Another Polish road construction in Natura 2000 site, another David and Goliath fight to save protected nature

Road construction in Poland can be a cause for great controversy, particularly when incomprehensible road designs clash with nature.

In mid-September this year, the Polish NGO Workshop for All Beings (Stowarzyszenie Pracownia na rzecz wszyskich istot) won another court case against Polish authorities: a court declared that the road construction permit for a section of the S7 expressway, to be routed through a Natura 2000 site, was illegal. Workshop for All Beings had been arguing this case for years.

The S7 is to be one of Poland’s main roads, running from the Baltic Sea in the north to the country’s southern border and connecting Poland’s major cities – Gdansk, Warsaw and Krakow.

However, according to Workshop for All Beings, a planned section of the road linking the town of Skarzysko-Kamienna and the Swietokrzyskie-Mazowieckie region border violates both national and European legislation.

The main problems with this section of the S7 expressway are:

• The planned route disturbs a major ecological corridor of European importance – many species, including the wolf and the moose, depend on the corridor's survival.
• A junction planned in a problematic section of the expressway, just north of Skarżysko-Kamienna, would cut into a Natura 2000 site and destroy the habitats of several butterfly species protected under national and European legislation.
• The construction of this controversial section is advancing in spite of serious doubts about the need for it and in spite of Workshop for All Beings proposing an alternative route that would not threaten nature.
• Preparation by the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (the promoter, and a governmental body) for the construction of this section of the road has been advancing even though environmental and construction permits have been annulled by the courts and other successful legal actions initiated by Workshop for All Beings. The General Directorate is, however, able to get the necessary permits reissued, as a result of a special feature of Polish legislation that gives Polish road legislation precedence over other national regulations.

This David versus Goliath fight over the S7 is far from over.

The court ruling in September suggested that Workshop for All Beings had strong grounds on the legal arguments, but – in what was a rather surprising formulation of the ruling – stated at the same time that it is up to the authorities to implement the court's decision. This in fact means that the national authorities may decide to go ahead with construction in spite of the road construction permit being declared invalid.

Workshop for All Beings, meanwhile, remains determined to keep up its challenge to protect the natural environment. The group has submitted a complaint about the road section to the European Commission in light of the breaches of European legislation.

A further expression of concern has been sent to the European Investment Bank, the 'EU bank', which plans to co-finance the S7 expressway.

This is an enormous amount of controversy for just 8 kilometres of road. Yet the impact on nature from this one section of road could be huge, for little or no ultimate benefit. Precisely why the Polish authorities are pushing this project forward, when clear alternatives exist, remains hard to understand.

With construction just about to start, it is still not too late for the Polish state to do the right thing.

However, if it insists on proceeding as planned, Poland risks once again turning itself into Europe’s black sheep when it comes to the environment.

Read more

S7 – A road to nowhere (pdf)
Briefing | September 15, 2014

Back to Bankwatch Mail 61