Poland

Poland is a large country with an terrestrial area of close to 312 000 km² and a marine areas close to 33 000 km². In the north along the Baltic coast are several lagoons and the Masurian lake district, south of this is the large central plain drained by several large rivers. The southern borders are dominated by the Sudete and Tatra mountains. It is bordered by 7 other countries. The highest point is Rysy at 2 499m. Poland has a population of 37.9 million people and a population density of 123.6 people per km².

Protected areas

There are a total of   protected areas in Poland,   Natura 2000 sites -   Special Protection Areas (Birds Directive) and   Sites of Community Importance (Habitat Directive) - as well as   sites designated under national laws.

The average size of protected areas in Europe is lower compared to other regions of the world. This largely reflects the high degree of fragmentation of the land in Europe due to urbanisation, infrastructure and general intensification of land use. At a EU level 50% of protected areas have an area of less than 1 km². The 10 largest marine sites account for 68% of the marine area, while the 10 largest land sites account for 41% of the land area covered by protected areas

Natura 2000 sites in Poland cover   species and   habitats from the nature directives. The number of species and habitats protected in each site varies depending on the location of the site, the biodiversity in the region, the designation being used, and the features the site is being created to protect. For   sites there is only 1 feature being protected with   sites having more than 20 features.

Protected species

Species protected in Poland under EU law are protected under the Habitats Directive and under the Birds Directive. The Habitats Directive has a total of 2 500 species on its list, the Birds Directive has a total of 500 species of wild birds protected.

Conservation status: Habitats Directive

 % of species are considered to be Good

 % of species are considered to be Poor

 % of species are considered to be Bad

 % of species are considered to be Unknown

Conservation Status by Taxa

Protected species composition by Taxa

Protected habitats

Habitats protected in Poland under EU law are protected under the Habitats Directive. The Habitats Directive has a total of 233 habitats on its list.

  habitats protected under EU law in Poland.

Conservation status: Habitats Directive

 % of habitats are considered to be Good

 % of habitats are considered to be Poor

 % of habitats are considered to be Bad

 % of habitats are considered to be Unknown

Conservation Status by Group

Habitat composition by Group

Ecosystems

Policy

MAES in Poland:

In the years 2013-2016 the LINKAGE project – LINKing systems, perspectives and disciplines for Active biodiversity GovernancE was carried out. Its ultimate aim was to improve biodiversity governance in Poland and Norway by developing innovative protocols and technologies for biodiversity governance

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Green infrastructure in Poland:

There is a hierarchical system of development strategies in Poland, differing in the time horizon and the degree of generality, consisting of documents drawn up on the basis of two acts: the Act on the Principles of Development Policy (Journal of Laws 2016, item 383) and Spatial Planning and Development Act (Journal of Laws 2016, item 778). At the national level, a long-term strategy is being developed - by 2030, the Spatial Development Concept, the mid-term strategy and 9 integrated strategies.

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National Biodiversity strategy for Poland:

To report on progress to the EU 2020 biodiversity strategy, the European Commission extracted relevant information from the EU Member States’ 5^th national reports to the CBD. Of the 5 countries which had not finalized their national reports at the time of the synthesis (26^th of August 2015), Greece, Malta, Portugal and Lithuania provided information to be included in the synthesis.

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