Appeal for the Protection of the Tatra National Park and All National Parks in Poland


In Poland, as in other coutries in the civilized world, national parks represent the highest form of nature protection.  22 such parks exist in Poland, among which are two of the most valued parks in all of East Central Europe.  The first of these parks is Bialowieza National Park  and includes the last fragment of primeval forest in the Central European plans.  The second is the Tatra National Park which - together with its partner park in Slovakia - is dedicated to the preservation of the Tatra Mountains. The Tatras are not a particularly large mountain range (their terrain is approximately 1000 times smaller than the Alps), but  they possess some of the most diverse species of plants and animals, and are the highest moutains between the Alps and the Caucasus. The Tatra National Park is also listed as a UNESCO Biophere Reserve site.
The Tatras are a refuge for several endangered species of plants and animals (including the Stone Pine, Chamois, Golden Eagle, Brown Bear, lynx, and wolf).  Unfortunately, this region is also a central area for businesses associated with ski and  recreation development.  The Tatra resort city of Zakupane is the center of the winter sports industry in Poland.
Many of these highly destructive activities undertaken by industry are in violation of present laws governing the Tatra National Park.  The law states that with regard to nature preservation, "It is prohibited to build or enlarge any standing building or machinery within a national park or nature reseve" (October 16, 1991 Legislation Announcement Nr. 114, Entry 492--Art. 36, statute 1).
Despite the existance of such legislation, Polish politicians and business people are ardently trying to turn the Tatra National Park into a Disneyland-like ski park. They actively sought to win a bid to host the winter Olympics in the Tatras.  Fortunately, this attempt failed, however, since the appointment of the new environmental minister last year, the investment lobbies have begun to successfully attack the integrity of the Tatra National Park.
 The new minister refused to allow the Tatra National Park administration to take a particularly controversial matter to court.  Under pressure from the minister of the environment, the director of the park was forced to withdraw a complaint against the mayor of Zakopane's decision to allow the building of a new sky cable car line, 6-7 times the size of the existing operation.  Environmental nonprofit organizations took the complaint to court, but lost the case.  In short, the result is that investors now will be allowed to build the new cable line in the Tatra National Park.
The Minister of Environment negotiated an "agreement" with local municipal administrators at the end of  March that grants special privileges to recreational businesses.  Such changes threaten the integrity and stability of the functioning of the park, and interfere with the park management's basic obligation of protecting nature.  These plans include a reduction in the park's size by 400 hectares, approximately 2% of its total area.  The Tatra National Park Scientific Council has stated that, this arrangement establishes "a precedent for allowing the development of objectives that have nothing to do with nature protection in the bordering areas of the park, a trend that will be very damaging to wilderness."   The council has also accused the minister of environment of allowing influential lobbies to disregard the letter and spirit of the law regarding the protection of nature (referring to legislation established in 1991), according to which all structures and state property within the borders of national parks should be managed by park administrators (and not private businesses).  According to law professor Wojciech Radecki, "this 'agreement,' has no normative meaning insofar as its negotiation demonstrates a basic lack of legal processes.  Attempts to carry out the provisions of this agreement will lead to many violations of Polish law."
The Tatra National Park Scientific Council, as well as other respected and influential organizations such as the State Nature Protection Council, were excluded from the above negotiations.  Civic organizations dedicated to nature protection and thousands of individual citizens in a postition to influence public opinion were also denied an opportunity to participate in these discussions.  This act was a violation of the Aarhus Convention on the "Access to Information and the Inclusion of Society in Decision-making" and as well as the provision on "Justice in Matters regarding the Environment."   Poland has signed both these international provisions.   The negotiations violate, not only international law, but the Polish constitution (Articles 54, 61, and 74).  
At present, if there has been an blatent violation of law, it is possible to overturn a decision.   However, the Polish parliament is exploring the possiblity of making legislative changes that essentially threaten the existence of national parks in Poland and their ability to fulfill their most basic objective--protecting Polish heritage in the form of its natural treasures.

The projected changes include the following:

•   The possibility of reducing the size or liquidating the national parks altogether, opening park terrain to various interest groups with the assistance of parliamentary lobbyists.

•   Imposing a new category of protection on national parks.  This new category of "landscape protection" would replace the existing forms of "strict" and "partial" protection.  Such status leads to a trend of allowing development in the form of recreation industry businesses, including the erecting of buildings and machinery.   Such allowances conflict with the general ban on introducing new buildings and machinery in Poland's national parks (Article 36).    

