POLAND

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A wealth of biodiversity and a backlog of environmental investment

The environment in Poland has wide diversity and includes regions of exceptional natural value that are unmatched by anything in Western Europe. But other parts of the country have been severely degraded by heavy industry, mining and chemical plants.

There is a huge backlog of environmental work to do in improving these degraded areas, as well as some less-severely impacted sections of the environment that are simply suffering from years of neglect. Poland is attempting to rise to the challenge, and the country currently spends more on environmental protection than any other country in Central and Eastern Europe. There have been some positive results, and the condition of the natural environment in Poland has been improving since 1990. But the progress in many areas of the environment is not as fast as might be hoped.

One of Poland's outstanding national treasures is Bialwieża Forest, the last piece of primeval forest in the European lowland, located at the Polish-Belarussian border. The species contained in this forest alone include 1,000 vascular plants, 4,000 fungi, 10,000 insects, 62 mammals and 228 bird species. Other precious natural areas are the Bieszczady mountains, Biebrza Wetlands and numerous nature reserves.

The country as a whole is one of the richest in Europe in terms of biodiversity. Poland has sizeable populations of many species which have become extinct or rare in Western Europe: 632 European bisons, 128 chamois, 68 bears, 822 wolves, 288 lynxes, numerous otters and beavers. There are 8,500 hectares of protected areas that are especially good refuge for birds of prey, and Poland has the second largest population of the white tailed eagle in Europe – over 300 pairs. The country is also home to 25 percent of the world population of white stork and the second largest bat wintering area in Europe.

Even though farming in Poland employs roughly 2 million people, and takes up 60 percent of the country's territory, the low use of mineral fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides – as well as the small average farm size (6 hectares) – help preserve high biodiversity in rural areas.

Nature protection has a long history in Poland, dating back to the 11th century, when the first regulations protecting some huntable species like elk, bear and bison came into force. King Ladislas Jagiello introduced protection of the yew tree in 1423. The last ever aurochs, a species of wild ox, lived in Poland before becoming extinct in 1627.

The country's first national park was established in 1932. At present as much as 29.4 percent of the Poland's territory is protected, but the highest form of protection, national parks and strict reserves, applies to only 1.4 percent of the country.

The pressures on Poland's environment mainly come from industry, especially the energy sector, transportation and poor municipal facilities.

Over 75 percent of the country's electricity is produced by the burning of hard coal and lignite, contributing to a sulfur dioxide emission rate of 2.3 million tonnes per year. While this is one of the highest sulfur dioxide emission rates in Europe, it actually represents a major improvement: Ten years ago, Poland's sulfur dioxide emission rate was twice as high.

Aside from polluting the air, industry, which generated 133 million tonnes of waste in 1998, made Poland one of the biggest waste producers in Europe.

In many Polish municipalities, water supply, wastewater management and solid waste management all pose serious problems. In rural areas, sewage is frequently discharged untreated into local rivers, streams and drainage ditches. Landfills are the most common means for disposing of communal waste, and only 222,000 tonnes of waste, or less than 2 percent of the total, was composted in 1998.

A positive trend of declining emissions from nitrogen oxides has been slowed down by a rapid growth in the number of motor vehicles. In 1997 the biggest share of nitrogen oxides emissions, 36.1 percent, came from transport, while energy production and industry produced 31.2 percent and 21.3 percent respectively.

Poland's efforts to combat its environmental problems include its region-leading spending on environmental protection. The 1998 expenditures on the environment amounted to almost zloty 9 billion, and were 23 percent higher, in current prices, than the previous year. This expenditure represents 1.6 percent of the country's gross domestic product. The greatest share of spending, 51 percent, went toward air protection. The second largest amount of spending, 38 percent, went toward water protection, with the priority given to municipal wastewater treatment facilities and anti-flood embankments.