Change and Continuity in Poland’s Environmental Policy

230 Pages·1999·8.49 MB·English

by  Magnus Andersson (auth.)

CHANGE AND CONTINUITY IN
POLAND'S ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
ENVIRONMENT &P OLICY
VOLUME 20
Change and Continuity in
Poland's Environmental
Policy
by
Magnus Andersson
Institute Jor Environmental Studies,
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
& Swedish-Polish Association
Jor Environmental Protection, Sweden
SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-94-010-5926-8 ISBN 978-94-011-4517-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-4517-6
Printed on acidjree paper
All Rights Reserved
© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1999
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1999
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
incIuding photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without wrinen permission from the copyright owner.
Preface and acknowledgements
This book deals with environmental policy in Poland during the transition from
socialism to market-based democracy. The link between environmental issues and
economic and political innovation has been evident both before and after this change
in political and economic systems. In the 1980s environmental policy was made a test
case for political pluralism and market-oriented policy instruments. In the 1990s the
harmonization of Polish environmental legislation in conformity with EU directives
has appeared' as a key task in Poland's strategy for becoming a member of the
European Union.
In many countries Poland has the reputation of being the "dirty man of Europe".
There are certainly many "hot spots" in Poland but this is not the whole truth about
the Polish environment. I have learned that there are huge areas of unspoiled nature in
Poland such as the Bieszczady mountains in the south, the Baltic coastline in the
north, and the so-called Green Lungs in the northeast.
During my visits to Poland I have met many policy makers, researchers and
representatives of the private sector and environmental organizations. I am impressed
by the skills these people represent. There is enough human capital in Poland to make
a contribution towards the transition to a sustainable development in Europe.
I would like to express my gratitude to all those people who in different ways have
helped me to conduct research on environmental policy in Poland. Rob Hoppe and
Pier Vellinga have provided me with support and valuable comments throughout the
project. Matthijs Hisschemoller has spent much time on my research and his support
and advice was indispensable for making this ship sail.
Jan Eberg, Joyeeta Gupta, Paul Sabatier, Jiirgen Salay, and Harmen Verbruggen
have read earlier drafts of the book and provided me with useful comments. I am
grateful to Willem Kakebeeke for sharing with me his knowledge and insights about
environmental politics in Poland.
I would like to thank all colleagues at IVM for creating a friendly and creative
working climate. Reyer Gerlagh and Fons Groot had the patience to solve all of my
computer problems. Els Hunfeld and Ron Janssen helped me to solve many practical
problems inside and outside the Institute.
The work I have carried out in Poland would not have been possible without the
support of Tomasz Zylicz of Warsaw Ecological Economics Centre (WEEC). The
WEEC was my base when I stayed in Poland to collect information and to make
interviews. There are many other persons in Poland who I would like to thank for
their hospitality during my visits in Poland. To mention a few of them: Piotr
Grzegorczyk, Asia Grzywaczewska, Piotr Perszewski, Mariusz Sekta, Janina and
Wladyslaw Sobolewski, and the staff of Jumper International and the Institute of the
Ecology of Industrial Areas in Katowice.
My thanks to Lars Ryden, Christian Andersson, Fredrik Degerbeck, Magnus
Lehman, Paula Lindroos, and Maria Winkler and the rest of the staff of the Baltic
University Programme in Uppsala, Sweden, for all sorts of support. I am also grateful
for the fruitful cooperation I have had with the Swedish-Polish Association for
Environmental Protection.
The Netherlands Scientific Organization (NWO) provided me with the financial
assistance for the research. I am very grateful for this.
