Globalne, europejskie i polskie dylematy polityki rozwoju wobec zmian klimatu – próba usystematyzowania

The presented text focuses on identifying the topics of the political dispute at the global level, the European Union and Poland, which relate to the mitigation of climate change. The background of the analysis is a synthetic presentation of the state of knowledge on climate change and examples of different views on this issue that reach the public in the open debate. We confronted arguments put forward by climate activists with views questioning the climate action. The analysis of arguments in the global debate shows that the differences mainly reflect the economic status of states, their energy mix, and technological advancement. The main lines of dispute in global negotiations are: which states should make more effort for greenhouse gas emission reductions, the responsibility of developed countries for historical emissions, and the principles of supporting developing countries, which are particularly vulnerable to climate change. The European Union wants to be a leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving climate neutrality. However, there are differences in approach between the Member States, which reflect the importance of coal in the energy mix, the differences in the share of renewable energy, and the importance of nuclear energy. The main controversy is how to consider the different initial situations of countries when defining their reduction targets and how to support the energy transition. The dominant issue in the Polish debate is the necessary pace of the energy transformation, the possibility of bearing its costs, and their distribution among various social groups. This paper presents the social, economic, and political arguments at the global and local level that refer to the dilemmas of climate policy leading to the adjustment of the development policy towards energy-saving and low-emission, regardless of the importance assigned to emissions in combating climate change.Przedstawiony tekst koncentruje się na identyfikacji przedmiotów sporów politycznych na poziomie globalnym, Unii Europejskiej oraz Polski, które dotyczą przeciwdziałania zmianom klimatu. Tłem do analizy jest syntetyczna prezentacja stanu wiedzy odnoszącej się do zmian klimatu, a także pokazanie przykładów różnych ocen tego zagadnienia, jakie docierają do społeczeństwa w debacie publicznej. Wykonana analiza pokazuje, że argumenty w sporze politycznym odzwierciedlają status ekonomiczny państw, ich miks energetyczny oraz zaawansowanie technologiczne. W debacie krajowej przeważa kwestia tempa transformacji energetycznej i rozłożenia jej kosztów między różne grupy społeczne. W konkluzji wskazuje się na argumenty społeczne, gospodarcze i polityczne, które skłaniają do ukierunkowania polityki rozwoju na energooszczędną i niskoemisyjną

Environmental management and its position in geographical studies

W opracowaniu prezentuje się zarządzanie środowiskiem jako działalność praktyczną i pole badawcze na styku różnych dziedzin nauki. Zakres zarządzania środowiskiem ukazano w nawiązaniu do pojęć pokrewnych oraz przedstawiono stan budowy podstaw teoretycznych kształtującej się dyscypliny naukowej. Stwierdzono, że geografowie mogą w znacznie większym stopniu uczestniczyć w rozwiązywaniu problemów zarządzania środowiskiem jeśli chodzi zarówno o badania, jak i prace ukierunkowane praktycznie. Kluczem do tego jest wzrost aktywności przedstawicieli nauk geograficznych w prognozowaniu zmian w środowisku pod wpływem zdefiniowanych form aktywności człowieka w różnej skali przestrzennej. Projekcja zmian w środowisku jest bowiem najważniejszym elementem prognoz skutków wdrożenia ustaleń dokumentów planistycznych i programowych oraz raportów o oddziaływaniu planowanych przedsięwzięć na środowisko jako opracowań wymaganych prawem

TYPOLOGY OF PHYSICAL-GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS IN POLAND IN LINE WITH LAND-COVER STRUCTURE AND ITS CHANGES IN THE YEARS 1990-2006

