Polska wersja

Bulldozers on course for unique Polish wetlands

Warsaw, Poland — The Polish government is today (Friday afternoon) set to land itself in more hot water with the European Commission if, as widely expected, it grants final approval for the construction of the highly controversial Augustow bypass road through the protected Rospuda wetlands in north-east Poland.

In December last year, the European Commission opened a legal infringement procedure against the Polish government for granting consents to a series of road developments along one of the alternatives of the Via Baltica expressway route. These new constructions have been strongly backed by the regional authorities but stand to severely damage the environment. The Augustow bypass, planned to be built through the priceless marshy valley of the Rospuda River - a Natura 2000 protected site

While the Commission still awaits Poland´s explanations regarding the alleged violation of environmental directives, the Polish government appears bullish about going ahead with the destructive projects. Earlier this week Poland´s environment minister Jan Szyszko rejected appeals from environmental NGOs and the Polish Ombudsman against the environmental consent granted previously for the Augustow bypass.

Alarm bells have already been ringing in Brussels with Polish Radio reporting that the European Commission was surprised with Szyszko´s decision. Barbara Helfferich, spokesperson for Environment Commisioner Dimas, commented: "We expected that all road projects along the Via Baltica corridor will be temporarily suspended until the Commission´s allegations are clarified."

Contrary to a panel of European environmental and marsh scientists that gathered on Sunday in Warsaw for World Wetlands Day, Minister Szyszko denied that the Rospuda Valley Natura 2000 site is a naturally valuable area and that the expressway bypass construction would disturb the water ecosystem balance in the valley.

Dr. Rudy van Diggelen, from the Society for Ecological Restoration International at the University of Groningen, said: "In recent years there have been several petitions from international expert organisations and individual experts on mire-systems and eco-hydrology stating that Rospuda Valley is a so-called percolation fen, and as such by far the best preserved example of this type of fen that is known in Europe. In light of this I consider the Polish government´s likely decision as premature and unwise, and ask the minister to reconsider it once more at least until the pending procedures of the European Union have been finished."

Anna Roggenbuck, from the Polish Green Network and CEE Bankwatch Network, said: "The Polish government´s rushed decision on Rospuda is causing a lot of alarm around the country and it will put the burden on Polish taxpayers when significant fines for violation of the European Directives arrive. The government has not even responded to the Commission´s original concerns and should at least sort out these very real problems before sending in the bulldozers."

Malgorzata Znaniecka, from OTOP (the Polish Society for Protection of Birds, BirdLife Poland), said: "The Polish government seems to be assuming that if the bypass is constructed it will stay there regardless. But we are afraid that this case will finish in the European Court of Justice and lead to the decommissioning of the road, thus placing additional financial fines on Poland"

Marta Majka Wisniewska, from WWF Poland said, "This unique and pristine part of eastern Europe is set to be destroyed. Orchids, sundews, white-tailed and lesser spotted eagles are about to lose their homes in the Rospuda Valley and become a memory dimmed by the noise and exhaust fumes of passing cars."

Polish Green Network /CEE Bankwatch Network, the, Polish Society for Protection of Birds (Birdlife Poland) and WWF Poland intend to contest the recent court decision. They will be asking the court to suspend the projects until there is a final judgement.

For more background information about the Via Baltica conflicts in Poland, see: http://www.viabalticainfo.org/spip.php?rubrique2

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