Different land uses and regulations on the territory – case of Poland

Abstract

The article aims at evaluating legal regulations on agricultural land to determine whether or not the regulations ensure that the land is used for agricultural purposes in Poland, especially as part of sustainable agriculture as well as for other purposes, i.e., afforestation, renewable energy and broadly defined development of rural areas (construction purposes, services, infrastructure). Additionally, the article analyses axiological grounds for actions taken by the Polish and the EU legislators in terms of agricultural land protection and using the land for different purposes. It also refers to applicable European Union documents, e.g. European Commission "farm to fork" strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system (F2F) of 20 May 2020, EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 called "Bringing nature back into our lives". The paper shows quantitative and qualitative instruments of agricultural land protection in Poland and the use of agricultural land and impact on biodiversity. Particular attentions is drawn to Act of 11 April 2003 on the Formation of the Agricultural System and the Act on Agricultural and Forest Land protection of 3 February 1995. The Author concludes that in Poland there is an increasing number of regulations under which the owners and holders have obligations connected with the environmental protection, soil erosion protection, obligation to run an agricultural activity on agricultural land. Agricultural land tends to be more often dedicated for renewable energy investments which involve building and maintaining solar power plants or wind farms. The regulations and actions in Poland are in line with the European Green Deal. Der Artikel setzt sich zum Ziel, die rechtlichen Regelungen für landwirtschaftliche Flächen zu bewerten, um festzustellen, ob die Regelungen sicherstellen, dass die Flächen in Polen für landwirtschaftliche Zwecke genutzt werden, insbesondere als Teil einer nachhaltigen Landwirtschaft sowie für andere Zwecke, d.h. Aufforstung, erneuerbare Energien und ...