__NOTOC__ There are 23

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

s in

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 populou ...

. 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 the

Ministry of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

. Most national parks are divided into strictly and partially protected zones. Additionally, they are usually surrounded by a protective

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 demili ...

called ''otulina''. In Poland, as amended by the Nature Conservation Act, 2004,Tekst ustawy z dnia 16 kwietnia 2004 r. ''o ochronie przyrody'' (Dz. U. z 2009 r. Nr 151, poz. 1220) a national park "covers an area of outstanding environmental, scientific, social, cultural and educational value, with an area of not less than 1000 ha, which protects the whole of the nature and qualities of the landscape. A national park is created to preserve

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...

, resources, objects and elements of inanimate nature and landscape values, to restore the proper state of

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. ...

and components and to reconstruct distorted

natural habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s, plants, habitats of animals and habitats of

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately fr ...

." 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. The areas bordering national parks have been designated as buffer zones. The buffer zone can include protective areas of game animals, in which hunting is not permitted. National parks are available to visit, but only in designated areas, and along specific trails, roads, and paths. National Parks of Poland are funded from the central budget. They are managed by the directors, as an advisory body to the council of the park. On April 30, 2004 parks were supervised by the National Board of National Parks. From 1 May 2004, the duties were taken over by the Ministry of the Environment - Department of Forestry, Nature Conservation and Landscape and since January 19, 2007 by the Independent Department for

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respecti ...

Areas and National Parks. After the establishment of GDOŚ and RDOŚ on October 15, 2008, the supervision of the parks is exercised by the Conservation Department of the Ministry of the Environment. The Polish national parks have carried out numerous research programs and they play an important role in the ecological education of the society. The national parks can be visited as they provide a well-developed tourism infrastructure. Many of them offer specially prepared trails, educational centres and natural history museums.

Museums in national parks

* Museum of Nature and Forest

Białowieża National Park Białowieża National Park ( pl, Białowieski Park Narodowy) is a List of National Parks of Poland, national park in Podlaskie Voivodeship, in Eastern Poland adjacent with the border with Belarus. The total area of the park is . It is located so ...

, Palace Park,

Białowieża Białowieża ( be, Белавежа, Biełavieža) is a village (population 2,000 as of 2002) in Poland's Podlasie Province, in the middle of the Białowieża Forest, to which it gave its name. The village is some east of Hajnówka and southe ...

* Educational Centre of Babia Góra National Park,

Zawoja Zawoja is a village in southern Poland located close to Maków Podhalański. It is situated in Sucha County ( Lesser Poland Voivodeship). With neighbouring village of Skawica it constitutes a rural Zawoja Commune. It has 6,200 inhabitants (20 ...

* Museum of Natural History

Bieszczady National Park Bieszczady National Park (; pl, Bieszczadzki Park Narodowy) is the third-largest national park in Poland, located in Subcarpathian Voivodeship in the extreme southeast corner of the country. In 2021, the national park became a UNESCO World Herit ...

Ustrzyki Dolne Ustrzyki Dolne (; yi, Istrik, uk, Устри́ки-Долі́шні, translit=Ustrýky-Dolíshni) is a town in south-eastern Poland, situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999) close to the border with Ukraine. It is the capital of ...

* Museum of Natural History

Kampinos National Park Kampinos National Park ( pl, Kampinoski Park Narodowy) is a National Park in east-central Poland, in Masovian Voivodeship, on the north-west outskirts of Warsaw. It has a sister park agreement with Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana, United Stat ...

Kampinos Kampinos is a village in Warsaw West County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Kampinos. It lies approximately east of Sochaczew and west of Warsaw. The village li ...

* Science Museum at Karkonosze National Park,

Jelenia Góra Jelenia Góra (pron. ; Polish: ; german: Hirschberg im Riesengebirge; Exonym: ''Deer Mountain''; szl, Jelyniŏ Gōra) is a historic city in southwestern Poland, within the historical region of Lower Silesia. Jelenia Góra is situated in the Low ...

* Museum im. prof. Władysława Szafera, Ojców * Centre for Education and Museum at

Polesie National Park Polesie National Park ( pl, Poleski Park Narodowy) is a National Park in Lublin Voivodeship, eastern Poland, in the Polish part of the historical region of Polesia. Created in 1990 over an area of 48.13 square kilometres, it covers a number of for ...

, Załucze Stare * Centre for Education and Museum at

Roztocze National Park __NOTOC__ Roztocze National Park ( pl, Roztoczański Park Narodowy) is a national park in Lublin Voivodeship of southeastern Poland. It protects the most valuable natural areas of the middle part of the Roztocze range. Its current size is , of whic ...

Zwierzyniec Zwierzyniec (; uk, Звежинець, Zvezhynetsʹ) is a town on the Wieprz river in the Zamość County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. It has 3,324 inhabitants (2004). Zwierzyniec is the northernmost town of the Roztocze National Park. The par ...

* Museum of Nature and Forest at

Słowiński National Park Słowiński National Park ( pl, Słowiński Park Narodowy) is a national park in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It is situated on the Baltic coast, between Łeba and Rowy. The northern boundary of the park consists of of coastline. ...

