Poland’s border wall to cut through Europe’s last old-growth forest
Work has begun on a 116-mile long fence on the Polish-Belarusian border. Scientists call it an environmental “disaster.”
The border between Poland and Belarus is a land of forests, rolling hills, river valleys, and wetlands. But this once peaceful countryside has become a militarized zone. Prompted by concerns about an influx of primarily Middle Eastern migrants from Belarus, the Polish government has begun construction on a massive wall across its eastern border.
Human rights organizations and conservation groups have decried the move. The wall will be up to 18 feet tall (5.5 meters) and stretch for 116 miles (186 kilometers) along Poland’s eastern border, according to the Polish Border Guard, despite laws in place that the barrier seems to violate. It’s slated to plow through fragile ecosystems, including Białowieża Forest, the continent’s last lowland old-growth woodland.
If completed within the
