1.The Coastal Zone
1.1 Description of the coastal zone
1.2 Definition of the coastal zone
1.3 Setback lines policy
2. Coastal Management
2.1 Authority
2.2 Policy
2.3 Legislation
3. Spatial Planning in the Coastal Zone
3.1 Authority
3.2 Policy
3.3 Legislation
4. Coastal and Marine Environmental Policy
5. Coastal and Marine Nature Conservation Policy
5.1 Authority
5.2 Policy
5.3 Legislation
6. Economic Developments, Important Sectors and Trends
6.1 Recreation and tourism
6.2 Coastal defence
7. The Current State of Integrated Coastal Zone Management
7.1 Legal framework
7.2 Finished projects
7.3 Ongoing projects
7.4 Initiatives related to ICZM
7.5 Evaluation
8. NGOs and Other Private Stakeholders
9. References

1.The Coastal Zone

1.1 Description of the coastal zone
The total length of the Polish coastline, including the banks of internal sea waters, i.e. the Szczecin and Vistula Lagoons, is 843 km. It is comprised of 500 km of seacoast, 241 km of the Szczecin Lagoon and 102 km of the Vistula Lagoon. The Polish coast includes sandbars with dunes, cliff coasts and lagoons, coastal lakes, river estuaries and delta plains. Dune shores, related to littoral accumulation, occupy about 71% of the length of the coast. Upland shores occupy about 19%, the remaining 10% being low, lagoon shores and harbour areas. The majority of shore accumulation forms occurring on the Polish coast are threatened. It appears from Maritime Office data that about 50% of the dune and 65% of the cliff shores have been devastated.

1.2 Definition of the coastal zone
There is no precise legal definition of the entire coastal zone. The variable boundaries of the Protective Belt are used for terrestrial planning purposes. The seaward boundary of the Technical Belt is established as ‘on the water line at mean sea level’ by regulation of the Prime Minister. The lower part of the inter-tidal and the marine zone are thus outside this definition, although the small tides in this part of the Baltic Sea mean that the width of inter-tidal shore below this line is generally narrow.

1.3 Setback lines policy
The Act on Marine Areas of the Polish Republic and Maritime Administration (1991) established a protected coastal strip running the length of the Polish coastline, including internal marine areas, i.e. Vistula Lagoon, Szczecin Lagoon. This strip comprises the Technical Belt and the Protective Belt which must be marked on all Land Use Plans. The technical belt is used for ensuring adequate safety and state of the environment, whereas the protective belt is established in order to control the negative impact of human activity in areas directly adjoining the technical belt landward of the technical belt.

The Technical Belt has been established for the whole Polish coastline and extends up to 200m inland, according to the type of coast. In dune areas it is up to 200m landward of the dune ridge; for cliffs it is up to 100 m landward of the upper edge of the cliff; and for the lagoons it is up to 200 m landward of the shore. In some areas, it has been increased to as much as 1 km wide, but in urban areas and along the shores of lagoons it can be much narrower. According to the 1991 Act, it is ‘an area designed for maintaining the coast in a state conforming with the requirements of safety and environmental protection’. The relevant Maritime Office must approve all uses of this strip. It is primarily intended for coastal and environmental protection.

The Protective Belt extends generally up to 2 km inland from the landward boundary of the Technical Belt but in some places it widens to 5 km. In urban areas it can be much narrower. The Belt is intended to limit the impact of human activities on the Technical Belt and consequently there are restrictions on land use and development to ensure they do not have a negative influence on the state of the Technical Belt. All permissions for building within these zones must have the approval of the relevant Maritime Office. In essence, it is acting as a buffer zone.

2. Coastal Management

2.1 Authority
The scope of competence of maritime administration and other local and governmental administrative bodies can be divided into three areas:

The territorial sea and marine internal waters
Maritime Administration enjoys full competence as regards the location and the substance of issues, with the exception of construction permits and water supply and sewage effluent disposal consents, i.e. the so-called water law permits. However, these require consultation with the competent head of the maritime office within the territory. Another exception is permits for the extraction of seabed resources which require consultation with the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Economy. Construction and water law permits are issued by provincial governors. Maritime Administration is competent to issue decisions in terms of land development and spatial management in this area.

