Poland has launched the first of a planned series of forest preserves to act as greenbelts for the environment and for recreation, setting aside about 32,000 acres of forest around Wroclaw. Similar plans are under way for Gdansk, Kraków, Warsaw, Łódź and others
The forest areas are divided into ‘natural forests,’ which will be undisturbed and have minimal interventions, and ‘social’ or ‘community forests,’ according to environment minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska. In the Wroclaw preserve, about 19,000 acres are social forest.
At the inauguration ceremony for Wroclaw, the minister said that “This is a historic moment and the beginning of a new approach to forest protection – with residents in mind first and foremost… Community forests are places where residents can relax, play sports and simply spend time close to nature. At the same time, they are crucial to our security and quality of life: they retain water, regulate the climate, purify the air and protect the soil.”
Image: Fallaner/Wikimedia Commons
