Several times a year, the media report on illegal amber diggers caught by forest rangers and the police. Their activities in forest and dune areas destroy forest litter, undermine trees, and leave pits dangerous to humans and animals. The traces of illegal extraction are most often found in the Holocene deposits (sediments of former Baltic beaches) in the eastern districts of Gdańsk (Stogi, Górki Zachodnie, Sobieszewska Island) and along the Vistula Spit forests – from Mikoszewo to Piaski, near the border with Russia.
Members of the International Amber Association will buy and plant 1000 pine saplings. These saplings have been grown in a forest nursery in special pots and are adapted for autumn planting in sandy areas. „In this way, we want to emphasise that we do not agree with the destruction of nature and we are lobbying for legal extraction. The forests of the Vistula Spit are a wonderful recreational area and a common good that we should all look after,” says Michał Kosior, vice-president of the IAA.
Illegal amber prospectors use a hydraulic-hole method, which involves excavating a hole using a strong stream of water introduced by a special hose with a head. It is manually deepened with a rod until the amber-bearing layer is reached (usually 6-12 metres). The water washes away and lifts sand along with amber, wood fragments, and plant detritus. The expelled material is caught at the top of the hole with nets. The same method is used in legal amber deposit prospecting in the Żuławy region. However, it does not cause environmental damage, as it is carried out on leased fields after the topsoil has been removed, and the land is reclaimed after the work is completed.
Currently, one company holds a mining licence in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, and exploration is being carried out on 19 private plots (based on geological work projects approved by the provincial geologist). In 2007, the municipality of the city of Gdańsk leased 7 plots in the Stogi district for one year, however – despite many announcements – the tender was never repeated. According to the Municipal Office, this is due to a lack of interest from the amber industry in mining on currently undeveloped municipal land before it is designated for investment.
Anyone interested in taking part in the tree-planting event is requested to contact Michał Kosior in advance: info@amber.org.pl.