The Spatial Management System in Poland Against the Backdrop of Changes in Environmental and Economic Awareness

Abstract

"Similarly to other Central-Eastern European countries whose approach to natural resources and land use has been revolutionized in recent years, Poland had to implement various changes in its spatial management system. The first changes were observed already before Poland's accession to the European Union, and they were spurred by political transformations. This study analyzes the changes that took place at the national and the municipal level over the past decade. The analyses presented in the poster refer to two types of values which became the key guidelines in the planning process as a result of political transformations, namely environmental value and economic value. In the contemporary world, environmental protection may be construed to be merely a form of planning activity - the creation of nature reserves and conservation areas is a planning effort. The environment which supplies man with natural resources for processing and production is a renewable commodity, but it is not an infinite source of natural wealth. Our approach to exploiting natural resources is shaped by the awareness held by the users of space and the resulting legal regulations that restrict certain types of activities and impose various measures supporting the reinstatement of the natural environment. Even when deprived of the exploitatory and regulatory effects of human activity, the natural environment is subjected to constant fluctuations due to fierce competition between various plant and animal species. The above contributes to the formation of areas marked by great environmental diversity. As demonstrated by the analysis, the only relationship between economy and ecology is one of symbiosis, but in the contemporary world, a symbiotic relationship requires planned action. Symbiosis is largely synonymous with sustainable development, i.e. the attainment of a situation that benefits all users of space. No protection procedure will be effective without an implementation plan. When deprived of a conscious planning effort, every spatial system, represented by the opposition of two primary values - ecology and economy, will be based on one of the following 'natural' relationships: predator-prey, parasite-host, competitors. Those relationships are well known in ecology, yet none of them benefit the natural environment. The key determinants in the Polish spatial planning process are natural (environmental) factors and anthropogenic factors (mostly economic). Environmental factors create environmental value, while anthropogenic factors contribute to the economic value of space. The two factors remain in mutual opposition: by increasing the environmental value of space, we usually agree to a drop in its economic value, and - much more frequently - by increasing the economic value of space, we reduce its environmental worth. Environmental protection in Poland has a long history - the first legal act banning the felling of yews dates back to 1423, and the first parliamentary act on nature conservation was passed on 10 March 1934. Despite the above, the concept of sustainable development was adopted as the key prerequisite for spatial planning only in the most recent Act on Spatial Planning and Management of 11 July 2003."