Social forests for 13 million Poles

The Ministry of Climate and Environment (MoC) is stepping up its efforts in the area of forest protection, announcing an initiative to map social forests around Poland’s largest cities. The goal of this project, scheduled to be completed by the end of October this year, is to map forest areas dedicated mainly to social activities. It is estimated that the initiative will benefit 13 million residents of major metropolitan areas.

During Tuesday’s press briefing, Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska stressed that. The work on forest protection is important for 38 million Poles. Today we present the next stage of it, especially important for 13 million citizens living in metropolitan areas .

What are community forests?

Deputy Minister Nikolai Dorozhala, explaining the concept of social forests, noted that their main purpose is to serve local communities. It is planned to create social, tourist and sports infrastructure in these areas. We assume that these will not be forests with a dominant economic function; some work will have to be carried out, if only for safety reasons,” Dorozhala said. He added, however, that these forests will not be reserves.

Where will they be built?

The map of social forests is being developed on the basis of the so-called. Map of Contested Forests. The latter depicts areas where local communities and activists have been particularly intense in their efforts to protect forests. Deputy Minister Dorozha recalled that the mapping process was initiated during the National Council on Forests, where various forms of forest protection were discussed.

So we have two areas of protection – naturally important forests and socially valuable forests. In the Forest Law we have the functions of forests described: economic, natural and social. The economic function has been greatly developed. The natural one is largely fulfilled by national parks. In terms of the social function – we have a huge scope. These forests are to play an important role from the point of view of recreation, contact with nature, but also to develop the idea of green rings around large cities – Dorozhal emphasized.

Social forests are to be designated around 14 agglomerations: Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Sopot, Gdynia, Wroclaw, Lodz, Poznan, Katowice, Bydgoszcz, Torun, Szczecin, Kielce, and Bielsko-Biala. However, the proposals will still be subject to extensive consultation.

The current program is in the pilot phase. The IOC will hold consultations on the draft guidelines and recommendations until mid-August. The locations mentioned will form the basis for the work of consultation teams, which will include local communities, representatives of the State Forests, the timber industry and NGOs. The main task of these teams will be to designate areas to be designated as community forests by the end of October this year.

Later this year (by October 31) we will create community forests around a dozen Polish cities – we are meeting the demands of NGOs and residents, Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska informed.

Collaboration in the creation of maps

The project is being carried out in cooperation with about 150 NGOs, which had a significant contribution to the preparation of proposals for social forest areas. Minister Hennig-Kloska expressed gratitude to the participants of the National Council on Forests for their contribution to the mapping. In addition, she announced a visit to the Regional Directorate of State Forests in Poznań to further work on social forests.

If this process is successful, it will become a model practice that can be continued in more locations, including smaller towns. The community forest project has the potential to become a model for other regions, providing space for recreation and protecting biodiversity throughout Poland.

Forest ecosystem services

The briefing also touched on the economic value of ecosystem services provided by forests. Dr. Marek Giergiczny of Warsaw University presented an analysis showing that forests offer significant recreational benefits. The analysis showed that the recreational value of forests is highest for forest areas that are located closest to large metropolitan areas. An attempt was made to value the benefits, suggesting that in areas of high population density they could exceed 10,000. PLN/ha/year. Dr. Giergiczny stressed that the benefits of forests are not limited to the value of timber, but also include a range of other values, such as improved health and recreational opportunities.

Prof. Bogdan Jaroszewicz, head of the Bialowieza Geobotanical Station at the University of Warsaw, also pointed to the growing social demand for the ecosystem functions of forests. He pointed out that from the point of view of health, especially mental health, not only the biodiversity of the forest is crucial, but also its accessibility and usefulness to the local community.