Beer brand Żubr is helping to purchase land for the Biebrza National Park in Poland alongside the park authorities.
Approximately 40% of the park is now privately owned, and the brewer is working to purchase this land to protect endangered species.
Żubr Collaboration With Biebrza National Park
Żubr has commenced a long-term collaboration with the Biebrza National Park in order to reclaim the land on its territory.
The decision to help the park was made following a United Nations report from August this year.
The European Union and the United Nations have also called for land to be returned to nature in order to stop the climate and environmental crisis.
Around 500 million cubic metres of water has accumulated in the wetlands of the Biebrza Valley, one of the last valleys in Europe untouched by humans.
The swamps cool the climate, act as natural air conditioning systems, and are also a unique habitat for protected bird species.
However, with more than 40% of the Biebrza National Park still privately owned, the staff are unable to implement adequate conservation measures, such as the protection of habitats, the regulation of tourist traffic, and the prevention of the destruction of nature through the development of agriculture or buildings.
Wlodzimierz Wróblewski, deputy director of the Biebrza National Park, commented, "The protection of habitats is the most effective measure for nature and not the protection of species. The protection of habitats is crucial for the whereabouts of an endangered bird species in a certain area. This is where it not only nests, but also feeds and brings its chicks to the water and rests during the migration."
National Park Expansion
Żubr believes that the lengthy and costly process of buying back land can be accelerated with its help.
The group has acquired the first of the planned plots, expanding the ownership of the Biebrza National Park to include this area.
The initiative comes at a time when no new national park has been established in Poland for 20 years.
The average area of national parks in the European Union is about 3.4% of the country's area, while it is only 1.1% in Poland.
In the meantime, more than 70% of the Poles surveyed are in favour of enlarging the area of national parks.
The activities in the Biebrza National Park are part of the consistent implementation of the mission of the beer brand, which is based on the active support of wild animals by reinvesting part of the profits in them.
The group supports various nature conservation initiatives - both long-term initiatives, such as the cooperation with the Bialowieza National Park, as well as those that require quick action, such as helping with fires in the Biebrza Valley.
Urszula Czerniawska-Kapeluch, senior brand manager of Żubr, said, "The Żubr brand was created around the symbols of Polish nature 18 years ago. In the brand's advertising, the brand hero - Żubr, representative of the European bison - plays the role of the guardian of the forest. Since our brand comes from the world of Polish nature, we feel responsible for actively supporting its protection."
In 2019, the Żubr brand donated 1 million zlotys for the protection of threatened species, in 2020 it funded special equipment worth 1 million zlotys for the Bialowieza National Park, and another million this year for the conservation of wildlife.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more Drinks news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
