Land use - National Responses (Poland)

Currently, work on the 2030 National Spatial Planning Concept is ongoing, taking into account current development conditions and the need to improve the system of land-use planning at national level in order to properly assist economic development. The principles of spatial policymaking by local authorities and government administrative bodies are established by law for spatial planning and development, which recognises spatial order and sustainable development as the bases for actions in this connection.

Protecting the Earth’s surface is also one of the priorities of the National Environmental Policy for 2009–12 and Its 2016 Outlook, which adopts as the medium-term objectives for the year 2016: 

• dissemination of good agricultural and forestry practices, consistent with the principles of sustainable development,
• preventing the degradation of agricultural, meadow and wetland areas by anthropogenic factors,
• increasing the scale of recultivation of degraded and devastated land, restoring them to natural, recreational or agricultural functions.

According to the Environment Protection Law, the protection of the Earth’s surface can be summarised as the cross-sectoral activities aimed at maintaining a high quality of surface soil by the rational use of management techniques, conservation of natural values and the possibility of productive use, limiting changes in the natural formation, maintaining soil and land quality above or at least at the level of required standards, bringing the quality of soil and land to the required standards if they are not met, preserving cultural value, including archaeological treasures.

According to the Act on the Protection of Arable and Forest Land, the protection of agricultural and forest land must include:

• reducing earmarking them for non-agricultural or non-forest purposes,
• preventing the process of their degradation and devastation,
• counteracting the negative effects of non-agricultural activities reducing the productive potential of soils,
• recultivating and developing land for agriculture,
• conserving the bogs and ponds as natural water reservoirs.

References:

Results of the CLC 2000 and CLC 2006 projects (http://clc.gios.gov.pl/).

Elżbieta Bielecka ‘Charakterystyka głównych kierunków zmian pokrycia terenu w Polsce w latach 1990-2006’ (Characteristics of the main directions of land cover change in the years 1990–2006), Warsaw 2009, unpublished material.

GIOŚ ‘Raport o stanie środowiska w Polsce 2008’ (Report on the State of the Environment in Poland 2008).

GIOŚ report ‘Stan środowiska w Polsce na tle celów i priorytetów Unii Europejskiej. Raport wskaźnikowy 2004’ (The state of environment in Poland vs. European Union objectives and priorities. Indicator report 2004). http://www.gios.gov.pl/zalaczniki/artykuly/rap_wskaz2004_pl.pdf

Experts’ design of the country spatial development concept by the year 2033, Warsaw, December 2008 (http://www.mrr.gov.pl/rozwoj_regionalny/poziom_krajowy/polska_polityka_przestrzenna/prace_nad_KPZK_2008_2033/Documents/PE_KPZK_STYCZEN_z_ERRATA_NA_STRONIE.pdf).

The updated concept of National Spatial Management (Warsaw, October 2005).

The concept of national spatial policy (MP No 26, Item 432, p. 502) (http://www.mrr.gov.pl/rozwoj_regionalny/poziom_krajowy/polska_polityka_przestrzenna/koncepcja_polityki_przestrzennego_zagospodarowania_kraju/Documents/7a49ee2589b4472c822ff9cec186b4f9KPPZKMonitorPolski1_1.pdf).

The National Environmental Policy for 2009–12 and Its 2016 Outlook (http://www.mos.gov.pl/g2/big/2009_07/2826c539c3015384e50adac8fe920b0b.pdf).

CSO Environment Protection Statistical Yearbooks (http://www.stat.gov.pl).

‘Polska 2030. Wyzwania rozwojowe’ (Poland 2030. Development challenges), the document presented on June 17 this year and prepared by the Strategic Advisory Group of the President of the Council of Ministers chaired by Minister Michał Boni, Warsaw, 2009 (http://www.zdp.kprm.gov.pl/index.php?id=243).