Description
The project plans to monitor the number and compliance of logging permits and the compensatory planting policy in at least 19 municipalities in Upper Silesia. The methodology includes collecting data on logging and planting and creating an interactive map of such operations. Subsequently, Sand Dragon plans open debates in each of the selected communities to identify ways of ensuring that compensatory planting is fully in line with the principles of sustainability and nature conservation. The project addresses the problem of unclear rules on issuing logging permits and the lack of accountability of officials for their decisions on the number of trees to be planted on a compensatory basis. Sand Dragon plans to reach out to local community members and officials, the latter benefitting from community feedback to their policies.
Summary of project results
"The level of air pollution in Silesia has been rising consistently, and suspended particulates and ozone keep exceeding the norms. In this context, cutting down trees in cities adversely affects the health and quality of life of their residents. Access to information about tree stand has been limited, the principles of tree removal have been unclear, and compensatory planting has been insufficient and conducted outside city centres. All this has slowly changed Silesian cities into a concrete desert. The objective of the project was to introduce the rule of compensation for the losses caused by tree removal, in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. The project included collecting data on tree removal and compensatory planting from all 26 districts of the Silesian voivodeship, and from the State Forests. The data was published on the ratujdrzewa.pl website. The law on environmental protection was amended during the project, changing the principles of tree removal, so for the time being it is difficult to evaluate the project's outcomes. The organisation used the regulations on access to public data and to information about the environment, in order to collect data about tree removal and planting in all 26 districts of Silesia. It then published the data on the ratujdrzewa.pl website. In the 19 monitored cities and towns meetings with activists, officials and residents were held to discuss local regulations on tree protection and potential changes. An expert report was prepared, about compensatory planting in the cities in accordance with the principle of sustainable growth and natural protection. The beneficiaries of the project were the residents of the Silesian region and civil servants."
Summary of bilateral results