Along the Morava River lies a European border, not a state border but a natural border, a border between forests. To the west lie states where native forests have been lost and have been substituted with cultivated landscapes or artificial forests. These countries (from Great Britain in the north to France, Germany, Switzerland and down to Spain and Portugal in the south) exist only because they exploit areas several times larger than their own territory. Their water regimes are unstable, resulting in extensive dry seasons and fires (as in Spain, Yugoslavia and Greece) or floods (as in Germany and the Netherlands).
To the east of the Morava River are relatively large tracts of native forests, little altered by development. Most of this area is between 400 and 1,000 meters above sea level. In this region, the native forest is predominantly fir-beech. Large undisturbed areas of such forests are found in Slovakia, the Transcarpathian Ukraine and Romania. The stability of these countries, especially their water regimes, is significantly higher than the rest of Europe thanks to these forests.
The ecological diversity and presence of large predators in these forests have no equal in the rest of Europe. For example, in Slovakia a 49,000-square-kilometer area contains more than 50,000 species of plants and animals. Wildlife surveys estimate that there are 800 bears, 300 wolves, 70 pairs of golden eagle, 900 lynx, more than 1,000 wild cats and 200 pairs of Ural owl in the area.
Unfortunately, political trends in the past several decades have been hostile to these forests. Fir trees, which grow quickly to large dimensions in European conditions (up to two meters in diameter in 300 years), have been so intensively logged that regeneration is impossible. Ultimately, nonnative spruce have encroached on the forests. The consequences have been evident; large-scale insect infestations and wind exposure, along with increased flooding, has wreaked havoc on the forests.
The WOLF Forest Protection Movement originated to save native forests and has used several means to do so. In 1993, a successful legislative campaign changed forest laws to ban clearcuts. In 1995, a World Bank project that would have completely destroyed our remaining native forests was defeated. In 1996, a blockade stopped logging in the Slanske Mountains.
Some forests cannot be saved by any of these methods. The natural value of the native fir-beech forests of eastern Slovakia is so great that we must use all means of action to protect them. We decided to save a beech-fir stand in the middle of the Cergov Mountains by buying it. The stand is 21 hectares in size, between 800 and 1,000 meters above sea level, and neighbors a mountain ridge. The headwaters of a beautiful, clear stream originates from a cold spring deep in the forest.
The former owner of this land has agreed to sell it for 3.2-million Slovak crowns (approximately US$93,000) with the condition that WOLF is named as the official owner. As this stand contains 3,000 to 4,000 trees, we decided to ask the public for help by purchasing one tree per person for 1,000 crowns ($30). This will allow us to pay off the balance of the asking price in 1998 - if we find enough people.
WOLF is now taking the necessary steps to have this stand declared the first private reserve in Central Europe with statutes to ensure that no wood will be removed from the stand, even after natural and logging-induced disasters.
Every tree buyer will be regularly informed about the condition of the planned reserve and the level of contributions reached. Help save the native eastern Slovak fir-beech rainforests of Europe. Buy your own tree. People outside Europe should make checks payable to Rainforest Information Centre and mail them to the Earth Trust Foundation, 20110 Rockport Way, Malibu, CA 90265.
Contact the WOLF Forest Protection Movement at c.d. 27, 082 13 Tulcik, Slovakia; phone/fax +421-91-941488; wolf@vadium.sk.