“Investments will also be made in rainwater storage systems, flood and drought prevention, greening, and the renaturalization of water bodies,” the Minister emphasized during a press conference.
Poland has one of the lowest water retention rates in Europe, a situation exacerbated in recent years by the phenomenon known as “betonoza,” which is associated with excessive urbanization and the paving over of green areas.
To counteract this trend, the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management will use EU funds to finance projects related to flood risk management, green-blue infrastructure, renaturalization, and the construction of water reservoirs, as well as investments in various monitoring and precipitation forecasting systems.
Approximately 2.5 billion PLN from the EU FEniKS program and the European Funds for Eastern Poland will be allocated to larger cities, while 4.5 billion PLN will be directed towards smaller towns and national parks.
New environmental protection regulations aimed at assisting local governments with climate change adaptation will be submitted for government review after the summer holidays.
“Poland is among the four European countries where less than 1,700 cubic meters of water are available per person annually, alongside the Czech Republic, Malta, and Cyprus. According to UN criteria, we fall into the category of countries facing water stress, which is evident every summer day,” Paulina Henning-Kloska emphasized during the conference.
Source: polskieradio24.pl/Ministerstwo Klimatu i Środowiska/x.com/@MKiS_GOV_PL
(mp)