, Smołdzino * Museum of Natural History at

Świętokrzyski National Park Świętokrzyski National Park ( pl, Świętokrzyski Park Narodowy) is a National Park in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in central Poland. It covers the highest ridge of the Świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross) Mountains – the Łysogory – with ...

, Święty Krzyż * Natural History Museum of Tatra National Park,

Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been ...

* Natural History Museum of Wielkopolska National Park, Jeziory * Wigler Museum (Museum at

Wigry National Park '' , iucn_category = II , photo =Poland Wigry Lake.jpg , photo_caption = Wigry Lake at sunset Park logo with Eurasian beaver , location = Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland , nearest_city = Suwałki , map = Poland , relief = 1 , map_caption = L ...

), Stary Folwark * Natural History Museum of

Wolin National Park Wolin National Park ( pl, Woliński Park Narodowy) is one of 23 national parks in Poland, situated on the island of Wolin in the far north-west of the country, in West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It was established on 3 March 1960 and covers an area ...

, Misdroy * Field Station DNP "Bogdanka",

Drawno Drawno (german: Neuwedell; csb, Nowi Wedel) is a town in Choszczno County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,219 inhabitants as of December 2021. The headquarters of the Drawa National Park (''Drawieński Park Narodowy'') are located h ...

* Karkonosze Environmental Education Center,

Szklarska Poręba Szklarska Poręba (german: Schreiberhau) is a town in Jelenia Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. The town has a population of around 6,500. It is a popular ski resort. An important regional and national centre fo ...

References

Sources

Legal documents

Ordinances issued by the Polish

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or ...

, establishing individual national parks (all in Polish, in

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

format). * Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 30 października 1954 r. w sprawie utworzenia Babiogórskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 8 sierpnia 1997 r. w sprawie Babiogórskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 21 listopada 1947 r. o utworzeniu Białowieskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 16 lipca 1996 r. w sprawie Białowieskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 9 września 1993 r. w sprawie utworzenia Biebrzańskiego Parku Narodowego
Dz.U. 1993 nr 86 poz. 399
* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 4 sierpnia 1973 r. w sprawie utworzenia Bieszczadzkiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 14 maja 1996 r. w sprawie utworzenia Parku Narodowego "Bory Tucholskie"

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 10 kwietnia 1990 r. w sprawie utworzenia Drawieńskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 8 sierpnia 1980 r. w sprawie utworzenia Gorczańskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 16 września 1993 r. w sprawie utworzenia Parku Narodowego Gór Stołowych

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 16 stycznia 1959 r. w sprawie utworzenia Kampinoskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 16 stycznia 1959 r. w sprawie utworzenia Karkonoskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 24 listopada 1994 r. w sprawie utworzenia Magurskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 1 lipca 1996 r. w sprawie utworzenia Narwiańskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 14 stycznia 1956 r. w sprawie utworzenia Ojcowskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 30 października 1954 r. w sprawie utworzenia Pienińskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 10 kwietnia 1990 r. w sprawie utworzenia Poleskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 10 maja 1974 r. w sprawie utworzenia Roztoczańskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 23 września 1966 r. w sprawie utworzenia Słowińskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 1 kwietnia 1950 r. w sprawie utworzenia Świętokrzyskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 30 października 1954 r. w sprawie utworzenia Tatrzańskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 19 czerwca 2001 r. w sprawie utworzenia Parku Narodowego "Ujście Warty"

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 16 kwietnia 1957 r. w sprawie utworzenia Wielkopolskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 27 czerwca 1988 r. w sprawie utworzenia Wigierskiego Parku Narodowego

* Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 3 marca 1960 r. w sprawie utworzenia Wolińskiego Parku Narodowego

Websites

Official websites of individual national parks
bgpn.pl
Babiogórski Park Narodowy
bpn.com.pl
Białowieski Park Narodowy
biebrza.org.pl
Biebrzański Park Narodowy
bdpn.p
Bieszczadzki Park Narodowy
park.borytucholskie.info
Park Narodowy Bory Tucholskie
dpn.pl
Drawieński Park Narodowy
gorczanskipark.pl
Gorczański Park Narodowy
pngs.pulsar.net.pl
Park Narodowy Gór Stołowych
kampinoski-pn.gov.pl
Kampinoski Park Narodowy

Karkonoski Park Narodowy
magurskipn.pl
Magurski Park Narodowy
npn.pl
Narwiański Park Narodowy
opn.pan.krakow.pl
Ojcowski Park Narodowy
pieninypn.pl
Pieniński Park Narodowy
poleskipn.pl
Poleski Park Narodowy
roztoczanskipn.pl
Roztoczański Park Narodowy
slowinskipn.pl
Słowiński Park Narodowy
swietokrzyskipn.org.pl
Świętokrzyski Park Narodowy
tpn.pl
Tatrzański Park Narodowy
pnujsciewarty.gov.pl
Park Narodowy Ujście Warty
wielkopolskipn.pl
Wielkopolski Park Narodowy
wigry.win.pl
Wigierski Park Narodowy

Woliński Park Narodowy

External links

National Parks in Poland
{{authority control

National parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...