Małgorzata Grodzińska-Jurczak

What counts? Volunteers and their organisations in the recording and monitoring of biodiversity

There is a pressing need for volunteer amateur naturalists to participate in data collection for biodiversity monitoring programmes in Europe. It is being addressed in some countries, but less so in others. This paper discusses the results from qualitative research using semi-structured interviews, focus groups and participant observation within nine Participatory Monitoring Network (PMN) organisations in six European countries. The paper examines the features that facilitate recruitment, retention and motivations of volunteers to participate in biodiversity monitoring, including the social and cultural milieus in which they operate. The paper concludes that volunteers place a high degree of significance on their social experience within PMNs. Successful creation and management of PMNs thus requires that similar levels of attention be paid to social aspects of the organisation as are paid to the generation and management of data.

Expansion of Nature Conservation Areas: Problems with Natura 2000 Implementation in Poland?

In spite of widespread support from most member countries’ societies for European Union policy, including support for the sustainable development idea, in many EU countries the levels of acceptance of new environmental protection programmes have been and, in particular in new member states, still are considerably low. The experience of the countries which were the first to implement union directives show that they cannot be effectively applied without widespread public participation. The goal of this study was, using the example of Poland, to assess public acceptance of the expansion of nature conservation in the context of sustainable development principles and to discover whether existing nature governance should be modified when establishing new protected areas. The increase in protected areas in Poland has become a hotbed of numerous conflicts. In spite of the generally favourable attitudes to nature which Polish people generally have, Natura 2000 is perceived as an unnecessary additional conservation tool. Both local authorities and communities residing in the Natura areas think that the programme is a hindrance, rather than a help in the economic development of municipalities or regions, as was initially supposed. This lack of acceptance results from many factors, mainly social, historic and economic. The implications of these findings for current approach to the nature governance in Poland are discussed.

Conservation on private land: a review of global strategies with a proposed classification system

With parks and protected areas insufficient to sustain global biodiversity, the role of private land in biodiversity conservation is becoming increasingly significant. This paper reviews global voluntary and involuntary strategies for private land conservation. Involuntary strategies can achieve effective conservation outcomes, but often lack social acceptability. In contrast, voluntary strategies enjoy greater social acceptance but may not achieve sufficient uptake to have meaningful conservation objectives. Based on the review, we propose a classification system for private land conservation as a complement to the International Union for Conservation of Natures (IUCNs) classification of global protected areas. The classification system provides a framework for identifying and describing conservation strategies on private land on the dimension of tenure and security. It also identifies opportunities and vulnerabilities in achieving conservation on private land while emphasising the need for systematic data collection similar to IUCNs efforts for protected areas.

Management of industrial and municipal solid wastes in Poland

Abstract Altogether more than 4 billion tonnes of wastes are landfilled in Poland and every year this amount increases by 145 million tonnes (without taking into account the overburden produced in open-pit mines). This includes 133 million tonnes of industrial and 12 million tonnes of municipal solid wastes–MSW). Their amount (mainly MSW) is expected to rise constantly, similarly as in other European countries mainly due to: increasing urbanization, a rising standard of living and, consequently, changing patterns of social behaviour, habits (higher consumption), and changes in the waste composition patterns (more consumer product packaging). The issue of waste is increasingly topical in Poland, not only because of the increase in the amount, but chiefly because of the lack of an efficient system for its management, and the impact of wastes and their processing (utilization) on the environment. To improve waste management in Poland, the following tasks are to be completed: (1) to bring waste legislation into compliance with EU standards; (2) to undertake projects involving alternative ways of waste disposal (including recycling technologies that permit processing part of each material introduced to the market); (3) to increase funding of waste management projects; (4) to encourage local authorities to implement principles of sustainable waste management; and (5) to promote principles of rational waste management in the society.

Increasing participation in rational municipal waste management—a case study analysis in Jaslo City (Poland)

Abstract In the City of Jaslo (Poland), a separate household waste collection system was introduced in 1993. Although the system was extensively promoted, quality and quantity of recyclables remained low. The City Council looked at alternative ways of increasing residents’ participation in the Citys integrated waste management services. The UK approach to public education (‘the Recycling Roadshow’ programme) has been modified and adopted by the City. The programme is based on visiting as many households as possible by home advisors-individuals selected from the local secondary schools and carefully trained in MSW management and communication principles. Home advisors inform residents about the local waste recycling system, conduct a short survey and provide people with specific educational materials. To date, advisors have visited 14% of the Citys households including the tenement block estates. The survey results show that nearly 75% of respondents actively recycled at least one type of scrap material, whilst of those that did not, 50% claimed they would. The educational campaign produced not only an increase in recycled tonnage, but also in material types and recycling rates from both the tenement block estates and the private housing areas of the City. The impact varied for the different materials in the domestic waste stream, with the greatest improvement in paper recycling, and a significantly lower impact for glass. The City Council was so pleased with the campaign results that it has decided to extend the programme and the funding for another year. This paper discusses in detail the programme and the results achieved. Recommendation are made regarding those features of the campaign that need to be included in other local MSW management campaigns and programmes across Poland in order to maximise their effectiveness.

