Powoływanie lokalnych form ochrony przyrody przez samorządy gmin wiejskich

Abstract

There are 10 legal forms of nature protection in Poland. Since 2009 four of them, such as: nature monuments, ecological areas, natural and scenic complexes and documentation sites can be established only on the basis of the District Councils’ resolutions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity of rural authorities in the Łódź region in creating these forms. The study was based on a detailed analysis of the nature protection records maintained by the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Łódź. The object of the study was 133 rural communes. The outcome showed that most of nature protection objects were approved prior to 2009 based on governmental orders. The activity of rural authorities in legal nature protection decreased after 2009. Delegation of competences solely to district authorities may have serious consequences for nature protection at the local level. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor and support communes in the implementation of the Nature Protection Law.