The technical belt
Maritime Administration is responsible for the preparation and execution of the protection of the shore and the environment, as well as for issuing permits for all kinds of use, with the exception of construction and water law permits and for the consultation of local spatial management plans and decisions. Construction and water law permits are issued by other administrative bodies on condition that they have received the approval of a competent maritime authority.

The protective belt
Water law permits and decisions related to construction, changes in land use, as well as the elaboration of spatial management plans, are effected by competent ‘land’ bodies in consultation with the competent maritime authority.

2.2 Policy
There is no national policy regarding coastal management. A new concept of spatial planning for the coastal zone is being discussed. At a regional level, the principles of development and conservation are being discussed as a first step to create the Regional Strategy of Development. On a local level, some documents are being prepared which should function as a framework for spatial planning in the future.

2.3 Legislation
There is no separate national legislation for coastal zone planning and management. A number of legal instruments cover either the terrestrial or the marine part of the coastal zone. Many of these instruments are recent Acts that have been introduced in the course of the major political and administrative transition in Poland.

Legislation relevant to coastal zone management:

• The Environmental Law Act, 2001
• The Act on Access to Information on the Environment and Its Protection and on Environmental Impact Assessments, 2000
• The Act on Nature Conservation, 1991 and the changes made to it in 2000

This describes and defines the protection of e.g. dunes.

• The Act on the Protection of Agricultural and Forest Land, 1995
• The Act on Environmental Protection and Development, 1994

This act forms the basis of current environmental legislation in Poland.

• The Geological and Mining Law Act, 1994
• The Hunting Law, 1995
• The Act on Marine Areas of the Polish Republic and Maritime Administration, 1991

This legal instrument regulates the administration of both marine areas and the coastal belt. The Act also establishes the competence of the maritime administration (Maritime Offices) and other governmental and local authorities.

• The Water Law Act, 1974
  The Act defines tasks associated with the management and protection of water and its sources. Regional water management boards are responsible for the strategic management of water resources. The Act describes the terms of proper water usage and the regulatory tool used for this purpose, the so-called water permit.

3. Spatial Planning in the Coastal Zone

3.1 Authority
There are four planning levels in Poland, i.e. national, regional, county and local.

National
The Housing and Urban Development Office is the governmental agency that is responsible for the general co-ordination and standardisation of physical planning. The Government Centre for Strategic Studies is responsible for the national physical development policy and other kinds of planning at this level. Furthermore, the Ministry of the Environment has guiding and control tasks in respect to environmental issues of spatial planning.

Regional
There are 16 provinces, or voivodships, in Poland, three of which are situated on the coast, being the West-Pomeranian, Pomeranian and Varmian-Masurian. The voivodships are self-governing authorities. The regional self-government, headed by the Marshal of the Vovoidship, has full responsibility for strategic and spatial planning. The regional body for planning is the Marshal’s Office and the Department of Strategy and Development. Other institutions involved in the formulation and implementation of regional plans include regional development agencies, NGOs, foundations, etc.

County
The role of counties in public administration is an intermediary one, with no specific planning competencies.

Local
There are 1489 communes in Poland which have substantial planning responsibilities, however their enforcement potential is rather weak. All local communes are obliged to prepare and approve a ‘local comprehensive planning document’, which formulates the preconditions and directions for physical development. National and regional goals and directions are to be taken into account when elaborating these plans. The detailed spatial plans are prepared as a legal instrument for the development permits.

3.2 Policy
The 1994 Physical Development Act regulates the goals and principles of spatial development and planning, adopting sustainable development as a foundation. Since the mid-1990s, most of the planning and policy-forming activities in Poland have been performed at the local and regional level by self-governmental institutions. The basic regulation is the Physical Development Act of 1994 but the drawback of the Polish system is that planning, building and environmental protection issues are regulated by completely different acts. It also must be said that many communes have not yet enforced their local comprehensive plans. The Ministry of the Environment is responsible for the so-called “protection plans”, prepared for the National and Landscape (regional) Parks. However, these plans do not belong to the category of spatial plans in the sense of the Physical Development Act and their provisions are binding for the regulations of the statutory local comprehensive and detailed spatial development plans.

