Nature protection and biodiversity - National Responses (Poland)

For a number of years, Poland has been an active participant on the international scene in the work of organisations and institutions aiming to resolve global and regional environmental and sustainable development issues. One form of this is the adoption and implementation of international agreements and conventions. To date Poland has ratified 12 such multilateral agreements which directly relate to the protection and sustainable utilisation of biodiversity. Many of them operate at a global level, while others take the form of regional or sub-regional agreements.

The environmental protection needs of the country are reflected in a series of programme documents, the most important of them being:

• National Environmental Policy 2009-2012 and Its 2016 Outlook, adopted by the Council of Ministers in December 2008,http://www.mos.gov.pl/g2/big/2009_07/2826c539c3015384e50adac8fe920b0b.pdf
• The national strategy for the protection and sustainable utilisation of biodiversity and the Action Plans for 2007-2013, adopted by the Council of Ministers on 26 October 2007, http://biodiv.mos.gov.pl/biodiv/app/languageChange.do?changeLanguageId=1&documentId=580&forward=article
• 4th National Implementation Report for the Convention on Biological Diversity, http://biodiv.mos.gov.pl/biodiv/app/category.do?categoryId=1613
• Public Environmental Education Strategy – through education to sustainable development (2000), http://www.mos.gov.pl/g2/big/2009_04/97b75873145cdf7e7695ed9573147c78.pdf
• National Policy on Forests (1997), http://www.mos.gov.pl/g2/big/2009_05/5f9cc2dea24d30d948e0ee8cfda51925.pdf
• Common Structural Policy for Rural Development and Farming (1999),
• National Development Strategy 2007-2015, http://www.mrr.gov.pl/english/strategies/srk/strony/srk.aspx
• National Plan for the Strategic Development of Rural Areas, http://www.minrol.gov.pl/eng/content/view/full/18575
• National Strategic Reference Framework (National Cohesion Strategy 2007-2013), http://www.funduszeeuropejskie.gov.pl/WstepDoFunduszyEuropejskich/Documents/NSRO_an_20_07.pdf 
• Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment, http://www.mos.gov.pl/kategoria/1980_infrastructure_and_environment/
• National Afforestation Programme (KPZL) drafted by the Forestry Research Institute, adopted by the government in 1995, updated in 2003. http://www.mos.gov.pl/artykul/326_lesnictwo/296_krajowy_program_zwiekszania_lesistosci.html

Other important links:

Bird monitoring: http://monitoringptakow.gios.gov.pl/
Natural habitats and species monitoring: http://www.gios.gov.pl/siedliska/
Forest monitoring: http://www.gios.gov.pl/monlas/index.html  
Natura 2000: http://natura2000.gdos.gov.pl/natura2000/
DGLP report on the state of the forests: http://www.lasy.gov.pl/dokumenty/in_english/files  
GUS Annual Statistics on Environmental Protection 2009: http://www.stat.gov.pl/gus/5840_1523_ENG_HTML.htm