Spanning large swaths of Poland and Belarus, the Bialowieza Forest is a World UNESCO Heritage Site and is highly regarded as one of Europe’s last remaining pristine forests — a remnant of a formerly immense stretch of woodland that covered much of the continent. “The court stresses in this context that the spruce bark beetle was not identified in the slightest by the 2015 management plan as a potential threat to the integrity of the Puszcza Białowieska Natura 2000 site,” the press release states. After Tuesday's ECJ ruling, ClientEarth's Thornton said the Polish government should consider enlarging the national park so it encompasses the whole of Bialowieza Forest.
The European Commission rules Poland's logging operations in the Białowieża Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage site, are a violation of international law.