At the national level, the Concept of National Spatial Development Policy is being elaborated as a strategic document (the present document is called “Poland 2000 plus”). One of the key components of the Concept is sustainability. Alongside the socio-economic and environmental policy documents (strategies), it is supposed to operate as a tool for indirect regulation of structural changes in Poland (especially the physical space, incl. environment), during the process of transition to a market driven economy. In this respect, it is co-ordinated with the umbrella document of the Polish government “Sustainable Development Strategy for Poland till 2025”.

Moreover, drafts of substantial amendments to the Physical Development Act and the Environmental Protection Act have been submitted to the Parliamentary Commission.

3.3 Legislation
Other regulations and legislation relevant to spatial planning are:

• The Act on Municipal Self-government, 1990,
• The Act on Marine Areas of the Polish Republic and Maritime Administration, 1991,
• Construction Law, 1995,
• General Building Regulations, 1997
• Protected Belts Act, 1997
  

4. Coastal and Marine Environmental Policy

Over the last few years no national plans, programmes or strategies have been approved at the ministerial level. One of the main problems in this field appears to be that at the ministerial level no lobbying bodies exist that work on coastal zone management and protection. Although some preliminary work has been started, large-scale successes have not yet been achieved. The new Polish Constitution states that sustainable development shall be a basic principle of any policy which is at least a good general platform for the introduction of ICZM.

At present, the New National Environment Policy is formulated by the government and being discussed in the Parliament. The document calls for actions in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development of Poland at the turn of the century. The principle of sustainable development has been adopted as a leading principle of the New National Environment Policy. The primary objective of the state environmental policy is to ensure ecological safety for the country, its inhabitants and natural resources by applying such measures as legal regulations and control in reference to the use of the environment. The transposition of the respective EU regulations into the Polish legal system is an important element necessary for the achievement of this objective.

5. Coastal and Marine Nature Conservation Policy

5.1 Authority
The provincial governor has the basic competencies in terms of the introduction of certain forms of nature conservation and is authorised to establish reserves. Boards of communes are competent to implement different forms of individual protection, to establish protected landscape areas and to introduce species protection. Certain rights, related to management, organisation and supervision lie with the head of the county. The authority regarding protective forests is either the minister, in the case of forests that are the property of the State Treasury, or the provincial governor, for all other forests.

5.2 Policy
A long-term programme for coastal protection was approved in 1986 and revised in 1989. A new long-term coastal policy in under preparation which will mainly consist of technical guidelines. Moreover, Poland has established several parks, reserves and protected areas.

Protected areas in the coastal zone cover a total of 154,512 ha, almost 0.5% of the country’s area. There are 2 national parks, 66 nature reserves, 5 landscape parks and 5 areas of protected landscapes. The following tables present the basic data concerning the large protected natural areas in the coastal zone.

Table 1: National parks and their geographical status (in hectares)

Table 2: Landscape parks and their geographical status (in hectares)

Table 3: Protected landscape areas and their total surface (in hectares)

Two national parks protect two different types of dry coastal ecosystems in Poland. The Wolinski National Park in the north-western cliff zone was established in 1960, while the Slowinski National Park on the sandy coast, with large mobile dunes, was established in 1966. The latter was nominated as a ‘Biosphere Reserve’ in 1980. Both these parks have made large scientific investigations possible in all spheres of the national sciences. They have preserved the most valuable landscapes with their vegetation and fauna.

Many nature reserves of different character protect special forms of coastal landscapes, special types of soils (notably naspa soils and classical podzolized soils), rare plants, plant communities and animals. In the so-called ‘reserves of protected landscape’ the human impact on nature is greatly restricted. Another aspect concerns the stabilisation of primary white dunes developing along the beach. The main danger for the landscape, and for the coastal vegetation, consists in the invasion of tourists and holiday-makers as well as in the construction of different kinds of weekend houses with camping and parking areas or even of big tourist amenities in the direct vicinity of the coast.

