Programy ochrony środowiska : udział Państwowego Instytutu Geologicznego w tworzeniu narzędzi do realizacji polityki ochrony środowiska

Environmental protection programs are presented in the legal order of the Polish law as strategic documents for the effective implementation of environmental policy (previously ecological policy) by commune, provincial and regional administration levels. These documents provide some information about areas of the local governmental administration in an integrated manner. In addition, they permit the local authorities to manage individual components of the territorial areas in the systematized way which is focused on social, economic and legal business in accordance with the rule of sustainable development. Environmental protection programs are created under the regulations in force. They also take into account the guidelines included in the strategic documents. The most crucial part of the programs is the analysis and evaluation of current environmental components of commune areas. The factors such as demography, economics and infrastructure are also taken into consideration in these documents. Based on the diagnosis of the current state of the environment, the environmental protection strategy is established, i.e.:the main targets and the activity guide lines which are needed to achieve the tasks framed in these documents. This method has also a positive impact on the implementation of environmental programs by the commune authority, being directly translated into the effects obtained. This article discusses the legal order of creating the environmental programs, their scope and meaning for the environmental policy carried out in Poland. This also indicates the achievements of the Polish Geological Institute in the field of formulating the environmental protection programs as well as the examples of using the documents in other branches, including research activities.