Krzysztof Konieczny

Saving the Wetlands of Poland

Town/RegionCountryCategoriesDate
Lacha River, Odra River BasinPolandBirds, Europe, Plants14 Aug 2001

Wetlands are among the most endangered habitats in Poland, where the intensification of agriculture has encroached on river systems, upsetting the delicate ecosystems. Krzysztof Konieczny works with the Polish environmental group ProNatura, on a project which brings together biologists, hydrologists, volunteers and farmers to work together to restore important wetland habitats to the Lacha river system in the Odra river basin, Southwest Poland. The Lacha river is home to the internationally red-listed Corncrake. Other endangered birds include the Black Stork, White stork, White-tailed eagles, buntings, redshanks (whose breeding grounds have now disappeared) and great grey shrikes. Plants include orchids, cotton-grass and sedges and rare frogs and bats have been found here.

Krzysztof Konieczny and his team have already restored about 70 ha out of 200 ha of land owned by ProNatura, one of nine sites planned to broaden the range of species protected and to effect the project across the whole catchment. The work involves mowing meadows, moving excess bushes and trees, the digging of small pools to encourage insects, plants and dragonflies, and the creation of shallow water zones for snipe, redshank and stork communities. The project is crucial for several reasons. It not only preserves the important habitat, but will also attract visitors to the area and be of educational value to local schools. The Odra Valley is now also threatened by the possibility of large dam construction, and the work being undertaken by Krzysztof Konieczny would provide valuable scientific evidence of the havoc which would be wreaked on the local river systems by such constructions.

Project Update: February 2002

We have purchased 1,691 hectares of meadows and pastures- habitats seriously treated in Poland. The purchase of these meadows allowed for the redevelopment of the project and added new elements to its realisation. Purchase of equipment for management (preservation) of meadows and pastures helped to acquire several dozen volunteers- people that were involved in cutting saplings in order to prevent succession. Purchasing petrol and other exploitation materials allowed Pro Natura to be independent form other sources of funding.

The project has been recognised by other funders- the EkoFund Foundation. As a result, Pro Natura received funding for renaturalisation of the meadows purchased, for a tractor with a big mower. The meadows purchased by Pro Natura with the support of the Whitley Laing Foundation has also been recognised by the local government.

All the activities mentioned have contributed to the protection of feeding grounds of the white stork, black stork, nesting places of corncake, lapwing, little plover and crane. The species of migratory birds, not observed on the meadows before restoration have been recorded: spotted redshank, osprey, white-tailed eagle. In small water reservoirs that been constructed a small rare fish (the sun bleak) started breeding. The right conditions for burbot spawning has been created and in the last two years this fish appeared again in the Barycz river- the Lacha river flows into the Barycz.

Information about the project has been presented in the Polish Regional Television, Polish radio, in the project brochure and the book about the management of meadows and pastures published by Pro Natura. Several articles have also been published in local newspapers.


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