5.3 Legislation
Legal Acts pertaining to environmental protection:

• The Water Law Act, 1974
• The Act on the establishment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, National Resources and Forestry, 1989
• The Act on Nature Conservation, 1991
• The Act on Marine Areas of the Polish Republic and Maritime Administration, 1991
• The Act on the establishment of the State Inspection for Environmental Protection, 1991
• The Act on Nature Conservation, 1991 and the changes made to it in 2000
• The Act on fees for Economic Use of the Environment, 1993
• The Geological and Mining Law Act, 1994
• The Act on Environmental Protection and Development, 1994
• The Act on the Protection of Agricultural and Forest Land, 1995
• The Act on Access to Information on the Environment and its Protection and on Environmental Impact Assessments, 2000
• The Environmental Law Act, 2001
  

6. Economic Developments, Important Sectors and Trends

6.1 Recreation and tourism
The coastal zone is a traditional area of mass recreation and tourism activity. About 30% of the tourist facilities in Poland are located along the coastal strips. Unplanned development of tourism facilities on the Polish coast in the past has caused a concentration of recreation places in, or close to, areas of natural beauty. A number of these areas have experienced serious degradation, water and air pollution, devastation of flora on sand dunes and cliffs and deterioration of forests and open spaces. Programmes for the protection of about 100 landscape parks and many nature reserves in Poland are being planned and implemented. To prepare for the sustainable development of the Polish seaside, a study of the coastal zone has been made. This study includes: documentation of the natural resources, protection programmes, comprehensive assessments including environmental impact assessment for recreation and health services needed; assessment of the degradation or anthropogenic effects on the natural environment and assessments of the environmental impacts of existing and proposed investments and developments.

6.2 Coastal defence
Over 100 km of the Polish shoreline is now protected in some form by means of groynes, seawalls, bulkheads, revetments and increasingly artificial beach nourishment. The Act on the Forests (1991) describes which forests in the coastal belt are understood as 'protective forests'. A strategy for coastal defence is under preparation which will mainly consist of technical guidelines.

7. The Current State of Integrated Coastal Zone Management

7.1 Legal framework
There is no national legislation that can be identified as ICZM regulations or decrees. Since no formal mechanism has been installed to facilitate or promote integration as regards ICZM and there is no national policy or legislation for ICZM, overall legislation concerning management and planning is applied. Poland has created a framework for the development of ICZM which could be perceived as an important international incentive for a more integrated approach by signing numerous conventions. Moreover, Poland has engaged in international discussions on the implementation of ICZM and accepted international obligations to meet certain criteria and pursue a strategy of sustainable development in numerous fields, including coastal areas.

7.2 Finished projects

ICZM in The Baltic States and Poland
This satellite-image and GIS (Geographic Information System) based project was executed from December 1997 to the middle of 2000. The aim of this project was to give Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland the opportunity to better manage their coastal resources in an environmental and sustainable way. The specific pilot project in Poland (Coastal Processes and Dynamics, Wladyslawowo Municipality) was located in the Wladyslawowo area. The establishment of an Information Centre in Gdansk, and adhering hardware and software installation and testing, in combination with training of the Information Centre personnel are some of the main results, next to the elaboration of the project itself.

High Quality Tourism
The focus of this project is to improve and combine tourism and sustainable development in regions with a large share of protected areas. The end result was a handbook for local actors and Iinked tourism projects within, and between, the regions.

SEBtrans (The South East Baltic Future Transport pattern and the TEM-TER development zone)
The project aimed to establish a transport corridor as a zone of accelerated development, TEM (Katowice-Gdynia-Karlskrona) and consisted of four sub-projects dealing with transport corridors, modes and technologies and regional development in the South East Baltic. It includes transport patterns and intermodal solutions on short sea shipping and combined transports, an impact study in the TEM/TER development zone, a forecast of passenger traffic in the South-East Baltic and a regional impact study to evaluate the impact of traffic development and trade flows on a local and regional level.

7.3 Ongoing projects

Conservation of the Oder Delta
This joint demonstration project, executed by EUCC - The Coastal Union and (EUCC) Poland, started in 1995. The main aims of the project are to purchase strategically located land and to promote ecologically sustainable development in the area. The goal is to integrate environmental protection with economic development.

ICZM plan for the Oder and Vistula Lagoons
These plans have been developed under the auspices of the HELCOM Working Group for Coastal Lagoons and Wetlands (HELCOM PITF MLW), being the subsidiary of HELCOM PITF. Provisions included in these plans have been incorporated into the development strategies for Poland’s coastal provinces. Additionally, the Union of the Vistula Lagoon is to take responsibility for the implementation of ICZM plans for the Vistula Lagoon. A programme to support the participation of integrated management of the Vistula Lagoon was elaborated in 2000. The aim of the project is to provide the support for implementation of the ICZM plan for the Vistula Lagoon by dissemination of knowledge on ICZM among local authorities and the public, by organising public hearings on ICZM. A similar project is to be implemented for the Szczecin Lagoon.

