Border militarization affects people’s interactions with nature in Białowieża Forest

IF 5.8 2区环境科学与生态学 Q2 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL

Ambio Pub Date : 2024-12-07 DOI:10.1007/s13280-024-02113-5

Katarzyna Nowak, Agnieszka Olszańska, Agata Pietrzyk-Kaszyńska, Marek Giergiczny, Krzysztof Niedziałkowski, Katarzyna Simonienko, Bogdan Jaroszewicz

{"title":"Border militarization affects people’s interactions with nature in Białowieża Forest","authors":"Katarzyna Nowak, Agnieszka Olszańska, Agata Pietrzyk-Kaszyńska, Marek Giergiczny, Krzysztof Niedziałkowski, Katarzyna Simonienko, Bogdan Jaroszewicz","doi":"10.1007/s13280-024-02113-5","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Border militarization can impede people’s interactions with nature in borderlands. We surveyed one border community to understand how local use of Białowieża Forest, one of Europe’s last primary forest complexes, is affected by militarization. Out of 100 returned surveys, most respondents had a negative view of enforced border security measures (closure of the border zone, construction of a border barrier, military activities). Many felt they were not adequately consulted about these policies. Respondents felt discouraged from visiting Białowieża Forest mainly due to the presence of uniformed services and worsened conditions of forest roads caused by heavy machinery and traffic. Newcomers reported negative impacts on their health and well-being, while people born in the region (locals) had mixed reactions. Although locals were more equivocal in opposing the border barrier than newcomers, both groups perceived the environmental costs of its construction as high and reported a sense of separation from neighboring Belarus.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":461,"journal":{"name":"Ambio","volume":"54 2","pages":"175 - 183"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Ambio","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-024-02113-5","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Border militarization can impede people’s interactions with nature in borderlands. We surveyed one border community to understand how local use of Białowieża Forest, one of Europe’s last primary forest complexes, is affected by militarization. Out of 100 returned surveys, most respondents had a negative view of enforced border security measures (closure of the border zone, construction of a border barrier, military activities). Many felt they were not adequately consulted about these policies. Respondents felt discouraged from visiting Białowieża Forest mainly due to the presence of uniformed services and worsened conditions of forest roads caused by heavy machinery and traffic. Newcomers reported negative impacts on their health and well-being, while people born in the region (locals) had mixed reactions. Although locals were more equivocal in opposing the border barrier than newcomers, both groups perceived the environmental costs of its construction as high and reported a sense of separation from neighboring Belarus.

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Ambio 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

14.30

自引率

3.10%

发文量

123

审稿时长

6 months

期刊介绍： Explores the link between anthropogenic activities and the environment, Ambio encourages multi- or interdisciplinary submissions with explicit management or policy recommendations. Ambio addresses the scientific, social, economic, and cultural factors that influence the condition of the human environment. Ambio particularly encourages multi- or inter-disciplinary submissions with explicit management or policy recommendations. For more than 45 years Ambio has brought international perspective to important developments in environmental research, policy and related activities for an international readership of specialists, generalists, students, decision-makers and interested laymen.