If deer, bison or brooding birds have been sighted on their fields, farmers aren’t allowed to harvest their crops. Nor are they permitted to farm near the woodland. As far as they are concerned, the Bialowieza National Park simply represents lost income. The tourist industry has no such concerns:  the nature reserve is a major attraction. The Bialowieza forest has created a rift within the local community.

A report by Grit Hofmann