According to the Act on Protection of Nature (''Ustawa o ochronie przyrody'') of 2004, a Landscape Park (''Parki Krajobrazowe'') is defined as "an area protected because of its natural, historical, cultural and scenic values, for the purpose of conserving and popularizing those values in conditions of balanced development."Kancelaria Sejmu (April 16, 2004)
Act on Protection of Nature (USTAWA z dnia 16 kwietnia 2004 r. o ochronie przyrody)
''See:'' Article 16 (1). PDF file, direct download 329 KB. Internet Archive. Retrieved July 10, 2013. Decisions on the creation, liquidation and boundaries of Landscape Parks are taken by resolution of the provincial assembly (

voivodeship sejmik A voivodeship sejmik ( pl, sejmik województwa), also known as a provincial or regional assembly, is the regional-level elected legislature for each of the sixteen voivodeships of Poland.#Machnikowski, Machnikowski et al., p. 21 Sejmiks are electe ...

).Before June 2009 Landscape Parks were created by decision of the provincial governor (

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

); this was changed in a
Act of Parliament of 2009
which amended a number of other Acts. A decision to create a Landscape Park must be preceded by consultation with the council of any relevant

gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' , from German ''Gemeinde'' meaning ''commune'') is the principal unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,477 gminas throughout the country, encompassing over 4 ...

and with the Regional Director of Nature Protection. A

buffer zone A buffer zone is a neutral zonal area that lies between two or more bodies of land, usually pertaining to countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types of buffer zones are demil ...

(''otulina'') may be designated in addition to the area of the Park itself. There are 123 designated Landscape Parks throughout Poland, covering a total area of approximately . They are listed here with their English and Polish names and with the names of the

voivodeship A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...

s in which they are situated.

Notes

{{Polish protected areas

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Landscape parks