There will be a project to create the Lower Oder Valley National Park

The government is expected to adopt a bill establishing the Lower Oder Valley National Park in August, according to the project's assumptions, announced Monday on the Prime Minister's Office website. Adoption of the draft regulation defining the boundaries of the new park is scheduled for the third quarter of this year.

These are two projects - one concerns the act on the establishment of the Lower Oder Valley National Park, and the other a regulation defining the boundaries of the new park.

Minister of Climate and Environment Paulina Hennig-Kloska, speaking at Platform X, said that including the projects on the government's agenda is an important step in the legislative process for the creation of a new national park. "The first new park in 24 years will encompass the valuable ecosystems of Międzyodrze, protecting unique flora and fauna, including rare bird species," wrote the Minister of Culture and Environment. She assured that the creation of the Lower Oder Valley park will not restrict navigation or fishing opportunities. Instead, she emphasized, it will stimulate tourism development and the promotion of the region.

According to the Prime Minister's Office website, the bill is expected to be adopted in August of this year. The Ministry of Climate stated that the initiative to create a new national park came from the local community, and that the area's unique features "undoubtedly" qualify it for this form of protection.

The list indicates that the creation of the park will allow, among other things, for active conservation measures aimed at preserving or restoring natural habitats, plant, animal, and fungal species. The park will also be accessible for tourism, recreation, education, and amateur fishing. The project assumes that the park, including its properties, will be managed by a single entity. According to the ministry, this will facilitate conservation measures in the area.

The Ministry explained that the establishment of a national park requires a separate act, and defining its boundaries and buffer zone requires a regulation. The draft regulation on the Lower Oder Valley National Park, which will define its boundaries, was also published on Monday on the Chancellery of the Prime Minister's website. The Ministry of Climate emphasized that it is essential that the regulation enter into force simultaneously with the act establishing the new park.

"The Park will include land properties located within the municipalities of Widuchowa, Kołbaskowo, and the City of Szczecin. The planned Park will encompass one of the most valuable sections of the Lower Oder Valley floor, the Międzyodrze area, and will partially overlap with the Lower Oder Valley Landscape Park," the ministry announced. It assured that the boundaries have been established to ensure the best possible protection of Międzyodrze's key natural resources while also enabling the existing use of the area.

The Klucz-Ustowo and Gartz-Marwice canals were excluded from the park. Furthermore, both branches of the Odra River, the Western and Eastern Odra, were not included. "Three islands extending beyond the main area of Międzyodrze were included in the planned park area – Łęgi Kurowskie Island, located between the Western Odra and the Kurowski Canal, and a complex of two islands located between the Eastern Odra and the Kurowski Canal: Klucki Ostrów and Zaklucki Ostrówek," the ministry added. The buffer zone will run primarily along plots of land that constitute the so-called inter-embankment zone, a strip of land extending from the river's edge to the base of the flood embankment, on the outer side of Międzyodrze.

The ministry plans for the government to adopt the project in the third quarter of this year.

The Lower Oder Valley Park is planned to cover approximately 4,000 hectares. According to the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the park could be completed this year. West Pomeranian Voivodeship councilors approved the plan at the end of May.

In February of last year, Deputy Climate Minister Mikołaj Dorożała announced the creation of a new national park in an interview with the Polish Press Agency (PAP). He noted at the time that it would be the first park in about 20 years, as the last one, the Warta River Mouth National Park, was established in 2001. In July 2024, the deputy minister announced that the guidelines for the bill establishing the park would be ready by the end of that year.

According to the regulations, a national park in Poland is established by statute, and its boundaries are defined by a regulation issued by the Council of Ministers. Establishing or changing the boundaries of a park requires the consent of the relevant local government bodies.

There are currently 23 national parks in Poland, covering approximately 1 percent of the country's area. The first park established in our country was Pieniny National Park. The largest park is Biebrza National Park.

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