Higher penalties for littering in the forest, the possibility of firing rubber ammunition from smoothbore weapons at bears and bisons – these are some of the changes proposed in the extensive draft amendment to the Nature Protection Act. National Park Rangers are also to be recognized as public officials.
On Tuesday, a draft act amending the Nature Protection Act and certain other acts prepared by the Ministry of Climate and Environment was published on the website of the Government Legislation Center.
The project involves the introduction of a new nature protection tool – ecological corridors. The idea is to protect zones through which animals migrate. The zones would be designated by ordinance. In the migration protection zone, it would be prohibited to locate fences, buildings and new buildings, however, the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection could allow a waiver of this prohibition.
The ministry wants it too increase penalties for littering the forest from a minimum of PLN 500 to a fine of no less than PLN 1,000and in the case of burying, dumping, dumping waste into the ground in forests or in another way storage in the forest with a minimum of 1 thousand PLN for a fine between PLN 5,000 PLN and 10 thousand zloty.
National Park Guards as policemen
The changes will also apply to national parks. The ministry also wants to collect fees for providing access to the park area. At the same time, no changes are planned in determining the amount of the entrance fee to the national park or some of its areas.
The project is also intended to specify the scope of responsibilities and minimum requirements for the National Park Service. For example, currently the Park Guard, which is part of the Service, does not have the authority to access personal data, which makes it difficult to identify people committing offenses and crimes in the park.
Park Guard officers will have the opportunity to receive firearms or hunting firearms in order to perform their official duties – added in the OSR.
In addition, Park Service officers, National Park Service employees and Landscape Park Service employees are to be present recognized as public officials.
The proposed amendment also provides that national parks would have the right of pre-emption in the event of the sale of State Treasury co-ownership of real estate located within the park's boundaries. Additionally, Polish Waters, State Forests and local governments will be added to the catalog of entities that may apply for non-tender management of the national park property.
According to the project, the possibility of establishing areas exempt from the hunting ban in a given nature reserve in a conservation plan or protective tasks will also disappear. At the same time, the Minister of the Environment or the General Directorate for Environmental Protection will be able to issue exemptions from prohibitions, e.g. the construction or reconstruction of facilities.
Easier creation of landscape parks? Municipalities will lose their veto rights
The project also provides for changes in the designation and liquidation of landscape parks and protected landscape areas. Currently, resolutions of provincial assemblies on these matters must be agreed upon by commune councils, which – according to the project's sponsor – gives “too much power to the local government over the provincial government.” It was proposed that instead of agreeing, resolutions should be reviewed. At the same time, municipal councils are to have the opportunity to appeal against the resolutions of the local assembly to the administrative court.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection also plans to change the manner in which the catalog of prohibitions applies in landscape parks and protected landscape areas. So far, prohibitions were only in force if they were introduced by an appropriate resolution. “It is proposed that in the absence of a binding resolution specifying prohibitions, all prohibitions from the statutory catalog will apply in the area of these forms of nature protection,” it was written in the OSR.
The ban on intentional killing of wild animals is to be modified; currently, amateur fishing and hunting are excluded from it. The draft proposes to remove the part regarding the killing of animals and change these derogations, as “this prohibition is being removed – derogations in this respect will no longer be needed.” At the same time, the ministry will propose additional derogations regarding, among others: construction or reconstruction of buildings.
Rubber bullets for bears and bisons. New means of scaring
Things to change include: rules for designating Natura 2000 areas; Currently, this is done in several stages. First, the government gives consent by accepting the list of these areas prepared by GDOŚ. For this reason – as the Ministry of Environmental Protection argues – there is no need for the act ending this process to be adopted at the government level, and only an act of local law issued by the Regional Director for Environmental Protection is sufficient.
The changes will also cover the issue of species protection. A ban will be introduced on feeding and luring protected animals. At the same time, in relation to bears and bisons, it was proposed to expand the catalog of scaring measures to include the possibility of shooting them with smooth-bore firearms using non-penetrating ammunition (e.g. rubber bullets).
Additionally, the list of entities that can co-finance the treatment and rehabilitation of animals in animal rehabilitation centers, as well as the operation of such facilities, is to be expanded. The idea is to enable such activities, among others: local governments and eliminate their existing doubts regarding the validity of such actions.
By implementing the 2013 ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal regarding damage caused by bisons, wolves, lynxes, bears and beavers, the Ministry of Climate wants to be paid for damage to property. Currently, the regulations state that they are paid for damage caused to agricultural, forestry or fishing farms, crops, agricultural produce, livestock and apiaries.
Ecological corridors and changes in compensation
The changes are also intended to cover a catalog of situations in which the State Treasury is exempt from paying compensation for such damage. Currently, there is a provision according to which the State Treasury is exempt from liability for damage caused by wolves, bears and lynxes to the number of animals left without direct care from sunset to sunrise. This is to be modified so that supervision or proper application of safeguards undertaken in cooperation with the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection or the director of the national park is sufficient. At the same time, the State Treasury is to be released from liability for damage if the injured party did not have permission to use the damaged property, did not prevent the damage or contributed to its occurrence.
The project also assumes the introduction of the possibility of imposing administrative sanctions in connection with violating prohibitions applicable to forms of nature protection. It is also planned to exclude the application of these provisions in relation to activities violating prohibitions if they concern activities with a short-term effect (e.g. disturbing animals, disturbing the silence) or are of a temporary nature (e.g. introducing dogs into areas under strict and active protection, cave exploration, camping). “The group of activities related to the harvesting or killing of species is, in turn, associated with consequences that would be difficult or even impossible to repair. Taking into account the above, it was decided that an enforcement sanction would not be adequate in the case of the indicated prohibitions,” the OSR explained.
The changes will also cover the scope of the decision ordering necessary preventive or corrective actions. It is to specify the state to which the environment is to be restored, as well as the scope and method of carrying out preventive or remedial actions and the date of their commencement and completion. This is to enable control over the implementation of decisions. It will include, among others: impose an obligation to conduct research and measurements, and in some cases – monitoring.
New rules for private land in nature conservation
The Ministry of Environmental Protection also plans to introduce a number of regulations regulating the performance of obligations related to nature protection on private land. For example, owners are to be obliged to make them available for the purpose of conducting scientific research in the following areas: nature conservation. At the same time, GDOŚ or RDOŚ will not have to obtain the opinion of the property manager or owner if its legal status is unclear. In the event of any damage caused in connection with carrying out protective activities, you will be entitled to compensation. In addition, the property owner will have the opportunity to submit an application for protection of his property. Such an application will have a three-month deadline for its consideration.
Moreover, the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection is to be appointed as the body coordinating and reporting on the so-called Birds and Habitats Directives. The first concerns the protection of wild birds, and the second concerns habitats and rare species of plants/animals.
The last catalog of changes concerns species threatened with extinction, the so-called CITES. This includes: for the introduction of a list of animals exempt from the CITES animal registration system. At the same time, it is planned to enable the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection to control the origin and use of specimens covered by CITES in accordance with the regulations. These are to be ad hoc activities, not e.g. carried out periodically, and RDOŚ will be supported by other authorities, e.g. the customs and tax service, PIORiN and the Veterinary Inspection.
In addition, the project also proposes, among others: allowing the use of other methods of killing a suffering animal than hunting weapons; abolishing the responsibility of the director of a landscape park for safety in water areas. (PAP)
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