National Parks of Poland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are 23 national parks in Poland. These were formerly run by the Polish Board of National Parks (Polish: Krajowy Zarząd Parków Narodowych), but in 2004 responsibility for their management was transferred to what is now the Ministry of Climate and the Environment. Most national parks are divided into strictly and partially protected zones. They currently encompass around 186000 hectares of forest, or around 2% of all the country's woodlands.[1]
Polish national parks have carried out numerous research programs and they play an important role in the ecological education. The national parks can be visited as they provide a well-developed tourism infrastructure, though visitors typically need to keep to designated areas such as trails. Many parks furthermore offer thematic trails, educational centres and natural history museums.
Legal basis and governance of Poland's national parks
In order to become a national park, an area needs to be at least 1000 hectares in size and have outstanding environmental and cultural value. The ecosystems in the park need to be in their natural state—or close to it. National parks usually play host to several "valuable" species; usually rare or protected ones.[2]
The area of a national park is divided into different zones using separate methods of conservation. There are strict protection zones, as well as active and landscape-related ones. Additionally, they are usually surrounded by a protective buffer zone called otulina.[3] Human activity is also heavily restricted within the park itself, with strict conservation rules in place.[2] There are also significant restrictions on what can be done within the buffer zones.
Poland's national parks are governed by the Nature Conservation Act, last amended in 2004,[4][5] and they are funded from the central state budget. Each park is managed by a director, who works closely with an oversight board. They are further supervised by the Ministry of Climate and Environment.[6]
List of Poland's national parks
| Baltic Sea coast | Lowland belt | Sudete Mountains | |||
| Lake belt | Upland belt | Carpathian Mountains | |||
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Museums in national parks
- Museum of Nature and Forest Białowieża National Park, Palace Park, Białowieża
- Educational Centre of Babia Góra National Park, Zawoja
- Museum of Natural History Bieszczady National Park, Ustrzyki Dolne
- Museum of Natural History Kampinos National Park, Kampinos
- Science Museum at Karkonosze National Park, Jelenia Góra
- Museum im. prof. Władysława Szafera, Ojców
- Centre for Education and Museum at Polesie National Park, Załucze Stare
- Centre for Education and Museum at Roztocze National Park, Zwierzyniec
- Museum of Nature and Forest at Slovincian National Park, Smołdzino
- Museum of Natural History at Świętokrzyski National Park, Święty Krzyż
- Natural History Museum of Tatra National Park, Zakopane
- Natural History Museum of Wielkopolska National Park, Jeziory
- Wigler Museum (Museum at Wigry National Park), Stary Folwark
- Natural History Museum of Wolin National Park, Misdroy
- Field Station DNP "Bogdanka", Drawno
- Karkonosze Environmental Education Center, Szklarska Poręba