State of the Environment

National State of the Environment Reports

Chief Inspector of Environmental Protection is obliged by the act of 1991 on the Inspection of Environmental Protection to produce a state of the environment report at least every four years. The state of the environment report presents the assessment of environmental elements and environmental impacts covered by the multiannual state environmental monitoring programmes. The D-P-S-I-R (Driving Forces – Pressures – State – Impact – Response) model is applied to analyse environmental problems. The reports are based primarily on verified data and information obtained in the course of state environmental monitoring (SEM) conducted by the Inspection of Environmental Protection.

Regional State of the Environment Reports

Regional state of the environment reports are prepared by 16 voivodship inspectors of environmental protection for area of voivodship (province) at least every three years. The detailed frequency is establish individually by each voivodship inspector in voivodship environmental monitoring programme. The verified data and information obtained in the course of the state environmental monitoring in voivodship is the core of the assessment of the environment at regional level. The assessment is usually accompanied by information about other activities taken up by the voivodship inspector or actual regional problems accordingly to demands of environmental information users at voivodship level.

Regional state of the environment reports available at voivodship inspectorates websites.

National „mosaic” reports on the environment

National „mosaic” report is joint project of Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection and 16 voivodship inspectorates. The aim of the report is to present diversity of regions and ecosystems as well as environmental problems and measures applied in each voivodship. The mosaic report consists of 16 voivodship studies prepared by voivodship inspectors implementing the same approach and the same set of indicators organized in the P-S-R (Pressure – State – Response) scheme. The studies cover the following elements: air, water, noise, land, wastes and nature. Examples of good practices as well as preventive and remediation methods are elaborated for each environmental element.

The approach, including set of indicators, was developed by the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection in consultation with the voivodship inspectorates. The revision of voivodship studies was coordinated and implemented by Chief Inspectorate with participation of several experts from voivodship inspectorates.

So far there have been three editions of mosaic report. The last one was prepared for the years 2004–2012 (available only in Polish).

European state of the environment reports

European Environment Agency elaborates the report “The European Environment – state and outlook” every 5 years. 2015 edition – SOER 2015 – is available as on-line service. As previously, SOER 2015 is an integrated assessment of Europe’s environment developed in global, regional and national context. Polish contribution to SOER 2015, so called country briefing, was prepared on the basis of “State of Environment in Poland. 2014 report” and is available here.

To learn more about Poland’s involvement in SOER 2015 please visit the section on cooperation with EEA (about SOER 2015, and Polish launch).

The State Environmental Monitoring (SEM) was established pursuant to the Act of 20 June 1991 on the Inspection of Environmental Protection to provide reliable data on the state of the environment. State Environmental Monitoring is the system of measurements, assessments and outlooks of the state of the environment as well as the system of collecting, processing and disseminating information on the environment.

The Chief Inspector of Environmental Protection is responsible for developing long-term programmes under the State Environmental Monitoring to implement the tasks arising from separate legislative acts, international commitments as well as development strategies and programme documents. The SEM programmes have been developed since 1991.

The activity of the SEM is coordinated by the bodies of the Inspection of Environmental Protection.

At voivodship level, the SEM tasks are performed by the Voivodship Inspector of Environmental Protection as a government administration body in the voivodship. At national level, the SEM tasks are performed by the Chief Inspector of Environmental Protection; the CIEP also coordinates all the tasks conducted for the purposes of the State Environmental Monitoring.

The State Environmental Monitoring Programme for the years 2016–2020