Q: Regional Funds for Environmental Protection and Water Management were founded 15 years ago. How do they manage to combine environmental protection with finances?
A: To use Napoleon’s words – effective environmental care needs three things: money, money, and more money. Without it we would be unable to research and monitor the environment, build sewage systems and waste plants, nor introduce environment-friendly technologies. Also undertakings aimed at averting civilisational threats as well as the attainment of various ecological goals depend very much on funding. In Poland, Regional Funds for Environmental Protection and Water Management are one of the main financing sources for environmental projects.
Q: How did it happen that you got interested in ecology and finance?
A: Already in my school years I was fascinated by geography, far-off places and travel. I was also considered a good organizer – in fact I must admit that besides a PhD degree in geography I also hold an MBA degree. As a student at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań I organized study tours. In 1975 we went on a research trip to Australia, later I took part in an expedition to Spitsbergen, and in 1989 the Ecology Institute at the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) asked me to lead its 15th expedition to King George Island in the Antarctic. On these expeditions I had an opportunity to visit many unusual places and meet very many interesting people.
Q: Does such expertise help you in running a financial institution?
A: Of course. Like nature, the free market is a place where you must know how to compete and cooperate. Each of Poland’s sixteen Regional Funds for Environmental Protection and Water Management is independent and self-governed. I chair the fund in Poznań from the day it was opened. Several years ago I was elected chairman of the fund presidents’ council, which is a body in which all funds cooperate. There are many problems and issues which are common for all the funds.
Q: How do the funds work?
A: The provincial funds together with the national environmental fund and regional and community funds make a well-functioning financing system for environmental projects. An general rule is that all environmental fees and fines are invested into protection. The decision to found the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management was taken at the 1989 Round Table Talks. The regional funds were founded in 1993. At the time, Poland had 49 provinces so there were as many regional funds, now, after the administrative reform, there are 16 provinces and 16 funds. The funds’ main task is not so much to administer the funds entrusted to them as utilize them in the form of investor loans, project grants, etc. The funds have proven quite successful and with every year have more funds at their disposal. Today the funds jointly control more than PLN 5 billion.
Q: How is the money used?
A: Between 1999 and 2007 the regional funds channelled over
PLN 11 billion to investors, 80% of whom were local governments. The money aided more than 72,000 projects, including 2,000 sewage processing plants and over 30,000 kilometres of sewage lines. Our funds never cease to circulate, aiding environmental undertakings where possible.
Q: But they’re still not enough.
A: That’s why it is so important that the regional funds participate in EU-financed programmes. For instance the Poznań fund is helping on the Regional Operational Programme for Wielkopolska Province, to which EUR173.8 million will be channelled between 2007 and 2013. The first project tender under this programme should be decided by the end of September. We are also part of the EUR5.5-billion Operational Programme Infrastructure and the Environment, where projects are selected in national competitions. The first contest drew 96 projects, including eight from our province (sewage, waste management).
Q: How long will it take for these EU funds to turn into environment-protecting facilities and systems?
A: Preparing projects and choosing financing schemes is connected with a lot of quite complicated procedures. Nonetheless, both above-mentioned programmes are picking up speed. We must work faster to meet public demand as well as Accession Treaty requirements, which oblige us to put our sewage and waste economy in order and raise the use of renewable energy by 2015. This is why financing such projects is a priority at the moment.
Q: Will all this be enough to avert climate threats?
A: Successful environment protection calls for both large and small undertakings, also important is personal behaviour. Indeed, we would be witnessing visible effects if millions around the world were to stop using plastic shopping bags or remembered to switch off unneeded lights. This is why environmental education and the promotion of environment-friendly behaviour is so important. The provincial funds have for years now been actively involved in both fields. Certainly useful here will be the COP 14 climate conference in Poznań, at which we expect about 10,000 politicians and scientists. The meeting will focus on ways to counteract climate change, especially a sudden warming. In the runup to this conference Poznań is now hosting a series of exhibitions and sessions devoted to the Climate and Environment Year, many of which are co-financed by our fund. This year we will present our to-date achievements and future plans at the Poleko Fair and the COP 14 meeting.
Q: Doesn’t environmental care hamper national growth?
A: Today environment protection is a major research field and an important part of the economy. It pre-conditions sustained growth, which means it is quite fundamental for our future. We must, therefore, learn to act wisely and rationally. This is especially true for Poland, which still has areas untouched by human activity. Our forests, marshland and lakes and abundance on plant and animal life are priceless assets which we have to protect. In doing so, however, we must resort to modern, environmental technology and remember about the needs of local communities and infrastructure. Projects which meet such criteria have been backed by our fund for the past 15 years and will continue to receive support in the years to come.