reblogged from Hambach Forest

The ancient Bialowieza Forest continues to be logged at times late into the night and from early hours of the morning by more than 3 harvesters capable of downing more than 500 trees a day.

However following a week long intermission the anti logging resistance strikes again. When the trucks loading lumber which is presently spread throughout the forest have been observed by morning patrols, over 30 activists left the Camp for the Primal Forest.

After reaching the nearby location, 6 lock-on doubles, later joined by two more, locked on with metal pipes to a 18 wheeler loaded with lumber and to another one that was practically empty.

The activists have locked on on top of the lumber load, on the sides and in the back and to lumber supports on the partially empty vehicle. Banners were dropped from the top, sides and front of the vehicles.

Support and media group were present throwing sandwiches, books, and isomats onto the trucks and across the police lines. The drivers of the trucks climbed on top, tore off some of the banners and threatened those attempting to retrieve the material with a knife. There was a constant stream of support from the visitors to the park and locals, stopping by and expressing their gratitude and appreciation for defending this last European lowland primordial forest.

A local astroturf group Santa financed by the Polish Forestry Department also made an appearance. They attempted to engage and distract the activists through ridicule, insults and threats. Their confrontational tactics were quickly dissolved when many visitors to the park attempted to communicate with this Crypto Industry, Pseudo Eco group.

The owner of the lumber transport company TrakDrew.pl contacted the liaison of the blockade and issued threats to respond with a civil suit for the costs of his losses to each individual of the blockade.

However when the recently published list (https://oko.press/liste-odbiorcow-drewna-puszczy-bialowieskiej-publikujemy-interaktywna-mape/ ) of recipients of lumber from Bialowieza Forests was consulted it turned out that TrakDrew.pl is FSC certified which allows it to mix in wood that does not contain that certificate but not wood that has been denied it as is the case with all lumber coming from the site of the protests.

It is also important to note that lots of wood shipped from recent large scale cuts in the area is not marked and labeled in any way making it easier to mix with other batches and that the group issuing this certification is not even an NGO but a private company.

However exposing this dynamic is an important strategy in making it harder to green wash lumber and its products which originated from one of the most biodiverse hotspots on the Planet and sell them as a product of sustainable forestry.

Losing this certification equals substantial loss of profits as FSC certified material, being a darling of „eco“ papermills and furniture producers is currently in high demand. The threat of such exposure resulted in an unusual end of this particular blockade.

The demand to leave the wood in the forest was agreed to and the protesters unlocked from the truck full of lumber onto which then the remaining several logs from the still blockaded and locked on vehicle were loaded. As the last 3 locked on groups awaited locked on to now completely empty truck, the full vehicle entered the forest to deposit its load back in the woods. As this occurred there was still enough activists to jump back on top if it attempted to drive out of the forest and not enough cops to stop them. After this surreal leaving of the still dead lumber in the forest one of the trucks with the loader crane continued to linger in the area and a patrol remained in the vicinity to make sure that it did not load the same cut trees once again…… Trucks leave wood back in #Bialowieza #Forest after 8 hr blockade when revealed that Truckdrew.pl is FSC certified which oldgrowths are not. Photo: @JusHambi

… In this climate it is not likely that logging will stop any time soon without further resistance and more than likely with recent fabrications by members of the clergy that the level of threat and repression will continue to increase.

More than likely that is unless solidarity actions targeting embassies, consulates and those connected to the the published distributors of the commercialized remnants and bones of the ancient Bialowieza forest take place.

A call goes out to extend your support no matter where you are, to extend it to all of those engaging in this struggle regardless of where they might be….