– We are in the process – said Mikołaj Dorożała, Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment, when asked about the stage of work on creating new national park on the Oder. However, this process is moving forward, the Ministry assures, and we may see the effects as early as next year.
The latest stage – said Dorożała – is to expand the discussion about the Lower Oder Valley National Park. The Ministry is launching a campaign: the park will be promoted by two spots, a cinema and a television one, and a website has been created on the MKiS website a special section dedicated to the creation of the park. There you will find basic information, questions and answers. These are particularly important – said Dorożała – because many “fake news” appeared at the beginning of the discussion.
The questions and answers include: the issue of fishing (which is to be possible in the park) or the fate of hydrotechnical infrastructure (the ministry writes about reconciling nature protection and infrastructure, among others, by unblocking some of the overlanded canals and revitalizing locks).
The ministry emphasized that the website is also intended to facilitate “dialogue and communication” about the park both with residents and people from other parts of Poland. However, in the version released on Friday, there is no form or other way to express your opinion.
The second important point is the completion of work within the ministry on the draft act on the establishment of the park and the resolution on the park's buffer zone. The project is not yet included in the government's list of legislative works. First, the ministry will discuss the details with local governments, and when the final version and full consent are obtained, the act will be processed.
Establishing a park requires not only the adoption of an act, but also the consent of each commune in whose territory it is to be established. – We have created a concept that answers the questions of local communities and addresses the challenges and doubts that have arisen – assured Dorożała.
New national park
There are 23 national parks in Poland. But since 2001 – when the Warta Mouth National Park was created – no new one has been created. There are many ideas for new parks – for example, the Jurassic National Park, the famous Turnicki National Park in the Przemyśl Foothills, and the Masurian National Park. However, none of them have been implemented for over 20 years.
The reason was not only the lack of willingness on the part of governments, but also the negative attitude of municipalities. According to the law, each commune must agree to create a national park in its area. And municipalities are often reluctant because they are afraid of potential restrictions and effects on the local economy (for example, in the case of parks that would cover forests where trees are currently being cut down).
The Ministry of Climate is trying to make nature conservation profitable. Now – as Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska said – communes were somehow “punished” for the presence of a national park, because they obtained more funds from a hectare of forest than from a hectare of national park, and park employees earn much less than, for example, employees of the State Forests.
This will change – in the agreement already signed by president Andrzej Duda, an amendment to the Act on local government units was proposed by the Ministry of Climate ecological subsidy. Next year it will amount to a total of PLN 1.5 billion (and in the future it will be subject to valorization). For example, a commune in which a national park is located will receive PLN 620 for each hectare. In addition, the 2025 budget will include an additional PLN 40 million for national parks.
The Lower Oder Valley National Park is planned in 4 communes: Gryfino, Kołbaskowo, Widuchowa and – in a small part – Szczecin. The park's boundaries are to coincide with the boundaries of the existing landscape park (although some changes are still possible in the course of negotiations with local governments).
An opportunity for municipalities
At the moment, the ministry has not presented specific calculations of how much funding the communes will receive from the subsidy, because – as Dorożała said – it also depends on other revenues (including from taxes). But the deputy minister estimates that the amounts will amount to several hundred thousand zlotys per year for Gryfino and Kołbaskowo and well over one million zlotys for the Widuchowa commune.
The Ministry of Climate argues that the creation of a national park brings not only benefits resulting from subsidies, but also, for example, opportunities for tourism development. These assurances are intended to calm down possible fears in municipalities.
– There were a lot of concerns, but what the Ministry of Climate has presented so far is reassuring – Hubert Andrych, chairman of the District Council in Gryfino, told us. One of the important issues is that the buffer zone of the national park will not extend beyond the river. Also important for residents – said Andrych – are assurances that fishing opportunities will be maintained and flood safety will be improved. He added that additional funds from ecological subsidies are a “strong additional argument” for the creation of the park.
The ministry's management is to discuss further details of the park creation process. – I invited the minister and minister Dorozała to our district council so that they could answer the councilors' questions – Andrych announced.