV.

In August 2023, the State Party of Poland invited an IUCN Advisory mission to advise on the finalisation of the Management Plan for the part of the property in Poland, but requested in April 2024 to postpone it to a later date.

The joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission requested by Decision 45 COM 7B.21 visited the property from 18 to 27 March 2024. The mission report will be available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/33/documents/.

The effective overall management of the property, including the capacity to ensure ecological connectivity across the property is impacted by the political situation and the lack of transboundary cooperation between the State Parties of Belarus and Poland. Regarding the impact of border barrier infrastructure, the Reactive Monitoring mission observed that the border area in the property is now characterized by a succession of infrastructure layers impeding the majority of wildlife movements, which include the new border barrier in Poland (forest netting, a barrier in concertina wire, an 8 m-wide service road, the border barrier itself and a 1 m construction strip where vegetation was removed) and the existing “Sistema” in Belarus (a service road, a plowed fire strip, the electrified barbed wire fence and a second plowed area). The mission considered that the cumulative effects of the establishment of the border barrier in Poland and associated infrastructure are negatively impacting the integrity of the property by blocking ecological connectivity for most wildlife, disturbance of wildlife in and adjacent to the border zone, introduction of invasive species, and localized negative impacts on the hydrology. The new barrier is further exacerbating the impacts of the existing “Sistema”, which already hindered wildlife connectivity without completely blocking it. The mission considered that these impacts on the OUV of the property could result in the property meeting the conditions for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger in the near future, if decisive actions are not urgently taken.

To avoid further long-term impacts on the OUV of the property, a set of decisive actions would be needed to fully restore ecological connectivity, which would require at least modifying or partly dismantling the barrier structures and associated infrastructure. It is noted that while the full restoration of ecological connectivity across the entire property has to be the objective, this is unlikely to be feasible in the short- to medium-term whilst transboundary cooperation remains impacted.

It is therefore recommended that the Committee stresses the urgency to take adequate mitigation measures to prevent a further degradation of the ecological integrity of the property and to avoid an ascertained danger to its OUV. This will require a resumption of transboundary cooperation at least at the technical information exchange level to facilitate the development and implementation of the recommended mitigation measures. UNESCO and IUCN, and possibly involving other UN entities, could potentially facilitate a dialogue at the technical level between the States Parties, at their request.

Urgent actions proposed by the mission are included in the draft Decision below. It is further recommended that a new Reactive Monitoring mission be invited to the property in 2027 to assess the implementation of these recommendations and re-evaluate whether the property then meets the criteria for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, as well as to assess the feasibility of implementing additional measures to fully restore the ecological connectivity in the property.

The mission further looked into the other conservation issues identified by the 2018 Reactive Monitoring mission, including management planning, forest and wildlife management, climate change and hydrological restoration, roads and habitat fragmentation and sustainable development at the local level and assessed the progress made in implementing these recommendations. While welcoming the efforts underway to prepare the draft IMP for the part of the property in Poland, the mission considered that further revisions are needed to take into account impacts of the barrier, bring the proposed revised zoning in line with the recommendations of the 2018 mission and revise the fire prevention and suppression plan.

It is also concerning that no progress was made in the development of the TMP for the entire property following the breakdown of transboundary cooperation between Poland and Belarus.

The decision to suspend the approval of the FMPs of the three forest districts included in the property until the adoption of the IMP by the State Party of Poland is welcomed. The process should address the mission’s conclusion that the draft FMP and the 2023 proposed zonation are not in line with the recommendations of the 2018 mission, as the proposed zonation would lead to a reduction of the partial protection zone to the benefit of the active protection zone.