history
Photo by Piotr Piznal
Precursor of nature protection in the Lower Odra Valley – ornithologist and ecologist Paul Robien (1882-1945) in front of the building of the nature station on Mönne Island (today Sadlińskie Łąki) on Dąbie Lake, 1930. In the background his wife Eva Windhorn (1891-1945).
The beginnings of protection
Efforts to protect the most valuable parts of the Lower Oder Valley began about 100 years ago. The first nature reserve in this area was formally approved in 1926 on Mönne Island (today Sadlińskie Łąki) on Lake Dąbie on the initiative of the most famous Pomeranian ornithologist Paul Robien. In 1927, the famous forest-steppe reserve Bielinek by the Orda River (at that time under the name “Das von Keudel’sche Naturschutzgebeit Bellinchen a.d. Oder”) was established, which after World War II in 1957, was under reserve protection by the Polish government. The unique natural values of Międzyodrze attracted the attention of German ornithologists for the first time at the beginning of the 20th century, in particular the aforementioned Robien. In their publications, they mention the presence of numerous populations of the Aquatic Warbler and the Short-eared Owl, species that became extinct in Międzyodrze over 20 years ago…
The forest-steppe reserve Bielinek by the Odra River (“Das von Keudel’sche Naturschutzgebeit Bellinchen a.d. Oder”) was established in 1927.
A contemporary beech forest in the Lower Odra Valley, a characteristic habitat of the Pomeranian beech forest. Phot. Piotr Piznal.
A contemporary photo of the Bielinek nature reserve in autumn scenery. photo by Łukasz Ławicki
An alluvial forest in a river valley – a habitat in the “Kurowskie Błota” nature reserve. The inaccessibility of this area and the lack of forest management make the wild backwoods of these areas look completely natural, untouched by human hands. Phot. Piotr Chara
The first nature reserves in Międzyodrze
The first nature reserve (ornithological) in Międzyodrze was established in 1965 under the name “Kurowskie Błota”, in order to protect colonies of cormorants, gray herons, white-tailed eagles and red kites. Another nature (floristic) reserve in the waters of Międzyodrze was established in 1976 as the “Kanał Kwiatowy” – for the protection of rare aquatic plants (hydrophytes). These are the only nature reserves existing within the borders of the planned national park. In addition, on its outskirts there are two more nature reserves: the landscape “Wzgórze Widokowe nad Międzyodrzem” created in 1973 on the western edge of the Oder valley and the newly established (February 1, 2023) floristic “Kamienieckie Wąwozy im. prof. Janina Jasnowska”, designated for the maintenance of an exceptionally large population of a rare plant – the little coryca.
The president of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Prince Filip (husband of Queen Elizabeth II) together with the main authors of the study on the establishment of a cross-border Polish-German national park in the Lower Odra Valley, prof. Mieczysław Jasnowski and prof. Michael Succow while admiring the natural values of the Lower Oder Valley (28.06.1992).
The idea of a national park
For the first time, the idea of creating a German-Polish national park in the Lower Odra Valley as a project crossing the border of two countries was expressed on April 6, 1990 in a conversation between prof. Wolfgang Engelhardt (President of the German Council for Nature Conservation in Germany) with prof. Michael Succow (then Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection in the GDR). At its last meeting in 1990, the Council of Ministers of the GDR passed an ordinance defining the area in which the future national park should be established. In this document, the name Lower Odra Valley National Park appeared for the first time. Then the government of the GDR directed the proposal of a cross-border national park to the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, prof. Krzysztof Skubiszewski and the Minister of Environmental Protection, Dr. Bronisław Kamiński. In August 1990, on behalf of the Polish Government, prof. Roman Andrzejewski (Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection) confirmed the intention of our country to join this project. The main authors of the study were prof. Mieczysław Jasnowski and prof. Succow. Other scientists and representatives of government and provincial administration also participated in the team’s work, including the wife of prof. Jasnowski – prof. Janina Jasnowska.
Supporters of the creation of the national park
Prof. Janina Jasnowska i prof. Mieczysław Jasnowski – najwięksi orędownicy idei powstania parku narodowego na Międzyodrzu na początku lat 90. XX wieku.
