Białowieża Forest
Białowieża Forest is a forest on the border between Belarus and Poland. It is one of the last and largest remaining parts of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain. The forest is home to 800 European bison, Europe's heaviest land animal. UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme designated the Polish Biosphere Reserve Białowieża in 1976 and the Belarusian Biosphere Reserve Biełavieskaja pušča in 1993.
| Białowieża Forest | |
|---|---|
| Puszcza Białowieska (Polish) Белавежская пушча (Belarusian) Biełaviežskaja pušča Беловежская пуща (Russian) Belovezhskaya pushcha | |
Fallen tree in the Białowieża Forest | |
| Location | Grodno and Brest regions, Belarus Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland |
| Nearest city | Hajnówka, Poland |
| Coordinates | 52°45′N 23°59′E |
| Area | 3,085.8 km2 (1,191.4 sq mi) |
| Established | 11 August 1932 |
| Governing body | Ministries of the Environment of Belarus and Poland |
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| Criteria | Natural: ix, x |
| Reference | 33 |
| Inscription | 1979 (3rd Session) |
| Extensions | 1992, 2014 |
In 2015, the Belarusian Biosphere Reserve spanned 216,200 ha (2,162 km2; 835 sq mi), subdivided into transition, buffer and core zones. The forest has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an EU Natura 2000 Special Area of Conservation. The World Heritage Committee, through its decision of June 2014, approved the extension of the UNESCO World Heritage site "Belovezhskaya Pushcha/Białowieża Forest, Belarus, Poland", which became "Białowieża Forest, Belarus, Poland". It straddles the border between Poland (Podlaskie Voivodeship) and Belarus (Brest and Grodno Regions), and is 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of Brest, Belarus and 62 kilometres (39 miles) southeast of Białystok, Poland. The Białowieża Forest World Heritage site covers a total area of 141,885 ha (1,418.85 km2; 547.82 sq mi). Since the border between the two countries runs through the forest, there is a border crossing available for hikers and cyclists.