To my wife, Alicja, and my parents, Marianne and Karl-Erik, I direct my thanks
for their continuous support throughout this project.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface and Acknowledgements V
List of Figures Xl
List of Tables Xl
List of Abbreviations xiii
PART I: INTRODUCTION
1. Environment and Transition in Eastern Europe
1.1. Introduction 3
1.2. The Environmental Situation in Eastern Europe 4
Water, air, waste, and soil
Radioactive pollution
Nature
Global impacts
Economic losses
1.3. Systemic Causes ofthe Environmental Decline in Eastern Europe 9
1.4. The Transition 14
The political dimension
The economic dimension
1.5. Research Problem and Focus 18
1.6. Summary 19
2. A Policy Science Perspective
2.1. Introduction 21
2.2. The Policy Process 21
Stages in the policy process
The agenda-building perspective
Interactions
2.3. Policy Instruments 26
2.4. Belief Systems 29
2.5. The Role of External Factors and Stable Parameters 30
2.6. The Advocacy Coalition Framework 31
2.7. Research Questions and Structure of the Book 34
2.8. Research Design and Approach 37
2.9. Summary 38
PART II: NATIONAL POLICY
3. Setting the Stage
3.1. Introduction 41
3.2. Relatively Stable Parameters in Poland 41
Fundamental cultural values and social structure
Basic distribution of natural resources
Basic legal structure
3.3. Main External Events 1945-80 45
3.4. Environmental Protection before 1970 46
3.5. The Policy Process in the 1970s 48
3.6. Policy Adoption in the 1970s 49
The environmental programme until 1990
viii
The Statute on the Protection and Shaping of the Environment
Other initiatives
3.7. Implementation 55
3.8. The Dominating Belief System 56
Deep core beliefs
Policy core beliefs
Secondary aspects beliefs
Policy-oriented learning
3.9. Summary and Conclusions about Policy Change 59
4. National Environmental Policy in the 19805
4.1. Introduction 61
4.2. The Policy Process 62
4.2.1. New Actors 62
Solidarity and the environment
The Polish Ecological Club
4.2.2. New Issues 68
Environment and economy
Nuclear power
4.2.3. Interactions 73
4.3. Policy Adoption 75
Areas of ecological hazard
The Statute on Land-Use Planning
The Plan for Territorial Development to the Year 1995
The National Environmental Programme to the Year 2010
The Round-table in 1989
4.4. Implementation 82
4.5. Environmental Protection Advocacy Coalition and its Belief System 83
Deep core beliefs
Policy core beliefs
Secondary aspects beliefs
Policy-oriented learning
4.6. Summary and Conclusions about Policy Change 88
5. National Environmental Policy in the 19905
5.1. Introduction 91
5.2. The Policy Process 93
5.2.1. Actors 93
5.2.2. Issues 95
Transport
Privatization
Municipal waste and consumption
5.2.3. Interactions 97
5.3. Policy Adoption 101
Institutional changes
The National Environmental Policy
Statute on the State Inspectorate for Environmental Protection
Environmental framework law
Nuclear power
Harmonization between Polish and EU environmental law
ix
International cooperation
Financing
Debt-for-environment swap
5.4. Implementation 111
5.4.1. Financing 112
Major investments
5.4.2. Enforcement 114
5.4.3. Environment and Development 115
5.5. Advocacy Coalitions and their Belief Systems 116
Policy-oriented learning
Deep core beliefs
Policy core beliefs
Secondary aspects beliefs
5.6. Summary and Conclusions about Policy Change 126
PART III: SECTORAL POLICIES
6. Air PoUution from Stationary Sources
6.1. Introduction 131
Air pollution -a background
6.2. Policy Adoption and the Policy Process 132
Before 1980
The 1980s
The 1990s
6.3. Major Policy Issues 137
6.3.1. Standards and Permits 137
6.3.2. Emission Trading 138
The Chorz6w project
Other preparations for emission trading
6.3.3. Enforcement 142
6.3.4. Fees and Financing 142
6.4. Implementation 143
6.5. Advocacy Coalitions and their Belief Systems 145
The Mainstream Advocacy Coalition (secondary aspects beliefs)
The Green Advocacy Coalition (secondary aspects beliefs)
