The Protest addressed i.e. to:

European Parliament
Committee on Petitions
The Secretariat
Rue Wiertz
B-1047 BRUSSELS

(Petition 0958/2006)

16.07.2007	Report of the Committee on Petitions on the Fact Finding Mission to Poland "Via Baltica" (it was reaction i.e. on this protest)
19.12.2007	Notice to members of the European Parliament

Map showing the Via Baltica route options (including the Augustów Bypass)

     Via Baltica is a proposed north-south expressway, planned to connect Helsinki with Warsaw. Some European Union countries want to route it through Poland; offering us the financing of its construction in exchange. Two options for its course are being considered:

• The Białystok option is being promoted by the local authorities. The expressway would cross the Augustów Forest, the Rospuda River Valley, the Biebrza National Park and probably the Knyszyn Forest Landscape Park. It would also run through the Biała Forest (the Bug River Valley Landscape Park), along the edge of the Wigry National Park and the Narew National Park, and would cross migration routes of large mammals. These areas have been proposed for inclusion in the Natura 2000 European network of protected areas, the protection extending beyond the boundaries of the current National Parks and Landscape Parks. The sites are also recognized by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Areas. Moreover, the Valley of Biebrza River is included in the list of wetlands of the Ramsar Convention.
• Łomża option, which is endorsed by ecologists, would avoid most of the above mentioned negative effects of the Białystok option. Moreover, it is much shorter.

     Via Baltica in Poland would bring irreversible destruction of national parks and areas of the European Natura 2000 network. Many rare and even endangered species of animals and plants live there. Therefore, construction of the expressway using the Białystok option is a violation of EU law. Moreover, the decision to route Via Baltica through Białystok, made in January [2005], was taken without a strategic assessment of its possible impact on the environment and with no respect of the environmental protection principles of the European Union. This could preclude financing of the construction using EU funds. The decision approving the route has subsequently been revoked as the implications of the absence of an Environmental Assessment have become apparent to the authorities and the conclusion will now take months or even years to reach. Its positive impact on the development of the areas in Poland through which it would be constructed is doubtful - only owners of land along the route and certain lobbies, particularly those involved in construction of the expressway, will profit from this project. What needs to be taken into consideration is the fact, that:

• Via Baltica, and the Białystok option in particular, will cross the Biebrza river in the area of the Biebrza National Park, an extremely important site for breeding and resting during migration for many rare and endangered species of birds, some of which are on the verge of extinction, particularly waterfowl and shorebirds. It is a nesting area for the spotted eagle, great snipe, white-winged tern and aquatic warbler. For some species of birds, the Biebrza marshes are among sites which are essential for their maintenance in Central Europe. Owing to its specific wetlands, not found anywhere else in our continent, and the unique and very rich fauna (particularly birds), the Valley of Biebrza has been included in the list of habitats of the international Ramsar Convention. It is also proposed as Special Area of Conservation of habitats (SAC) and Special Protection Area of birds (SPA) of the European network of nature conservation sites called Natura 2000 and acknowledged by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) - a place of fundamental importance for protection of the endangered species of European birds.
• The Białystok option of the expressway is planned to run across the Augustów Forest, including the Valley of the Rospuda River. As with the Valley of Biebrza River, Augustów Forest is on the list of planned Special Protection Areas of birds (SPAs) of Natura 2000 and has been recognized as an Important Bird Area (IBA). Moreover, the environmental inventory that is currently being conducted has revealed a number of species listed in annexes of the EU Habitats Directive (mammals, amphibians, plants, natural habitats) and 19 species protected by the EU Birds Directive, including white-tailed eagle, lesser spotted eagle and capercaillie, along the area of the planned expressway or in its immediate vicinities. According to the law, the Voivodship Nature Conservator should create protection zones for these three species. The Rospuda Valley is also the last habitat of musk orchid Herminium monorchis in Poland, and therefore should be preserved as an area of special protection. Creation of these zones and area would make any development impossible there.
• Via Baltica (and particularly the Białystok option) will cross migration routes of large mammals, such as elk, lynxes or wolves, particularly between the Valley of Biebrza and Augustów Forest and Knyszyn Forest. Such fragmentation of populations will lead to their degradation (i.e. inbreeding) and consequently to their extinction in the future. Furthermore, the number of car accidents with animals will increase. The issue of building of wildlife crossings is still not clear, although a single promise has recently been given.
  
• If the Białystok option is realized, it will lead to degradation of valuable nature areas important for tourism, which is the only source of income for many people living in this region.
• Presenting the concept of the expressway construction by the authorities as an opportunity for Białystok is hypocritical, because there are no reasons to treat Białystok differently than Łomża. Moreover, the expressway will be a route for rapid transit, so the benefits of its existence can be questioned.
  
• Heavy traffic will have negative impact on people's health and the environment with the release of lead, cadmium, chromium, asbestos, dioxins, carbon oxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, phenols, etc. The road itself and its construction will also risk dehydration, soil salinity, and contamination with crude oil derivatives. The Białystok option particularly, being longer by 30-40 kilometres, will be a source of increased car exhaust emissions, caused by an increased petrol consumption of more than ten thousand tons. All this is would happen in the very centre of the region known as the Green Lungs of Poland !
  
• The choice of the Łomża option has economic benefits. Many drivers would still drive the road 61 through Łomża rather than 30-40 kilometres longer (depending on the exact route) Via Baltica section if unreasonably constructed through Białystok. And after modernisation, the road through Łomża will also be used by lorries of axle load over 15 tons, which are currently not allowed there. Results of traffic measurements performed in 2000 and 2005, which are used as an argument for the Białystok option, are not credible, since traffic on route 61 was limited by an administrative decision when the measurements were conducted. On the other hand, traffic measurements performed in 2002 showed that traffic on the road 61 (via Łomża) is over double that on the route 8 (via Białystok).
  

Text kindly corrected by Sarah Pettegree

More information:
Rospuda - valley protection campaign

By signing the list below you are protesting against routing Via Baltica through unique nature areas, such as the Augustów Forest along with the Rospuda River Valley, the Biebrza National Park and the Knyszyn Forest, and thus you are expressing your disapproval for the Białystok option of this road.

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