18 Waterways in Poland – The History, Present State and Future
375
about the principles of human management in the natural environment in a responsible and sustainable way. Many hydrotechnical facilities constructed throughout the
nineteenth century impress even today with their scale and craftsmanship of technical
solutions. This should not, however, obscure the fact that the then human consciousness of the degree of complexity of river ecosystems and synergistic relations between
their individual elements was, by the current standards, dim. It is possible to point
out, also in Poland, a series of projects that were once undertaken in river valleys,
which in the long-term proved to be wrong and even harmful, and whose negative
effects we still feel today. For example, one of the arguments for the concept of the
Vistula cascade is the possibility of obtaining a water reserve in this way, allowing
irrigation of drought-threatened agricultural land in Kuyavia. It is worth noting that
the so-called stepping-up of Kuyavia is almost exclusively the result of another great
project carried out in an ad hoc manner – the construction of drainage systems in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries [28]. Previously, it was one of the most waterlogged regions in Poland. Along with the development of civilization, the priorities,
goals, and methods for their implementation change, which is always to be remembered. Only a small share of the waterways in Poland meets the requirements for
international waterways. It should be obvious that fulfilling the requirements of the
AGN Agreement is not so much related to pointwise or section-wise modernization
of the existing navigation system (i.e. elimination of so-called bottlenecks) as it is in
Western European countries, but to its construction almost from scratch. And in this
respect, the project should be considered as contrary to the recommendations of the
Water Framework Directive, which recognizes the natural environment as an equal
user of water, the same as population, industry, agriculture, inland navigation, etc.
According to the WFD, Member States may designate a body of surface water as
artificially or heavily changed when changes in hydromorphological characteristics
of the body of water that would be necessary to achieve good ecological status could
have a significant adverse effect on shipping, including port facilities. There is no
doubt that the preservation and even restoration of surface water naturalness remains
a priority.
By joining the European Union, Poland pledged to designate Nature 2000 sites
on its territory. Their location is closely related to river valleys and wetlands, in most
cases. Thus, along the European sections of the E30, E40 and E70 waterways, over
20 areas of special bird protection and over 40 areas of special habitat protection
have been designated. Within Poland, these routes, together with the immediate
surroundings, are subject to Community protection on almost the entire length. The
implementation of the governmental program for the development of waterways in
Poland is synonymous with serious interference in Nature 2000 areas and many cases
(for example, the planned Vistula channeling) with their physical removal. It is true
that both EU and national law assumes in an exceptional case, for the necessary
overriding public interest and in the absence of alternative solutions to initiate the
procedure of environmental compensation. It is hard to imagine how environmental
losses resulting from the location of water reservoirs with a volume of Włocławek
Reservoir (permanent reservoir several times wider than the river bed and over 50 km
long) could be compensated with a surplus. In general, the implementation of the
375
about the principles of human management in the natural environment in a responsible and sustainable way. Many hydrotechnical facilities constructed throughout the
nineteenth century impress even today with their scale and craftsmanship of technical
solutions. This should not, however, obscure the fact that the then human consciousness of the degree of complexity of river ecosystems and synergistic relations between
their individual elements was, by the current standards, dim. It is possible to point
out, also in Poland, a series of projects that were once undertaken in river valleys,
which in the long-term proved to be wrong and even harmful, and whose negative
effects we still feel today. For example, one of the arguments for the concept of the
Vistula cascade is the possibility of obtaining a water reserve in this way, allowing
irrigation of drought-threatened agricultural land in Kuyavia. It is worth noting that
the so-called stepping-up of Kuyavia is almost exclusively the result of another great
project carried out in an ad hoc manner – the construction of drainage systems in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries [28]. Previously, it was one of the most waterlogged regions in Poland. Along with the development of civilization, the priorities,
goals, and methods for their implementation change, which is always to be remembered. Only a small share of the waterways in Poland meets the requirements for
international waterways. It should be obvious that fulfilling the requirements of the
AGN Agreement is not so much related to pointwise or section-wise modernization
of the existing navigation system (i.e. elimination of so-called bottlenecks) as it is in
Western European countries, but to its construction almost from scratch. And in this
respect, the project should be considered as contrary to the recommendations of the
Water Framework Directive, which recognizes the natural environment as an equal
user of water, the same as population, industry, agriculture, inland navigation, etc.
According to the WFD, Member States may designate a body of surface water as
artificially or heavily changed when changes in hydromorphological characteristics
of the body of water that would be necessary to achieve good ecological status could
have a significant adverse effect on shipping, including port facilities. There is no
doubt that the preservation and even restoration of surface water naturalness remains
a priority.
By joining the European Union, Poland pledged to designate Nature 2000 sites
on its territory. Their location is closely related to river valleys and wetlands, in most
cases. Thus, along the European sections of the E30, E40 and E70 waterways, over
20 areas of special bird protection and over 40 areas of special habitat protection
have been designated. Within Poland, these routes, together with the immediate
surroundings, are subject to Community protection on almost the entire length. The
implementation of the governmental program for the development of waterways in
Poland is synonymous with serious interference in Nature 2000 areas and many cases
(for example, the planned Vistula channeling) with their physical removal. It is true
that both EU and national law assumes in an exceptional case, for the necessary
overriding public interest and in the absence of alternative solutions to initiate the
procedure of environmental compensation. It is hard to imagine how environmental
losses resulting from the location of water reservoirs with a volume of Włocławek
Reservoir (permanent reservoir several times wider than the river bed and over 50 km
long) could be compensated with a surplus. In general, the implementation of the