At this point, it is worth stopping for a moment at the profiles of the professors and the Jasnowski couple – the greatest advocates of this idea. Both were outstanding botanists, associated for years with the Agricultural University in Szczecin (now the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin). In addition to significant achievements in the field of scientific activity, they were also distinguished by the wide popularization of the idea of nature conservation, including active participation in the creation of many protected areas in Western Pomerania. Mieczysław Jasnowski (February 20, 1920–June 23, 1993) died shortly after the Lower Oder Valley Landscape Park was formally created, while Janina Jasnowska (December 18, 1925–November 22, 2021) was active for the protection of the Lower Oder Valley for almost another 30 years before she passed away.
Prof. Succow wrote in 1991: “At a time when the degree of threat to our natural foundations of life and environmental pollution has reached unprecedented proportions, the project of the Lower Odra Valley International Park is a sign of hope for proper communing with nature, in the interest not only of nature itself but also in the interest of people who live from this nature and in this nature now and also in the future.” Due to the international nature of the project, prof. Succow called the Polish-German national park the “Green Ribbon” binding two nations together with a common idea of nature protection and mobilizing them to unite their efforts in concerted action. The initial design of the cross-border Lower Odra Valley National Park (at that time also referred to as the Nadodrzański National Park) received the prestigious award of the Foundation for the Support of Culture in Munich in April 1991, supported by a fund for the first needs of creating the future park. Several years of financial support were also expressed by the European Economic Community, and Members of the European Parliament learned with interest the values of the future national park during field trips. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has been significantly involved in the project of an international national park in the lower course of the Odra River, both materially and ideologically. At that time, the qualities of Międzyodrze were admired by, among others, WWF president Filip Mountbatten – the Duke of Edinburgh, i.e. the husband of the British Queen Elizabeth II.
Prof. Jasnowska in 1992 wrote in an article in the journal “Chrońmy Przyrodę Ojczysta”: “Support and a favorable atmosphere on the part of high state authorities as well as great public interest gave hope for imminent decisions on at least a temporary legal status for the future national park.”
Ambitious plans
According to the plan at that time, the first decisions on the Polish side were to establish a large nature reserve (over 5600 ha) in Międzyodrze – in the future the most valuable part of the national park. The “Międzyodrze” reserve was to receive its own administrative base for organizing work related to the creation of the national park, organizing scientific research, developing an ecological education program and preparing tourist routes. The authors of the design study also pointed to the problems and opportunities related to the planned national park. It was pointed out that the inhabitants of the adjacent communes objected, and the local authorities expressed doubts, on the one hand expecting benefits from the creation of a national park, and on the other – they were afraid of various bans related to the establishment of the highest form of protection in this area. Concerns emerged about the nature protection requirements for the economy here. Anglers, fishermen, and hunters expressed their protest, manifesting themselves in the limitations of their current activities in Międzyodrze.
Scientists working on the project of the international national park emphasized that its creation would bring measurable benefits and improvement of the economic situation of border communes, manifested, among others, in the significant revival of tourism, in particular the development of regulated and controlled tourism. It was planned to designate water routes for “quiet” boats and kayaks, as well as pedestrian routes leading through the wild wilderness of peat bogs with lookouts and observation towers enabling convenient observation of nature. Three decades ago, Prof. Jasnowska wrote: “Each delay distances the prospect of a common national park. If, however, the park is created, it will be a precedent for this legal category in the European movement to create national parks.”
Half success
The following years showed that the ambitious plans to create an international protected area of the highest rank ended in partial success. Unfortunately, neither a national park nor a nature reserve has been established in Międzyodrze. The national park was created only on the German side – on June 29, 1995, the authorities of the Land of Brandenburg established the “Nationalpark Unteres Odertal”, while on the Polish side, on April 1, 1993, the Voivode of Szczecin established the “Landscape Park of the Lower Odra Valley”. The buffer zone of the landscape park with an area of 18,400 ha was also created, but due to the protests of local governments, in 1996 the Voivode limited the buffer zone only to the riverbeds of the East and West Odra. The lower form of protection on the Polish side was reflected in less effective protection of this area in the following decades.