Three angler groups have joined in a day of action in eleven Polish cities in support of a moratorium on the construction of small hydropower plants on the nation’s rivers.
Large investor interest in construction of hydropower plants in recent years has generated more challenges for the already low wild salmon populations and put river aquatic ecosystems in jeopardy. Angler groups across Poland are now uniting efforts to disseminate information and condemn government support of investor interests over environmental protection in eleven cities.
Artur Furdyna, the head of the Society of Friends of the Ina and Gowienica River (SFIGR), led the “Put a Stop to Barricading Rivers” manifestation in Szczecin, and activities also took place in Kraków, Katowice, Wroclaw, Zielona Góra, Bialystok, Gdañsk and other cities. The other two organizer angler groups were the Society for the lovers of Rega River and the District Management Board of the Polish Angling Association in Szczecin.
Activities during the day included the distribution of petition letters and collection of pro-moratorium signatures to be delivered to the various municipalities and ministries in Poland. A number of CDs will be distributed with a power point presentation on best practice examples of river management.
The petition letter is a stern reminder that Poland is not always following its national or European Union laws in respect to protection of water resources and sustainable development. Currently many investment decisions of the government and municipalities run contrary to the obligation under the Water Framework Directive (WFD), which states that Poland will implement the necessary measures to prevent deterioration of all surface waters (art. 4, p. 1) and ensure the best possible ecological and chemical status of said water resources (art.4, p. 5b).
Investor responsibility is mentioned as one of the components in ensuring ecological integrity of water resources under the Water Framework Directive. It is the responsibility of each Member State to ensure that an approved investment project does not adversely affect any mandates within the directive.
In the petition, the anglers urge that any potential investors should prove that their project will not be carried out to the detriment of the public interest or the environment. In terms of marine ecosystems, any investment project should: not change the thermal regime within the river; not alter the fauna and algae forms characteristic to a specific river; not block fish migration in both directions; ensure the natural flow of the river, and finally, it should not pose a threat to the environmental objectives of the national water and environment management plans.
A meeting organized by the Ministry of the Environment in early October in response to high investor interest concluded that small hydropower plants can be located only on existing river barriers. Minister of Environment, Maciej Nowicki, urged that due to the low power-generating capacity of small hydropower plants and significant environmental damage as a result, further investments will not be accepted everywhere. Under the National Management of Water Resources, an action plan will be drafted which will amend the current law governing small hydropower plant investments on Polish rivers. This change in law, Minister Nowicki urges, will ensure a transparent national system.
Before any decisive government action is taken up on the issue, the ‘Put a Stop to Barricading Rivers’ plan on 5 November would serve as a public awareness raising campaign on environmentally sustainable river management and particularly on the need for a moratorium on small hydropower plants.
The action was supported by PAN (Polish Academy of Learning), Friends of Raba, Friends of Dunajec, WWF Poland and the Polish Anglers Association.