We have appointed a social committee tasked with raising 100,000. signatures under the bill for the protection of Polish forests – announced on Saturday by Deputy Justice Minister Marcin Romanowski (Solidarity Poland) in Zamość.
In January this year, the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety gave a positive opinion on the amendment to the treaties, which would transfer forestry from national competence to the so-called competences shared between the EU and the Member States. Amendments to the treaties require the unanimous consent of all EU countries.
Goal – 100,000 signatures
At Saturday’s press conference in Zamość, Deputy Minister Romanowski announced the creation of a civil legislative initiative to defend Poland’s forests.
We have appointed a social committee tasked with raising 100,000. signatures on an account to prevent this
– said Romanowski, adding that the project “aims to protect the most important heritage for us, namely the Polish forests.”
As he said, the action of collecting signatures can be seen on social media, in many places in Poland and among forest rangers.
According to Romanowski, the transfer of forestry from national to shared competence means that “in practice it will not be decided in Warsaw how Polish forests are managed and who has access to forests in our country.”
The State Forests are our most important national heritage. Very important when it comes to economy, forest management
– said the deputy head of the Ministry of Finance, adding that 3% of forests are directly related to forests. GDP and indirect – 8 percent. GDP.
Our wood and forest-related production is among the best in the world. When it comes to furniture, we rank second in the world. We are afraid that all these activities are aimed at first liquidating this branch of the economy and then taking over this market from foreign, German, French or Dutch groups. As unfortunately happened to other parts of our economy in the 1990s
he said.
The importance of the State Forests
The State Forests is the largest ecological organization in Poland and Europe
emphasized Romanowski. At the same time, he expressed the opinion that Polish forests have a “very reasonable economy in terms of timber harvesting”.
Ideas to take up 10% of the territory of each Member State, in the case of Poland – of course – would primarily affect the inhabitants who would not be able to walk and would not be able to make full use of this forest resources, such as recreation, picking mushrooms or berries
he argued. He added that forests are “a very important natural heritage”.
Romanowski then encouraged residents to plant trees and participate in the state forests’ “We plant together” campaign on the Main Market Square in Zamość, with forest rangers handing out 1,800 oak, alder, pine and birch seedlings on Saturday.
gah/PAP
Source: wPolityce