Maciej Grabowski, the Minister of Environment announced on Friday the launch of a pilot program that will support civil initiatives for the environmental protection and sustainable development. The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management allocated 5 million zlotys for local activities to help protect the environment.
The Minister said that the Ministry is not going to limit the creativity of the beneficiaries, but is waiting for “very diverse ideas” to promote pro-civil attitudes.
– The matter is that so far programs launched by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management were well defined, as Maciej Grabowski explained. Here we have adopted exactly the opposite approach: the idea here is that the local groups will be able to propose an idea of environmental protection and that idea will be taken into account.
The project of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management is directed to non-governmental organizations, informal groups, such as groups of housewives or groups of villages and towns, as well as individuals dealing with the environmental protection in their area. Applications on behalf of those groups can be submitted by organizations which gather at least 20 such initiatives.
Jacek Gdański, the Vice President of the National Fund explained that the initiative will be financed in 100 percent, and that the formalities will be reduced to minimum. He added that the budget for the program is able to finance at least 200 projects.
All kinds of actions aiming at protection of natural habitats and endangered species in substitute ecosystems, restoration of traditional varieties of usable plants and breeds of farm animals, local environmental monitoring, construction and modernization of small tourist and educational architecture, preservation and care of valuable roadside avenues, development and protection of municipal parks, modernization or purchase of equipment for rehabilitation centers for wild animals, management of small water reservoirs, or local anti-flooding measures can get financial support from the program.
The recruitment process will start on November 7th and will last until January 31st, 2015.
The launch of the program was announced at the University of Warsaw during the opening of the debate “Through ecology to freedom. The environmental movement and 25 years of changes – reflections on the 25th anniversary of the recovery of sovereignty of Poland.”