The authors used a division of Poland into physical-geographical regions to present diversity in terms of land cover, and to distinguish a typology of natural units (mesoregions), in terms of both the nature of the said cover in 2006, and changes in that cover over the two time intervals 1990-2000 and 2000-2006. Individual mesoregions were assigned to the different types in regard to the two periods, this making it possible to illustrate the regional distribution of land-cover changes in Poland, with account taken of stability on the one hand, or changes as regards trends on the other. The results obtained may provide objective premises for the selection of representative spatial units in geographical, as well as landscape or ecological, research

Concept of ecosystem services versus implmentation of sustainable development

The analysis aimed at presenting the possibilities of using the valuation of natural processes for programming development sustaining in a local and regional scale. In the light of the literature devoted to this issue, there has been presented an outline of the concept of ecosystem services and its potential importance for taking into consideration the idea of sustainabledevelopment in the decision-making process. Theoretical deliberations have been presented by showing what is the impact of ordering the sewage economy on the amount of ecosystem services in the rural areas of Wielkopolska region. It haseen shown that systematization of ecosystem services and development of methods serving their quantification may constitute an important factor that makes decisions serving sustainable development more objective

DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL LANDSCAPE IN WIELKOPOLSKA IN REFERENCE TO METABOLISM OF AGROECOSYSTEMS

The purpose of this paper is to show the main features of landscape development in a regional scale with reference to socio-economic conditions and the processes of energy and matter flow in agroecosystems. Four main phases of rural landscape development have been distinguished during which the dominant processes determining the functioning of agroecosystems changed. After the initial phase there was a period of spatial expansion of the rural landscape at the expense of natural forests; this phase was followed by the intensification of use through increased external feeding of agroecosystems in energy and matter, and currently the diversification of human influence on environmental systems is becoming increasingly noticeable. The social role of farmers is going to be of fundamental importance to the future of the rural landscape. It is necessary to stimulate their behaviour to make sure that they acquire knowledge, skills and motivation to protect natural environment and the landscape

Regularities in the management of post-industrial areas. Example of Poznań

The study problem addressed in this paper concerns a sequence in which the post-industrial areas that emerged in relation to the system transformation were managed. The cognitive purpose of the study performed was to diagnose the use of post-industrial land identified in Poznañ and general regularities in the management of those areas as well as in the degree to which they were degraded. Based on an analysis of topographic maps and field research it was possible to identify trends in the management of post-industrial areas in periods 1993–1998 and 1998–2006, and the degree of their degradation in connection with their position in the functional and spatial structure of the city. The newly presented results were documented in quantitative categories of accelerated pace of change in the city spatial structure over the current decade. It is a result, and simultaneously an indicator, of an accelerated economic development and growing society’s affluence, which undoubtedly stems from Poland’s joining the EU economic area. The highest dynamics of growth was observed for the residential function, where the surface area rose tenfold in post-industrial areas. In absolute figures, the largest growth in surface area was noted for trade and service functions, which emerged in areas previously used for manufacturing or warehousing and storage. The consequence of functional changes was a significant decrease in industrial emissions and a clear improvement of air quality indices within the city. Nonetheless, the process of eliminating areas with an industrial or warehousing and storage functions from the city centre has not yet been completed, which shows that the city authorities should more actively stimulate translocation or elimination of such areas

Determinants of the quality of life in the communes of the Poznań Agglomeration: A quantitative approach

Since the 1990s, large urban agglomerations in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have shown highly dynamic functional and spatial changes resulting from the transformation of their political systems. The aim of this study is to present differences in social, economic and environmental living conditions among the communes of a single agglomeration. This, in turn, allows a discussion, in the first place, of local factors, assuming that national and regional conditions in a given area are uniform. The study focused on the agglomeration of Poznań, which consists of the city of Poznań and 17 surrounding communes (Polish: gmina) forming the district, or ‘poviat’ (Polish: powiat) of Poznań. The analysis of variations in living conditions uses a set of nine indicators reflecting the local level of development in social, economic and environmental terms. The results lead to the conclusion that the development of urbanisation processes in suburban areas over the past 20 years has had a significant share in improving the living conditions of their inhabitants. In some communes they are, in fact, better than in the central city of Poznań

