Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

The most important tasks of the parks are related to nature conservation, including protection of forest ecosystems, terrestrial non- forest ecosystems and aquatic ecosystems, as well as animals, plants and fungi [ ] 183 The critical role of national parks Poland’s national parks cover a total area of around one per cent of the country. The most important tasks of the parks are related to nature conservation, including protection of forest ecosystems (60 per cent of the total area of all national parks), terrestrial non-forest ecosystems (28 per cent of the area) and aquatic ecosystems (12 per cent of the area), as well as animals, plants and fungi. National parks also run scientific and educational activities and in 2016, the number of people visiting educa- tion centres and museums in parks exceeded 980,000. They also ensure sustainable tourism provision in their areas. In 2016, parks attracted more than 13 million people and the length of the tourist routes in all parks ex- ceeded 4,000 km. Special achievements in the im- plementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity by national parks include creation of a new national park and enlargement of the area of several existing parks. There have also been successes in the implemen- tation of projects aimed at restoration of populations of endangered or threatened species (peregrine falcon and apollo in Pieniny National Park, European pond turtle and aquatic warbler in Polaski National Park, and fir trees in the Stołowe Mountains and Karkonosze National Park). Protection of particularly valuable ecosystems is another important func- tion of parks, an example being the comprehensive restoration of a hydro- logical system in the Middle Basin of the Biebrza Valley in the Biebrza Na- tional Park. This involved large-scale engineering works aimed at restoring the most valuable wetland areas. The stimulating effect of grazing on the development of inland sandy grasslands has been demonstrated by preventing their overgrowth. Due to the selective form of feeding by Polish konik, moderate selection is being carried out in the reserve to limit their population. This avoids the total elim- ination of some meadow plant species and the development of monocultures controlled by one species. Parks also allow for the utilization of cultural grazing by native species of farm an- imals as part of the active protection of non-forest ecosystems in several areas. For example, in the Gorczański National Park area, the cultural graz- ing of sheep and cattle was reactivated by the Park in 2003 after several years of absence of these animals on the glades within the Park. Apollo Butterfly Poland T he protection of biodiversity in Poland is successfully implemented as part of the activities of the extensive network of 23 national parks. The Government supports numerous activities in the field of nature protection, scientific and educational activities as well as making valuable natural areas available for tourism. Significant achievements include the enlargement of the area protected in the form of national parks, the implementation of projects aimed at the restitution of selected species, and the sustainable use of natural resources in the form of cultural grazing of sheep and cattle to protect non-forest ecosystems. Boguslaw Kozik