Zielone Brygady nr 15 (117), 1-15 sierpnia 1998
W czerwcu przyszłego roku Międzynarodowy Komitet Olimpijski podejmie decyzję o lokalizacji Zimowych Igrzysk '2006. Załączony list jest protestem wobec planów organizacji Olimpiady w Zakopanem i w Tatrzańskim Parku Narodowym. Prosimy o wysłanie go do MKOl-u.
International Olympic Committee
Chateau de Widy
C.P. 356, 10 07 Lausanne
Switzerland
Dear Members
This is a letter regarding the application from Poland to host the Winter Olympic Games in 2006. It is now known that an irresponsible Polish development lobby wants to hold the Winter Olympic Games in 2006 in the town of Zakopane and the heart of Poland's Tatra National Park. Although in February '98 an application was directed to the International Olympic Committee, the following explanation clearly reasons why the proposal to host the Winter Olympics in Poland must be rejected.
Our position as an organization is that the Winter Olympic Games
in 2006 should NOT be hosted by Zakopane, Poland and Tatra National
Park. In taking this position we support many Polish environmental
non-government organizations, the strongest of which form the
SAVE THE CARPATHIANS COALITION, with the goal of mobilizing local,
national, and international support for the protection of the
natural and cultural values of Tatra National Park. In addition,
with this position, we are also joined by Polish government and
scientific organizations and international environmental organizations
in support of the SAVE THE CARPATHIANS COALITION.
The proposal submitted to the International Olympic Committee calls for Winter Olympic Games in Poland that would directly and indirectly cause large-scale ecological and cultural destruction in the Tatra Mountains region. The Tatras form the central, highest section of the Western Carpathian mountain range and part of the border between Poland and Slovakia. This small range of mountains forms a valuable wildlife sanctuary and a rare alpine ecosystem, the only one of its kind in the whole of Central and Eastern Europe. The threatened ecosystem has deep forests interspersed with meadows and lakes leading up to rock peaks. Tatra wildlife includes alpine flora and fauna such as the marmot, mountain goat, bear, wolf, lynx, and golden eagle, most of which are already listed in The Red Data Book of Endangered Species. At present, both Poland and Slovakia protect the Tatra Mountains in respective National Parks. In 1992, the Tatra range was approved by the Man and Biosphere Committee and designated a UNESCO International Biosphere Reserve. Due to their ecological characteristics and limitation in size, if the Tatra Mountains region were to play host to the Winter Olympic Games, the results would be heavy damages to the land, water, and wildlife of Tatra National Park.
Poland's Tatra National Park is a repository of cultural and biodiversity values of international significance and is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. Unfortunately, as such, it is already seriously overloaded with visitors. In 1996 alone, five million people visited Tatra National Park. As a range, the Tatras are 740 times smaller than Europe's famous Alps. The mountains, however attractive in appearance, are inadequate to host the necessary Olympic facilities. They have very limited space for regulation Olympic ski slopes, and their low altitude and changing climate make for uncertain snow conditions. The small town of Zakopane has a growing water deficit and an inadequate infrastructure to host an event of the size of the Winter Olympic Games. The resources of Tatra National Park and the support and facilities to be found in Zakopane cannot compete with the offerings of other possible locations for the Winter Olympic Games '2006.
Additionally, the proposal for Poland to host the Winter Olympic Games is illegal and demonstrates irresponsibility towards the International Olympic Committee, because the proposal is in direct conflict with Polish environmental laws, the required environmental impact assessments have not been carried out, and the infrastructure of the region is highly inadequate. The idea of hosting the Winter Olympics in and around Zakopane directly contradicts the purpose of Tatra National Park and Polish law. The development lobby that is pushing to host the Olympics has been powerful enough to persuade the highest levels of Polish government to back their proposal. However, the application to host the games was submitted to the International Olympic Committee without consultation with Poland's Ministry of Nature Protection, Natural Resources, and Forestry, or Poland's National Park Authority, or its Scientific Advisory Council. An Environmental Impact Assessment for the Tatra Mountains has not been conducted, as required by Polish law, international law, and the International Olympic Committee. Environmental non-government organizations in Poland, including those in the SAVE THE CARPATHIANS COALITION, have been systematically excluded from discussions and debates by the government and the development lobby. The support of the proposal from Polish government conflicts with Poland's Nature Conservation Law and the legally established management requirements set out in the Nature Conservation Plan of Tatra National Park. Moreover, the development lobby is so influential that currently, there is incredibly short-sighted pressure to weaken Poland's existing environmental conservation legislation to accommodate hosting the Winter Olympics.
At the present time, the greatest danger within Poland stems from the initiation of new investments within Tatra National Park under the pretext of preparations for hosting the Winter Olympics in Zakopane. Most notable is the effort to double the capacity of the ski lift already in operation to a mountain top that already serves as a very popular tourist area. The alpine landscape and wildlife of Tatra National Park is unable to survive the preparatory developments for hosting the Winter Olympics in Zakopane, much less the demands of the Olympic Games themselves.
The proposal for Zakopane, Poland and Tatra National Park to host the Winter Olympic Games in 2006 is an irresponsible violation of both Polish and international law. The development lobby must not succeed with its proposal to expend this small, rare mountain range and priceless alpine ecosystem to prepare for and host the Olympics in the ill-suited town of Zakopane. Please do NOT choose Zakopane and Tatra National Park as the host of the Winter Olympic Games in 2006. Thank you.
Sincerely yours