There are 23 national parks in Poland. These were formerly run by the Polish Board of National Parks (Polish: Krajowy Zarząd Parków Narodowych), but in 2004 responsibility for them was transferred to what is now the Ministry of Climate and the Environment. Most national parks are divided into strictly and partially protected zones. They currently encompass around 186000 hectares of forest, or around 2% of all the country's woodlands.
Polish national parks have carried out numerous research programs and they play an important role in the ecological education. The national parks can be visited as they provide a well-developed tourism infrastructure, though visitors typically need to keep to designated areas such as trails. Many parks furthermore offer thematic trails, educational centres and natural history museums.
Legal basis and governance of Poland's national parks
In order to become a national park, an area needs to be at least 1000 hectares in size and have outstanding environmental and cultural value. The ecosystems in the park need to be in their natural state—or close to it. National parks usually play host to several "valuable" species; usually rare or protected ones.
The area of a national park is divided into different zones using separate methods of conservation. There are strict protection zones, as well as active and landscape-related ones. Additionally, they are usually surrounded by a protective buffer zone called otulina. Human activity is also heavily restricted within the park itself, with strict conservation rules in place. There are also significant restrictions on what can be done within the buffer zones.
Poland's national parks are governed by the Nature Conservation Act, last amended in 2004, and they are funded from the central state budget. Each park is managed by a director, who works closely with an oversight board. They are further supervised by the Ministry of Climate and Environment.
List of Poland's national parks
Museums in national parks
Museum of Nature and Forest Białowieża National Park, Palace Park, Białowieża
Educational Centre of Babia Góra National Park, Zawoja
Museum of Natural History Bieszczady National Park, Ustrzyki Dolne
Museum of Natural History Kampinos National Park, Kampinos
Science Museum at Karkonosze National Park, Jelenia Góra
Museum im. prof. Władysława Szafera, Ojców
Centre for Education and Museum at Polesie National Park, Załucze Stare
Centre for Education and Museum at Roztocze National Park, Zwierzyniec
Museum of Nature and Forest at Słowiński National Park, Smołdzino
Museum of Natural History at Świętokrzyski National Park, Święty Krzyż
Natural History Museum of Tatra National Park, Zakopane
Natural History Museum of Wielkopolska National Park, Jeziory
Wigler Museum (Museum at Wigry National Park), Stary Folwark
Natural History Museum of Wolin National Park, Misdroy
Field Station DNP "Bogdanka", Drawno
Karkonosze Environmental Education Center, Szklarska Poręba
See also
List of Biosphere Reserves in Poland
List of Landscape Parks of Poland
References
Sources
Legal documents
Ordinances issued by the Polish Council of Ministers, establishing individual national parks (all in Polish, in PDF format).