Potencjał zielonej infrastruktury w dużych polskich miastach do świadczenia usług ekosystemowych

Ecosystem services delivered by green infrastructure (GI) and their influence on the quality of life in cities is a dynamically developing research field in Europe. Actions undertaken in this topic are stimulated by EU, which encourage Member States to map and assess the state of ecosystems and their services in their territories. An important step implementing these guidelines in Poland was a pilot study, commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment, which included a comparative analysis of the largest agglomerations in Poland in terms of the distribution of GI and their potential for providing ecosystem services. The aim of this paper is to present the approach proposed in this study and its main findings.Usługi ekosystemowe dostarczane przez tworzące zieloną infrastrukturę (ZI) ekosystemy oraz ich wpływ na jakość życia w miastach są dynamicznie rozwijającym się polem badawczym w Europie. Działania podejmowane w tym zakresie są stymulowane przez zobowiązanie krajów UE do mapowania i oceny stanu ekosystemów i ich usług na swoich terytoriach. Istotnym krokiem realizującym te wytyczne było pilotażowe opracowanie na zlecenie Ministerstwa Środowiska, które obejmowało analizę porównawczą największych aglomeracji w Polsce pod względem rozkładu ZI i jej potencjału do dostarczania wybranych świadczeń ekosystemów. Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie podejścia zaproponowanego w tym opracowaniu oraz jego głównych ustaleń

WYKORZYSTANIE PROGRAMU ZINTEGROWANEGO MONITORINGU ŚRODOWISKA PRZYRODNICZEGO DO OCENY USŁUG GEOEKOSYSTEMOWYCH

W artykule przedstawiono koncepcję zastosowania Zintegrowanego Monitoringu Środowiska Przyrodniczego (ZMŚP) do realizacji zadań w zakresie usług geoekosystemów. Program ZMŚP stwarza możliwości oparcia ocen usług regulacyjnych na danych pomiarowych realizowanych w różnych typach krajobrazów Polski, reprezentatywnych dla struktury krajobrazowej kraju. Pomiary realizowane przez Stacje Bazowe ZMŚP pozwalają ocenić na przykład usługi regulacyjne lasów w zakresie remediacji toksyn i innych uciążliwości, regulacji procesów glebotwórczych i jakości gleby, regulacji klimatu przez sekwestrację węgla, a także usługi ekosystemów wodnych związane z regulacją cyklu hydrologicznego, regulacją jakości wody oraz regulacją transportu materii. Realizacja programu badawczo-pomiarowego ZMŚP poszerzona jest o programy specjalistyczne, specyficzne dla poszczególnych Stacji Bazowych. Stwarza to możliwość oceny usług geoekosystemów z uwzględnieniem specy7 ki środowiska przyrodniczego zlewni badawczych oraz specjalizacji zespołów badawczych

Allotment gardens and parks: Provision of ecosystem services with an emphasis on biodiversity

Urban areas, in particular, present unique challenges for the conservation of ecosystems. Allotment gardens (AGs) are an important greenspace feature of urban landscapes in Europe which have the potential to offer multiple social and bio-physical ecosystem services in addition to food production. This study is an attempt to assess and compare the ecosystem services provided by AGs in Manchester, UK, and Poznań, Poland as well as a comparison to city parks. The surveys included a detailed land cover characterisation and an assessment of cultivated and spontaneous plant species. There are differences in the land use characteristics in the two cities with a preference for vegetable growing and water recycling in Manchester, and a greater number of trees and a higher focus on recreation in Poznań. The consequences of these basic differences are discussed in terms of the ecosystem services that are provided by the two different AG types, and parks. In terms of ecology, there is higher species richness on AGs with a greater proportion of neophytes, which may potentially spread into cities. The species recorded in parks and AGs contained a lot of native characteristics of urban, ruderal plant communities