01 August 2007 - Poland
— Conservation forces have won round one of
the battle for the Rospuda valley -- but the
fight isn't over.
One of the last wild places in Europe, the
Rospuda Valley is located in the far north-east
of Poland, near the border with Lithuania.
With its wetlands surrounded by forest, the
Rospuda is not only beautiful but full of
wildlife that is now rare in much of Europe.
Wolf, lynx and moose all roam freely here.
But if a planned road development goes ahead,
a freeway will cut across this refuge, spoiling
it forever.
In what is fast becoming a Europe-wide battle,
the fight to save the Rospuda from the freeway
is heating up. For the past 6 months people
across Poland have banded together to save
this rare landscape.
Act now to save the Rospuda Valley
Despite losing a regional referendum and
a court case over the building of the freeway
through Rospuda, the Polish government decided
to ignore the growing opposition and begin
construction anyway.
It was time for action.
Greenpeace set up a camp to defend the forest
and the valley in February this year, when
the Polish government announced the start
of the logging in the valley.
With temperatures below -20°C, our activists
in the forest, together with other wildlife
defenders stood ready to block bulldozers.
Visits to Greenpeace Poland's website rocketed
beyond all previous records as people sought
more information about the battle.
"We had journalists calling us asking
if they could chain themselves to the trees"
said one internal email.
Greenpeace Poland launched a website that
encouraged visitors to take out citizenship
in the "Republic of Rospuda" complete
with passports and a manifesto:
If the chainsaws win again, many plant, bird
and mammal species will disappear from the
Rospuda Valley. We oppose it because there
are no wetlands like Rospuda Valley anywhere
west of the Ural Mountains. For much too long
consecutive governments have been destroying
something we all depend on – the wild nature.
Don't stand by, join us!
Virtual citizens of the Republic of Rospuda
and online visitors to the website set about
adopting individually the 20,000 trees that
the road project was slated to fell.
200,000 people signed a petition asking the
Polish Prime Minister to save the valley.
The issue blossomed into a full-scale populist
issue as news reached beyond the borders of
Poland, and the European Union started to
increase the pressure on the Polish government.
The EU had previously requested Poland halt
construction until the European Court of Justice
(ECJ) had made a decision on the issue. But
when the Polish Prime Minister balked, the
EU threatened to withhold funding from Poland
for the construction of other sections of
the same freeway - the European transport
corridor called Via Baltica - outside the
valley.
Within the last few days, the Polish Prime
Minister has changed his position and halted
construction on the freeway until the ECJ
decision is announced.
Environmental activists don't want to stop
the freeway from being built, they only want
the road rerouted to avoid the environmentally
significant valley, something the Polish government
has rejected in the past.
They say the alternative route would take
too long to build.
"Progress in the 21st century should
not be measured by the number of trucks passing
through the most pristine area in Poland'
said Maciej Muskat from Greenpeace Poland.
With work stopped on the controversial road,
we can't let the fate of the Rospuda hang
on a court decision: now is the time to let
the Polish government know you want this fragile
wetland protected for good.
Tell the Prime Minister to reroute the freeway
away from the Rospuda Valley.
