POLAND — Białowieża Forest. Białowieża Forest, one of Europe’s last remaining primeval forests, straddles the border between Poland and Belarus. Its wetlands and ancient trees support a dazzling array of life, but decades of drainage, drought and fragmentation have left the ecosystem under pressure. Now, it faces a new challenge. As the threat from Russia and its ally Belarus grows, Poland is strengthening its eastern border through a project called the East Shield. New military fortifications and infrastructure are planned in the region to bolster existing border security. Scientists warn that further development in and around the forest could be devastating for the ecosystem. They have, however, suggested an alternative: restore the forest, its wetlands and rivers to their natural state. The resulting landscape, dense with trees and boggy with water, not only provides important habitat but can also be practically impenetrable to heavy vehicles and ground forces. Some have dubbed this strategy “warwilding”, using restored natural landscapes as part of military strategy. The idea has found traction within the Polish military, which recognises the strategic value of natural barriers and supports efforts to restore parts of the forest. But recognizing nature’s defensive value is easier than restoring it. Hundreds of kilometers of drainage ditches still carry water away from the forest, while roads provide easy routes through terrain that could otherwise form a natural barrier. Conservationists say large-scale restoration will require coordination, funding and political will, but believe it could also be the forest’s best chance of long-term survival.…This article was originally published on Mongabay

BIAŁOWIEŻA, Poland — Michal Żmihorski, deputy director of the Institute of Environmental Protection, will never forget the morning of Aug. 1, 2023. Two Belarusian helicopters entered Polish airspace, hovering above the village of Białowieża in eastern Poland, three kilometers (1.9 miles) from the Polish-Belarusian border. The panic was palpable. “We didn’t know if the invasion had begun, if they were going to start dropping bombs,” he says during a conversation at the Białowieża-based Mammal Research Institute. The incident galvanized Żmihorski’s conviction that the borderlands should be impenetrable to enemy forces. “So that bandits on motorbikes can’t get through and start murdering people, because this is a real threat in this area,” says the longtime researcher of the UNESCO-protected Białowieża Forest straddling the Polish-Belarusian frontier. Poland shares a 420-km (261-mi) border with Belarus, 55 km (34 mi) of which runs through the Białowieża Forest, Europe’s last ancient woodland. This sprawling forest, covering an area equivalent to 200,000 football pitches, is among the continent’s top biodiversity hotspots. Consisting of impressive evergreens and broad-leaved trees, the Polish side alone is home to 900 European bison (Bison bonasus) — a species reintroduced to the forest — as well as lynx, wolves and up to 4,000 fungi species. While the specter of a military escalation by Belarus, a country that supports Russia, feels very real to some in this part of Eastern Europe, Poles throughout the country have been impacted by the war ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. To strengthen national security and…This article was originally published on Mongabay