Restrictions on civic organizations' ability to participate in nature protection within national and landscape parks and forest districts.  This is an anti- democratic manoeuvre, not surprising in a totalitarian state, but intolerble in a democratic society.

In the present climate, social protests against the  projected changes have not had any impact on a government which has disregarded both domestic law statutes and international treaties. The opposition efforts of scientific councils and environmental nonprofit organizations have been  ignored.
Due to the urgency of the present situation we are making an appeal to the entire international community to intervene in the Polish government's plans to dismantle the present national park system, in an effort to save the Tatra National Park and all national parks in Poland.  
Please send letters of protest to the Polish president, prime minister, and the Polish parliament (see addresses below), stressing the violation of laws protecting nature in Poland

Please direct correspondence to the followng addresses:

Minister of the Environment, Antoni Tokarczuk
ul. Wawelska 52/54
00-922 Warszawa
Poland
tel: (48-22) 825-33-55
fax: (48-22) 825-33-46

The President of Poland, Aleksander Kwaoniewski
ul. Wiejska 10
00-902 Warszawa
Poland
tel: (48-22) 695-29-00
fax: (48-22) 695-22-38

The Prime Minister of Poland, Jerzy Buzek
Al. Ujazdowskie
00-583 Warszawa
Poland
tel: (48-22) 694-60-00
fax: (48-22) 628-68-46

The Sejm Environmental Committee
ul. Wiejska 4/6
00-902 Warszawa
Poland
tel: (48-22) 694-21-85
fax: (48-22) 694-18-33

The Senate Environmental Committee
ul. Wiejska 6/8
00-902 Warszawa
Poland
tel: (48-22) 694-20-50
fax: (48-22) 694-14-39


Pracownia na rzecz wszystkich istot, Dolina Wapienicy
Workshop for all beings, Poland
member of: Native Forest Network, International Wolf Federation, Taiga Rescue Network
wapienica@pnrwi.most.org.pl, PO BOX 40, 43-304 Bielsko-Biala 4, tel/fax 033/8183153
http://www.most.org.pl/pnrwi/
prenumeruj nasz miesiecznik DZIKIE ZYCIE!
http://www.most.org.pl/pnrwi/dz/

The Prime Minister of Poland, Jerzy Buzek
Al. Ujazdowskie
00-583 Warszawa
Poland
tel: (48-22) 694-60-00
fax: (48-22) 628-68-46
e-mail: cirinfo@kprm.gov.pl

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

I am writing in order to protest an arrangement by the Polish environmental minister last March, which threatens the integrity and existance of the Tatra National Park, and ultimately all national parks in Poland.  These plans undermine the park's prescribed objective of nature protection and open the floodgates for unbridled economic development within park borders.   
The Tatra National Park is a UNESCO Biophere Reserve site
.  The Tatras possess a great diversity in plant and animal species and are a refuge for several endangered species (including the Stone Pine, Chamois, Golden Eagle, Brown Bear, lynx, and wolf).  
Many destructive activities undertaken by industry--for example, expanded ski and recreation development within park borders--are in violation of present laws governing the Tatra National Park. Despite the existance of such legislation, since the appointment of the new environmental minister last year, investment lobbies have begun to successfully attack the integrity of the Tatra National Park.  Negotiations made by the environmental minister last March violate both international law and the Polish constitution (Articles 54, 61, and 74).
In voicing my protest, I would like to stress the following points:

1. The lack of legal validity and potential environmental devastation in the Tatras resulting from the "agreement" arranged by the Minister of the Environment on March 31, 2000.   

2. A need for measures to be taken toward nullifyng the negative results of this agreement with regard to the Tatra National Park, including a suspension of plans to contruct new and/or expand existing recreational infrastructure in the Tatras.

3. A need for the enhancement of state support for all Polish national parks.

4.  A demand to exclude legal measures that weaken nature protection in Poland, especially laws outlining the status of national parks in compliance with international standards (the removal of legislative changes resulting in environmental destruction), and the permanent blocking of attempts to evade these laws.

5. A need for efforts to strengthen legislation protecting national parks and the rights of the public to information and civic participation in decisions regarding environmental and nature protection.   

Thank you for your attention to these matters.



The President of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski
e-mail: listy@prezydent.pl

Minister of the Environment, Antoni Tokarczuk
e-mail: Antoni.Tokarczuk@mos.gov.pl

The Sejm
Maciej.Plazynski@sejm.gov.pl