Will the local government decide about a nature reserve? “Nature management requires dialogue”

The Polish People’s Party together with Polska 2050 have just presented a draft amendment to the Nature Protection Act. The proposal assumes a significant change in the rules for creating reserves – currently the decision on this matter is made by the Regional Director for Environmental Protection, but the new regulations would introduce an additional requirement to obtain the consent of the commune council. We talk to Urszula Pasławska (PSL), chairwoman of the Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry, about who should decide on the creation of reserves in Poland and how the amended regulations would function in practice.

Beata Anna Święcicka, “Wprost”: A few days ago, a draft amendment to the Nature Protection Act appeared. According to his idea, local communities would have a greater influence on the creation of reserves. Does this mean that they currently have no such influence?

Urszula Pasławska: They do, but minimal and non-binding. In the current legal situation, the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection may establish a reserve independently, by way of an act of local law in the form of an ordinance, in accordance with Art. 13 of the Act of 16 April 2004 on nature protection.

We want to change this by introducing the obligation to agree decisions with the commune council. We believe that residents should have an influence on shaping the future of their surroundings.

The project stipulates that the creation of a nature reserve will require consultation with the commune council. Let’s consider a hypothetical situation: the Ministry of Climate will want to create a reserve, and the councilors will say “no”. What then?

Our act includes appropriate “safeguards”, such as the supervision of the voivode and the so-called tacit consent. If the commune council does not agree to the reserve, the Ministry of Climate has an appeal to the voivode, who may repeal the negative resolution within 30 days. And if the councilors do not adopt any resolution within 30 days, it is considered automatic consent to the creation of the reserve.

The first comments on the proposed amendment are extremely emotional. Supporters of the project will say that it strengthens the participation of local communities, while opponents may fear that it will make it difficult to create new reserves and that nature conservation issues will become secondary in the clash with local interests. Will you refute this accusation?

Nature management requires dialogue and balancing the interests of various communities. Therefore, the project introduces solutions to ensure balance. Firstly, as I have already mentioned, a short, thirty-day deadline for the council’s decision and the possibility of the voivode’s intervention to protect the national interest. It also introduces the obligation to widely inform the public about plans to create a reserve. Secondly, the draft ordinance must be made available for at least 90 days in the Public Information Bulletin kept by the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection and the relevant commune, as well as on notice boards and in any other manner customary in a given commune. This means a transparent public consultation process that allows all parties to express their views and take further steps.

The proposed new regulations cover not only the creation of reserves, but also their subsequent enlargement, changes in conservation goals, and even liquidation. Should the local government also have an influence on these decisions?

The reserve influences the local economy and spatial planning, or simply the lives of residents. The participation of the commune council in decisions on the expansion or liquidation of the reserve is intended to ensure coherence between nature protection and local development policy. Moreover, the proposed law has a chance to open a discussion on financial compensation for local governments in which reserves are established.

If, for example, industry cannot develop there, the communes will receive the entire subsidy for forms of nature protection, which they will allocate to the necessary investments.

The project may spark a broader political dispute over who should actually decide about nature protection in Poland: an official, an environmental protection expert or the local community. Isn’t this a contribution to a heated social debate?

Such a discussion is natural and necessary, and the dispute should be a way to reach a compromise.

Nature is the property of all Poles, therefore it should be managed in dialogue also with society. We had many signals that reserves were being created without the consent of residents.

That’s why we propose an inclusive and democratic solution. We give local communities greater decision-making power, without reducing the role of the opinions of substantive bodies, such as the Regional Council for Nature Conservation.

And finally, the most important question: what are the chances of supporting this project in the Sejm? Have you already had talks with your colleagues from the coalition and will you also talk to the opposition?

Such conversations are ongoing. The chances of support are increased by the strong support of industry organizations, such as the National Section of Forestry Workers of NSZZ “Solidarność”. The postulate of decentralization, i.e. increasing the role of local governments, is also consistent with the programs of various parliamentary groups. We believe that residents have the right to co-decide about their small homelands, and the role of the state is to create a safe and responsible framework for this.

Thank you for the interview.