Through a gaping hole in the canopy of Poland’s Białowieża Forest, piles of logs from commercial logging await transportation. Braving a media ban and the police, Joris captured this drone image showing evidence of large-scale commercial logging using heavy machinery in one of the forest’s protected areas.
Straddling Poland’s border with Belarus, the UNESCO-protected Białowieża Forest is the last surviving primeval forest in Europe and home to the largest population of European bison. But since 2016, commercial logging activity has escalated. Officially said to be aimed at clearing dead wood to control a bark beetle outbreak, it is putting this fragile and precious ecosystem at risk.
The Netherlands
Joris specialises in stories about nature and people. Growing up with biologists as parents, he went on his first field expedition to Africa at the age of three. He later studied biology, but left his science career to become a full-time photographer and film-maker. His work has since spanned five continents. He is a Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.
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