Governance rescaling and the neoliberalization of nature: the case of biodiversity conservation in four EU countries

In this paper, we investigate how processes of rescaling biodiversity governance downwards, upwards and outwards are interlinked with the increased global and European trends toward the neoliberalization of nature conservation. We furthermore explore who wins and who loses from this interrelationship. We focus on the European Union and specifically on England, Finland, Greece, and Poland, and we pay particular attention to the effects of the ongoing economic crisis. We draw on Marxist-influenced political ecology and geography literatures and use primary empirical data obtained through focus groups and interviews as well as analysis of legal and policy documents. Our analysis shows that EU states have mobilized a range of political strategies intended to expand and intensify the alignment of conservation with capitalist interests within a distinctively neoliberal framework. However, the variation in governmental strategies in the case study countries reveals that variegated neoliberalizations are intertwined with variegated rescaling processes. Thus despite the increasing homogenization of conservation, the historical evolution of governance forms and their legacy as well as differing socioeconomic and political contexts play a pivotal role in current dynamics. We argue that unraveling the different roles of the rescaling of biodiversity governance is crucial in exposing the contradictions inherent in the relationship between conservation and capitalism and in showing that the consensus-driven neoliberal rhetoric is increasingly lapsing into authoritarian governance in the era of one of the most severe capitalist crises.

Should conservation of biodiversity involve private land? A Q methodological study in Poland to assess stakeholders’ attitude

Biodiversity conservation is gradually shifting its dependency on public protected areas to take a more holistic ecosystem and landscape approach that includes private lands in addition to public lands. However, effective practice of biodiversity conservation on private land also depends on landowners’ attitude and their willingness to participate and cooperate. This study focuses on Poland where conservation on private land is a relatively new concept but it is slowly gaining recognition, especially after its accession into the European Union. It investigates and classifies the diverse attitudes among stakeholder groups in Poland toward biodiversity conservation on private land that are part of protected areas. Four primary stakeholder groups were considered: conservation and park authorities, local administrative officials, local conservation based NGOs and private landowners. The study was conducted across three sites that represented three different forms of protected areas in Poland: a national park, a landscape park and a Natura 2000 site. Q methodology, a research method from psychology and other social sciences, was used to classify human subjectivity in stakeholders’ attitude in a more systematic manner. The analysis yielded three predominant factors which highlighted the diversity in attitudes among the stakeholder groups based on their knowledge, concerns and experience in the subject. Additionally, it underlined the common recognition among all stakeholder groups for better policy support, stronger collaboration among stakeholder and more financial or compensatory support for landowners to make private land conservation more feasible. Understanding the differences in attitudes will help bridge the gap between conservation priority and conservation opportunity—a current challenge in the field of biodiversity conservation.

Effectiveness of Nature Conservation - A Case of Natura 2000 Sites in Poland

This book chapter examines problems emerging due to the designation of protected areas as well as implementation and management of the Natura 2000 in Poland.

Volunteers on the political anvil: citizenship and volunteer biodiversity monitoring in three postcommunist countries

We present comparative ethnographic material on volunteer biodiversity monitoring from environmental organisations in three postcommunist countries: Poland, Slovenia, and Lithuania. We chart and discuss aspects of the heritage from socialism and communist rule in terms of their effect on the present-day running and operations of four case-study organisations in these countries, focusing particularly on challenges posed by the legacy of compulsory volunteering, inherited organisational cultures, economic reorganisation, and internationalisation of the volunteering sector. In closing we indicate certain key differences between our case-study organisations, focusing on factors that influenced their ability to operate in the postcommunist nongovernmental organisation sector, and offer some observations of more general relevance.

Management of Packaging Waste in Poland - Development Agenda and Accession to the EU

In recent years the issue of the municipal waste in Poland has become increasingly topical, with a considerable rise in the waste generation, much of which can be attributed to a boom in product packaging (mainly plastic). The annual production of plastics packaging has been constantly increasing over the last 20 to 30 years, and now exceeds 3.7 million tons. Due to a lack of processing technologies and poorly developed selective segregation system, packaging waste is still treated as a part of the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream, most of which is landfilled. As a result of Polands access to the European Union, previous legal regulations governing municipal waste management have been harmonized with those binding on the member countries. One of the main changes, the most revolutionary one, is to make entrepreneurs liable for environmental risks resulting from the introduction of packaging to the market, and for its recycling. In practice, all entrepreneurs are to ensure recovery, and recycling, of used packaging from products introduced to the market at the required level. In recent year, the required recycling levels were fulfilled for all types of materials but mainly by large institutions using grouped and transport packaging waste for that matter. Household packaging gathered in the selective segregation system at the municipalities was practically left alone. This paper is an attempt to describe the system and assess the first year of functioning of the new, revamped system of packaging waste management in Poland. Recommendations are made relating to those features that need to be included in packaging waste management systems in order to maximize their sustainability and harmonization with the EU legal system.