The draft act on national parks, the purpose of which is to comprehensively regulate the activities of national parks and appoint the director of Polish national parks as the body responsible for supervising their operation, has been consulted and agreed, according to the information on the website of the Government Center Legislation (RCL).
The project assumes an increase in a special-purpose subsidy from the state budget from PLN 92.5 million last year to PLN 134.9 million this year.
The aim of the regulation is to comprehensively regulate the activities of national parks as forms of nature protection and as an institutional entity (entity managing the form of nature protection). Therefore, […] the legal act defines the tasks, principles of operation and organization of national parks. It also contains legal norms relating to the improvement of supervision on the functioning of national parks.
Due to the change in the strategy for the management of national parks in Poland, it is planned to establish a new entity – Polish National Parks, which will include the Directorate of Polish National Parks and national parks. Polish National Parks will be a state legal entity.
Therefore, there will be a concentration in the structure of the functioning of national parks as current state legal persons – out of twenty-three separate entities, one is created, with a central center. As stated in the justification, the reason for such action is the need to improve decision-making in substantive (nature protection) and administrative matters.
It is planned that the tasks of the Polish National Parks will include in particular:
– ensuring nature protection in the area of national parks;
– management of real estate owned by the State Treasury or owned by the Polish National Parks;
– education in the field of environmental protection, with particular emphasis on nature protection in national parks;
– conducting environmental monitoring in the area of national parks;
– protection of cultural heritage in the area of national parks.
According to the project, the director of the Polish National Parks will be responsible for the supervision of the national parks. This is to shorten the circulation of documents necessary for the functioning of national parks (e.g. consent to dispose of property, consent to change the financial plan), but also to facilitate contact between the national parks and their supervisory body.
In turn, the tasks of the newly created Directorate of Polish National Parks will include, in particular:
– determining the draft annual financial plan, submitted to the minister responsible for the environment in the manner specified in the provisions on work on the draft budget act
– preparation of the annual action plan of Polish National Parks and its presentation for approval by the minister responsible for the environment
– coordinating the monitoring and scientific and educational activities of national parks
– providing national parks with necessary assistance in matters requiring decisions of central authorities
– coordinating international cooperation of national parks
– issuing recommendations and guidelines for national parks in the field of their activities
– ensuring the transfer of knowledge between national parks
The basis for the financial management of Polish National Parks will be an annual financial plan with a specific content.
It is planned to increase the special-purpose subsidy from the state budget for national parks, which last year amounted to PLN 92.5 million. In 2022, subsidies for national parks will be increased to PLN 134.9 million, of which PLN 39.25 million for current expenses and PLN 7.49 million for capital expenditures.
The available data show that currently the amount of subsidies from the state budget is not able to secure the proper functioning of national parks and the proper performance by these entities of their statutory tasks in the field of nature protection. The annual needs (costs) of national parks (23 units) are close to the minimum amount of PLN 325 million (data according to the Budget Act for 2021), it was also announced.
National parks’ ability to generate income depends on many variables. A significant part of the revenues currently generated by national parks comes from fees for making the areas of national parks available for tourist and recreational purposes, rent for real estate, as well as the sale of benefits obtained during the implementation of active protection measures. It should be noted that the number of people using the areas of national parks (tourist and recreational purposes) depends, inter alia, on on weather conditions and, as it turns out in the last year, e.g. from the epidemic.
According to the project, it is planned to maintain the transfer to Polish National Parks of not less than PLN 35 million annually from the forest fund, as part of the payments of the General Directorate of State Forests for the Polish National Parks.
Source: RCL and ISBnews
