ENVIRONMENT IN POLAND

ENVIRONMENT IN POLAND

This book is published under the auspices of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry, whose staff have planned and supervised its preparation and arrangedfor its publication. The Ministry wishes above all to thank the Commission of European Communities for their encouragement, and for their financial support under the PHARE Environment Programme in Polandfor the book's publication in both Polish and English editions. Thanks are due in particular to the CEC Delegation in Warsaw Mr. A. H. Dijckmeester, the Ambassador and Head of Delegation. The Commission also gave its support to the brochure prepared and published earlier by the Ministry as part of Poland's contribution to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. This opportunity is also taken to express thanks to the many people who have given their advice and support to the author during the preparation of this book.

MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, NATURAL RESOURCES AND FORESTRY ENVIRONMENT IN POLAND ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS by MACIEJ NOWICKI President of the ECOFUND Foundation; former Minister of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry, Poland SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.

Translated by Roman Tertii and Michael Jacobs Letterman, Translators and Interpreters AI. 3 Maja 9, Cracow Editor: Martyn Bramwell Anagram Editorial Service, 26, Wherwell Road, Guildlord GU2 5JR, England Cover design by Teresa Nowicka Graphics and photographs supplied by P.P.I.U. GEA Ud. ul. Marszafkowska 62/6, Warsaw Illustrations prepared by Jerzy Mikuszewski and Jerzy Konieczny. Technical editor: Boiena Wiliriska. ISBN 978-94-010-4759-3 ISBN 978-94-011-1731-9 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-1731-9 AII rights reserved. 1993 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1993 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1 st edition 1993 No part 01 the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any lorm or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any inlormation storage and retrieval system, without written permission Irom the copyright owner.

Contents PREFACE... 9 INTRODUCTION... 11 Part One THE LEGACY OF THE PAST... 15 Europe after World War II... 15 Western Europe... 15 Central and Eastern Europe... 17 Environmental pollution in Poland... 21 Atmospheric pollution... 21 Water pollution... 22 Waste management... 25 Environmental pollution in Upper Silesia... 25 Other environmentally threatened regions... 26 Consequences of environmental devastation... 27 Nature conservation... 28 Part Two SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE POLISH ECONOMY... 31 At the crossroads... 31 Sustainable development of the principal economic sectors... 35 Restructuring of industry... 35 Reforming the branch structure... 35 Changes within industrial branches... 37 Reform of the energy supply system... 41 Fuels... 42 Electrical power... 46 Heat energy... 50 Energy consumption... 51 Energy policy for 1990-2010 in Poland... 54 Eco-agriculture... 56 Polish agriculture at present... 56 Intensive farming in Western Europe... 58 Ecological farming... 59 The chances for eco-agriculture in Poland... 60

6 Contents Improving the transport system... 65 Urban transport systems... 66 Long-distance transport... 69 Part Three CONSERVATION OF NATURE IN THE STRATEGY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT... 75 Introductory remarks... 75 Conservation of nature... 79 The state of Poland's natural environment... 79 Nature conservation programme... 80 Protection of individual plant and animal species... 81 Ecosystem protection... 82 Forest management... 87 The 'Green Lungs' of Poland... 88 Soil conservation... 89 Preserving the wealth of nature - the basis for sustainable development... 91 Protection of mineral resources... 93 Resource exploitation at present... 93 Programme components... 94 Air quality protection... 101 Carbon dioxide... 101 Methane... 102 Freons and halons... 103 Sulphur dioxide... 104 Nitrogen oxides... 109 Particulates.................. 111 Noise abatement... 112 Water conservation... 117 Water supply............ 117 Water pollution and its causes... 119 Guidelines for water management reform... 122 Waste management... 129 The concept of waste... 129 Municipal waste... 130 Industrial waste... 132 Hazardous waste... 135

