Posted on December, 19 2002

Warsaw, Poland – WWF applauds the Polish Parliament’s refusal to allocate public spending on building the Nieszawa Dam in the Lower Vistula. WWF hopes that this decision will put Poland on a new track for water management, moving from river-regulation projects to implementation of integrated river basin management, in line with the requirements of the EU’s key water law: The Water Framework Directive. WWF has worked on the Nieszawa Dam case for the last three years. In 2001, WWF published a comprehensive analysis (A Study of a Comprehensive Solution to the Problems of the Wloclawek Dam and Reservoir: Anticipated Social, Economic and Environmental Effects) which showed that the dam would not be the best technical solution to address problems caused by the aging Wloclawek Dam. Moreover, the new dam would also cause significant damage to the environment and negatively affect the sustainable development of the whole Vistula river valley. Parliamentary voting on next year’s state budget showed that there are more and more supporters for alternatives — such as modernization of the existing Wloclawek dam or its decommissioning — that are better from the environmental, social, and economic points of view. “The decision not to finance the Nieszawa Dam with state funding should become a precedent, guiding decisions about water infrastructure projects in Poland and elsewhere,” said Jamie Pittock, Director of WWF’s Living Waters Programme. “Such plans should always be developed on the basis of the recommendations from the World Commission on Dams, including a “needs” analysis, an assessment of environmental and social consequences, as well as tests for economic efficiency.” WWF’s study showed that the Nieszawa Dam project had not taken environmental requirements into account and was not in line with several pieces of the EU environmental acquis, such as Directives on Environmental Impact Assessment, Wild Birds, Habitats, and Access to Environmental Information, as well as the above-mentioned Water Framework Directive. “The European Union, in particular the European Parliament, has been monitoring these types of investment in EU Accession countries and how they fit with the requirements of EU environmental legislation,” said Torben Lund, Member of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee and the European Parliament Delegation to Poland. “We welcome the decision of the Polish Parliament not to finance the Nieszawa dam, since it shows that Poland is able to modify its strategic planning in order to comply with EU Directives and the principle of sustainable development enshrined in the EU Treaty.” Many European countries are already exhibiting good examples of a new approach to river management, and more are expected with the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. For example, the German government has recognised that the ferocity of recent floods has been caused by past and present mistakes in water management. As a result, it has proposed an end to building infrastructures on floodplains and the removal of some dykes and flood defences within comprehensive and all-stakeholder-inclusive plans for river basin management. Other governments must follow suit and recognise that unless river basins are managed sustainably — including the restoration and conservation of wetlands and floodplains — problems such as severe flooding, droughts, water scarcity, pollution, and biodiversity loss will continue to prevail. “WWF encourages the Polish government to continue its good work, and declares full support in preparation of the “Vistula 2020 Programme” as a comprehensive management plan for the Vistula river basin,” said Jacek Engel, WWF Poland “Vistula” Project Leader. “This modern programme should be developed in an open and participatory way.” For further information: Jacek Engel Vistula Project Leader, WWF Poland Tel.: +48 608 38 42 42 E-mail: jengel@wwf.pl Tania Paschen Communications Manager, WWF European Living Waters Programme Tel.: +33 490 97 29 43 E-mail: t.paschen@tourduvalat.org Marta Kaczynska Communicatoins Officer, WWF Poland Tel.: +48 608 322 153 E-mail: mkaczynska@wwf.pl