On the border between Poland and Belarus, restoring water to the Białowieża Forest addresses an ecological priority: conserving habitats weakened by drying out. At the same time, Poland plans to use natural environments to limit the movement of ground forces along its eastern and northern borders. A 13 November article by Mongabay brings these concerns together under the term “warwilding”: restoring nature so that it can also serve as a physical barrier. However, the voluntary-sector project, the national programme and the forest management plan must be distinguished.
Water shapes the forest landscape
Peatlands, swamp forests and waterways all play a part in how Białowieża functions. Their drying out changes habitats and water availability. Drainage carries water away through ditches; river straightening alters their course. Restoring a wet landscape therefore also means working on its water flows, not just its trees.
The project “Bringing water back to Białowieża Forest”, led by the Polish Society for the Protection of Birds (PTOP) with several regional partners, aims to restore the natural retention of water. Launched in April 2026 for five years, it covers selected areas of the Narewka and Łutownia rivers and their catchments, in the Polish part of the forest. A catchment is the area from which rainwater drains into the same watercourse.
Volunteers are among those helping to block drainage ditches in the targeted areas. PTOP plans to monitor environmental and social changes during and beyond the project. The results will need to be assessed over this period: the stated aim is to restore the functioning of the water system, not to flood the forest indiscriminately.
A local initiative and a national programme
This restoration project is separate from the public programme “Zielona Tarcza Wschód”, or “Green Shield of the East”, described by Poland’s Ministry of Climate and Environment. The programme forms part of the environmental component of “Tarcza Wschód”, a defence and deterrence plan. The announced intervention zone is a strip approximately 30 kilometres wide along Poland’s eastern and northern borders. It therefore refers neither solely to the Białowieża Forest nor to the entire “East Shield” initiative, launched in 2024.
The ministry wants to use wetlands, renaturalised waterways and dense forests to limit the movement of ground forces. This intended defensive function is in addition to conservation; the document does not provide an assessment of military effectiveness.
Forest management, waterway maintenance, agricultural practices and ecological restoration are to be coordinated across ministries. The allocation of 450 million zlotys announced for investment applies to the programme: it does not represent either spending already incurred in Białowieża or funding for the PTOP project.
A management plan for the Polish part
A third area covered is the Białowieża World Heritage site management plan. Signed by Poland’s Minister of Climate on 19 June 2026, it covers the Polish part of the transboundary property and sets out guidelines through to 2051. The ministry says that 96% of this part is to be left to natural processes, compared with 37% previously. This percentage describes the distribution set out in the plan, not a change already measured in the forest or the situation in the Belarusian part.
The management document also announces measures to retain water, restore natural processes and reduce human pressure in the most sensitive areas. Unused roads are to be gradually removed and water-retention projects developed. The ministry presents the plan as having been approved by the Unesco World Heritage Centre; a mission to assess its implementation is scheduled for 2027. The signing therefore formalises a management framework, while its effects will depend on its implementation and monitoring.
How to assess progress
To understand what these announcements change, three levels must be kept distinct. The announced budget indicates an allocation for a programme, not the amount actually spent. A restoration objective describes planned work, not an improvement already observed. Finally, a monitoring system can document changes in the environment, but measurements are needed before any ecological result can be established.
A critical reading of the issue can therefore raise practical questions: does water remain for longer in the areas being treated? What do observations over the seasons show? Which works have been completed, and across what area? These are evaluation criteria, not results that these announcements already make it possible to quantify.
The issue, then, is less about choosing between forest and security than about checking how decisions are translated into the environments concerned. Restoring water can support habitats and resilience to drought; making this function part of a defence policy adds an objective without removing conservation requirements or the need to observe the results.
References
- Mongabay, “Can an ancient European forest be saved while securing Poland’s border?”
- Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment, “Zielona Tarcza Wschód”
- Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment, Białowieża Forest management plan
- PTOP, “Bringing water back to Białowieża Forest”
The Łutownia River in the Białowieża Forest, 18 July 2016. Archive photograph.
Fallaner — Bialowieza Forest Lutownia River 2016 P04 — Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0.