The Efficiency Advocacy Coalition (secondary aspects beliefs)
Policy-oriented learning
6.6. Summary and Conclusions about Policy Change 151
7. Saline Waste Water from the Hard Coal Sector
7.1. Introduction 153
The hard coal sector
7.2. Environmental Issues 156
The salination problem
The main polluter: NSW
7.3. The Policy Process 161
Before 1989
The 1990s
7.4. Major Policy Issues 162
7.4.1. Standards and Permits 162
x
7.4.2. Enforcement 163
7.4.3. Fees and Financing 163
7.4.4. Technology 164
7.5. Implementation 167
7.6. Advocacy Coalitions and their Belief Systems 170
Policy core beliefs
Secondary aspects beliefs
Policy-oriented learning
7.7. Summary and Conclusions about Policy Change 174
PART IV: CONCLUSIONS
8. Conclusions about Policy Change
8.1. Change - incremental or radical? 177
Change in the policy process
Change in the policy content
Change in implementation and policy impacts
Change in the belief systems
Conclusion
8.2. What Have Been the Main Driving Forces for Policy Change and Continuity? 185
The impact of external events and stable parameters other than systemic
change
The role of policy-oriented learning
The role of competition between advocacy coalitions
8.3. The Environment and Systemic Change 189
8.4. A Brief Evaluation of the ACF 191
8.5. Summary and Final Remarks 192
References 193
Interviews 212
List of Main Questions Asked in Poland 215
Appendix 1: Environmental Protection Administration in Poland in 1985 216
Appendix 2: Environmental Protection Administration in Poland in 1995 217
Appendix 3: Structure of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural
Resources in 1988 218
Appendix 4: Structure of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural
Resources and Forestry in 1995 219
Index 220
xi
List of Figures
Figure 1.1 A two-stage model of politics 15
Figure 2.1 The advocacy coalition framework 34
Figure 3.1 Map of Poland 44
Figure 3.2 Polish bank-note from the 1950s 45
Figure 4.1 The twenty-seven areas of ecological hazard 76
Figure 7.1 Coal mines in Nadwislanska Coal Company 160
Figure 7.2 Main strategy for addressing the salination problem 163
List of Tables
Table 1.1 Wildlife in Sweden, Estonia, and Latvia in 1992 9
Table 1.2 Economic pressure on the environment in the late 1980s 13
Table 5.1 Economic statistics for Poland, 1989-96 92
Table 5.2 Environmental aid to Poland, 1991-96 (grants) 109
Table 5.3 Economic pressure on the environment in Poland 112
Table 5.4 Expenditures for environmental protection and water management
in Poland in the 1990s 113
Table 5.5 Sources of environmental protection financing in Poland, 1991-95 113
Table 5.6 The capacity of annual installations for environmental protection,
1980-96 114
Table 5.7 Collection rate of environmental fines 115
Table 5.8 Advocacy coalitions and their belief systems in the 1990s 124
Table 6.1 Annual percentage changes in GDP, industrial production, and
air pollution emissions in Poland, 1990-93 144
Table 6.2 Belief systems identified in the air protection policy 150
Table 7.1 Polish hard coal production 154
Table 7.2 Subsidies as part of coal sales 154
Table 7.3 Amount of saline waste water discharges from the coal companies
in 1993 161
Table 7.4 Maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants in surface water 163
Table 7.5 Pollution fees for saline water. Chloride and sulphate ions content,
rates 164
Table 7.6 Collection rates of environmental fees 167
Table 7.7 The National Fund's revenues offees for saline waste water 168
Table 7.8 Liabilities ofNSW in mid-1994 168
Table 7.9 Main beliefs about the salination problem 173
Table 8.1 Policy-making styles identified at national and sectoral level 179
Table 8.2 Main policy instruments in the pollution control system: 1975,
1985, and 1995 180
Table 8.3 A comparison between the dominating environmental belief systems
in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s 184
Table 8.4 Policy-oriented learning found at national and sectoral level 188