Waterfront Urban Development
The objective of this project is to find solutions for downtown and dock areas and small towns situated on the waterways in their hinterlands where numerous cities have been turned away from the waterfront.

SuPortNet
SuPortNet focuses on planning activities in regions of the South- East Baltic. SuPortNet aims at implementing integrated spatial planning and management in various locations that need improving harbour facilities.

MATROS
This is a project on spatial (incl. environmental impact) issues connected with the maritime transport and harbours.

WUD
This project is concerned with waterfront urban developments, coastal zones in the towns and cities attractive for multipurpose development).

7.4 Initiatives related to ICZM

Joint Comprehensive Environmental Action Programme for the Baltic Sea (JCP)
The JCP was adopted in 1992 to constitute a ‘Strategic Action Plan’ for the Baltic Sea region. It provides an environmental management framework for long-term restoration of the ecological balance of the Baltic Sea ecosystem through a series of preventive and curative actions to be undertaken in a phased manner in the region. The five recipient countries, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Russian Federation opted for Global Environment Facility (GEF) assistance within this framework through the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank. Updated and strengthened in 1998, the JCP Framework has formed a fruitful basis for further regional projects.

7.5 Evaluation
A PROCOAST report concluded that in Poland, ‘Although nutrient supply could be stabilised by establishing new sewage treatment plants, eutrophication is still a problem. Changes in fish stock composition could be observed. There are protected areas, but a monitoring programme exists for the marine environment only. Parts of the coasts are affected by coastal defence construction due to the danger of flooding and erosion’. The general conclusion that was drawn is that there is a lack of knowledge and attention to coastal environmental issues.

8. NGOs and Other Private Stakeholders

Some of the most important NGO's concerned with nature conservation are:

Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB)

The first environmental NGO-network established in the Baltic Sea Region, established in 1990. Today it has 25 member organisations in all 9 countries bordering the Baltic Sea. The main goal of CCB is the protection and improvement of the Baltic Sea environment and natural resources. It is gathering, producing and distributing information about environmental problems in the Baltic Sea Area.

ECOBALTIC Foundation

The foundation aims to raise the public awareness and to conduct ecological education in the field of nature protection and related scientific research. It publishes materials on ecological issues.

EUCC - The Coastal Union - Poland (EUCC Poland)

An organisation concerned with sustainable use of coastal resources.

International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Commission of Human Ecology (CHE/IUAES)

The CHE/IUAES is specifically concerned with support for research in human ecology, information exchange, co-ordination of international research programme on the bio-social status of human populations as an indicator of environmental changes.

League for the Conservation of Nature in Poland

The organisation aims at the conservation of nature, ecological education, especially in schools, protest group, publications, co-operation with other organisations in Poland and abroad.

National Council for Protection of Nature in Poland

OTOP

The Polish Society for the Protection of Birds

PTOP

The North Podlasian Society for Bird Protection is active in North Eastern Poland, and aims at protecting birds and their habitats, documenting the current status of and the changes in the birdlife of the North Podlasian Lowland. Another goal is to raise public awareness of the threat to the survival of bird-life and the possibilities of their protection.

An extensive list of nearly all NGO’s in Poland can be found at www.rec.org.

9. References

Eeltink M, Background document ICZM National Files: Baltic Sea Region, EUCC report, Netherlands, June 2000, p. 28/32

Ellul, Anthony, 1996. Council of Europe. Tourism and environment in European countries.

EUCC, 1999. National report – Poland.

EUCC, 2000. Policy Instruments for ICZM in Nine Selected European Countries – Poland. (PC 2006)

Houston, J., 1993. Coastal Management in Poland.

Ministry of the Environment, Department of Environmental Protection, 2000. Information on the Practical work on integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) and on division of competence as regards management and planning in the coastal areas in Poland, Poland.

PROCOAST project secretariat, Proceedings of the Interregional Seminar on the Harmonisation of uses and interests in the Baltic Sea Coastal Zones, October 2000

PROCOAST project secretariat, Procoast State of the art report. Background document for Coastal Zone Planning and Management in the Baltic Sea region, August 2000, p147/154

VASAB 2010 Compendium of spatial planning systems in the Baltic Sea Region,