Contents 7 Protection from radiation 139 Ionizing radiation... 139 Non-ionizing radiation... 140 Part Four INSTRUMENTS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT POLICY... 143 Reform of environmental law... 143 Current law... 143 New package of environmental laws... 145 Law enforcement... 147 The State I nspectorate of Envi ron mental Protection...... 147 The inspection system... 147 The monitoring system... 148 Economic mechanisms... 153 The current system for collecting environmental protection funds... 153 Anticipated changes in the system of economic incentives... 155 Co-operation with other nations...... 159 Assistance from economically developed countries... 159 Co-operation with neighbouring countries... 162 Regional and international co-operation... 164 Environmental education... 167 Formal education... 167 Activities of non-governmental organizations... 169 The role of science... 170 POLAND AT THE BRINK OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY... 173 Appendix: Poland - selected statistical data... 177 Bibliography... 182 Index... 185

'Policies designed to bring about the economic and social development of Poland, in particular policies relating to industry including the mining sector, investment, agriculture, energy, transport, regional development and tourism should be guided by the principle of sustainable development. This entails ensuring that environmental considerations are fully incorporated into such policies from the outset. ' (Article 71. item 2 of the Treaty of Association with the European Communities. 16 December 1991) Preface In 1989, Poland set off on the road to a fundamental transformation of its political and economic systems. A democratic state governed by law, and the basis for a market economy, are being created. However, makeshift solutions still prevail without a clearly defined vision of economic and social development in the decades to come. This book represents an attempt to outline such a vision, offering the thesis that the only chance to avoid economic, environmental and social crises is by implementing in Poland, as in other European countries, a strategy for sustainable development. Sustainable development strategy assumes the need for changes in the economy to facilitate production of durable, valuable goods that meet the real needs of society, while using the smallest possible amounts of non-renewable resources (energy and raw materials). In this line of thinking, environmental protection should become an integral part of the production process, increasing economic efficiency, improving the health of Poland's citizens and protecting its natural wealth. The author is aware of the controversial nature of many of the theses presented in this book. They should encourage specialists and politicians to begin broad discussions about the future shape of the Republic of Poland. This book is addressed not only to decision-makers but also to all who are interested in environmental protection, and it will serve its purpose if it contributes to the process of creating a comprehensive and consistent programme for the social and economic development of our homeland. The English edition of this book should assist foreign readers in understanding the complexity of the issues that Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe have to tackle, at a time of political transformation which is leading to a united Europe. It is significant that this publication was prepared under the European Community programme of assistance to Poland (PHARE Programme), at the initiative of the Minister of Environmental

Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry, Professor Stefan Kozlowski, and later under the auspices of his successor, Minister Zygmunt Hortmanowicz. I wish to thank all who contributed to the publication of Environment in Poland - Issues and Solutions, and particularly: - the chief co-ordinator of the book's preparation, on behalf of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry, Director of the Project Implementation Unit Jerzy Kwiatkowski, EC adviser Charles B. Coulson and senior specialist Elzbieta Matuszewska; - those who contributed significantly in preparing individual chapters and in improving the draft version - Leszek Baginski, Andrzej Bednarek, Maciej Bernhardt, Bernard Blaszczyk, Andrzej Czyz, Marcin Czerwinski, Andrzej Deja, J6zef Dobija, Zdzislaw Harabin, Wojciech Jaworski, Janusz Kindler, Jan Klopotowski, Zygmunt Rozwalka, Andrzej Walewski, Michal Wilczynski, Krystyna Wyrwicka, Janusz Zurek and Tomasz Zylicz; - Roman TertiI, Elzbieta Nowak and Michael Jacobs for translating the book into English and Martyn Bramwell for editing the English edition of the book; - J. Konieczny and J. Mikuszewski of GEA for the preparation of illustrations and acquisition of photographs; - all employees of Kluwer Academic Publishers and Agencja Reklamowo-Wydawnicza A. Grzegorczyk who helped to produce the book. The combined effort of all these people enabled this book to be issued just a few months after the idea for it was conceived. This is a sign of the times that encourages optimism. Prof. Maciej Nowicki Dr. Sci. Eng.