New potential for regional sustainable development
The Mammal Research Institute within the Polish Academy of Sciences is located next to the World famous Bialowieza National Park in Eastern Poland. It is considered to be the best preserved forest in Europe. Thus, it attracts numerous scientific visitors from Poland and abroad as well as the interest of EU universities for the purpose of training their researchers and students in Białowieża. A programme of local and regional development of European bison was accepted at the MRI / PAS and advanced by officials from the Podlasie region, Białowieża National Park and nearby forests. The programme is vast, combining nature conservation with the development of scientific research while also supporting the sustainable development of the Podlasie region. Consequently, decision makers are able to see that the potential of regional development in the field of nature protection and eco-tourism outweighs that of timber production or industry. Once this is realised, it may result in a coherent tourist product and one that could constitute the habitats where European bison reside and may reside in the future.