GB No. 12, winter 1994
The Lublin Foundation for Environmental Protection started its activity in March, 1989. Its main goal is to improve habitat in and around Lublin. The effectiveness and range of its activities depends to a large extent on awakening social awareness. That is why the Foundation undertakes educational work and publicizes its goals. Funds for its projects are raised through donations and through undertaking economic activity in such fields as trade, services, construction, and production.
Establishing the Foundation was necessary because of the need to intensify efforts to limit the degradation of Lublin's natural environment. Lublin, one of Poland's oldest medieval settlements, is today a large industrial centre with several factories (including the FSC truck factory, a weighing machine factory, the AGROMET agricultural equipment company, a metallurgical company, the GRACJA furrier enterprise, a factory of chemical reagents, and an optotelecommuni-cation company). Its population of 350,000 inhabitants makes it the tenth largest city in Poland. The city negatively influences its immediate as well as more distant surroundings. The amount of municipal and industrial waste polluting the region's rivers is rising systematically. The amount of garbage being dumped in the region around the city is rapidly growing. And the emission of gases and dust (especially by industry) is not in any way diminishing. All this leads to Lublin and its environs being polluted for a wide radius around the city.
The mounting pollution of the natural environment requires strong counteraction. This is essential for Lublin and the health of its residentsn, not to mention the whole province and surrounding regions. These regions are dominated by agricultural production. This requires special care as to the quality of the food produced. Of vital concern is the protection of the outstanding scenic landscape. This primarily concerns the Leczna-W3odawa lake district and its numerous nature preserves. These include the priceless Polesie National Park and scenic Kazimierz Landscape Park which provide important natural habitat for wildlife.
Considering the existing danger, the Lublin Foundation for Environmental Protection at the beginning of its efforts is concentrating on the following actions:
Financial support as well as support in the form of monitoring and diagnostic equipment or help constructing a waste incinerator is desperately needed. Environmental protection does not merely have a local significance. It transcends regional and national borders. It is a matter for everyone in our common home.
The Lublin Foundation
for Environmental Protection
Długa 13a, 20-346 Lublin, POLAND
tel. (48-81) 448-25, fax: 446-57