Can WarWilding defend Poland’s borders and save Europe’s last ancient forest?

Białowieża, Poland — Flashback to August 1, 2023, when two Belarusian helicopters briefly breached Polish airspace, hovering near the village of Białowieża, just three kilometers from the Polish-Belarusian border. The sudden intrusion left Deputy Director of the Institute of Environmental Protection, Michal Żmihorski, shaken. He recalls the time with a mix of fear and determination: “We didn’t know if the invasion had begun, if they were going to start dropping bombs.”

This incident, however, only served to solidify Żmihorski’s belief that the borderlands should be completely fortified to prevent enemy forces from infiltrating the region. “Bandits on motorbikes can’t get through and start murdering people, because this is a real threat in this area,” he emphasizes, reflecting on his extensive work in the UNESCO-protected Białowieża Forest situated on the Polish-Belarusian frontier.

Shared by Poland, the 420-kilometer border with Belarus features 55 kilometers running through the Białowieża Forest, home to Europe’s last ancient woodland. This vast woodland, sprawling over an area equivalent to 200,000 football pitches, ranks as one of the continent’s most significant biodiversity hotspots. Dominated by ancient evergreens and broad-leaved trees, the Polish side alone supports 900 European bison (Bison bonasus) — a species successfully reintroduced into the forest — alongside lynx, wolves, and an astounding 4,000 fungal species.

While the possibility of military escalation by Belarus, a nation that supports Russia, looms large over this Eastern European region, Poles throughout the nation have been grappling with the fallout of the war since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Strengthening national security and safeguarding the forest have become pressing concerns for the Polish government, as they strategize to prevent further breaches and preserve the ecological and historical value of the Białowieża Forest.