Ma_opolska struggles with a serious problem of air pollution. It creates a ÔhotspotÕ in the context of air pollution along with Silesia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Concentrations of particulate matter and benzo(a)pyrene exceed their limit value throughout the whole region. In the year 2014 (before the ProjectÕs implementation), results of measurements proved poor air quality in the region. The annual concentrations reached 64 µg/m3 for PM10, up to 45 µg/m3 for PM2.5 and 15 ng/m3 for B(a)P. The concentrations were significantly higher than the annual permissible values (40 µg/m3 for PM10, 25 _g/m_ for PM2.5 and 1 ng/m3 for B(a)P). Furthermore, according to the 2016 WHO report covering the year 2014, 9 out of 50 most polluted cities in the EU were located in Ma_opolska.
Smog in Krakow
The major source of air pollution in Ma_opolska is a common use of solid fuels as a heating source in obsolete, inefficient boilers, especially in individual houses. Most commonly used fuels are coal and wood. Very often their quality is low due to low calorific value, high contamination and high moisture content. The results of analyses under Ma_opolska Air Quality Plan (2017) (MAQP) indicate that area sources accounted for 46% of PM10 and 85% of B(a)P concentrations. What is more, Provincial Environmental Protection Inspectorate assessed that 88% of situations with exceedance of PM10 limit value were caused by burning fossil fuels in households.
The MarshalÕs Office is a regional institution which creates strategy for environmental protection in Ma_opolska. It is responsible for the preparation of AQP which provides a Ôroad-mapÕ for obtaining target values of pollution concentrations in accordance with CAFE Directive. Unfortunately, despite systematic preparation of AQPs and good recognition of the problemÕs source, actions taken by the authorities were not effective enough to improve air quality.
In relation to abovementioned situation, a comprehensive analysis of the problematic issues has been conducted. It has led to identifying key areas of concern hindering the implementation of air quality improvement strategy.
The fundamental barrier recognized at local level was a lack of organizational capacities and necessary know-how within municipal authorities. It means both a small number of posts dedicated to tackling air quality problem and low competences of employees responsible for environmental issues. Low awareness about the air pollution problem among the public, administration and local decision makers constituted another significant barrier. As a consequence, neither the local administration nor the public understood the need to take immediate measures for air protection.
Another identified obstacle was a low quality of local planning documents and a lack of integration between them. In many cases the documents did not introduce any particular actions or there were no specific indicators to measure the level of performance. That resulted in a lack of their implementation and in improper attention from local policy makers.
A serious challenge to overcome was also a lack of financial resources for the elimination of low-stack emissions from individual houses and for the improvement of buildingsÕ energy efficiency. However, shortly before the LIFE IP for Ma_opolska started, new financial resources to support emission reducing investments had been developed. One of them is Ma_opolska Regional Operational Programme (MROP) with a budget of EUR 100 million for local low-stack emission reduction programmes. Actions for air quality improvement can also be financed by the National and Regional Funds for Environmental Protection and the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment. At that time, a number of financial programmes for environmental actions increased significantly. It was crucial to mobilize municipalities to apply for available resources and ensure that they are efficiently used.
As mentioned before, Ma_opolska as a part of southern Poland creates the hotspot in terms of air pollution problem. It is thus a common, transboundary problem. This significant factor required interregional collaboration – with the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Silesian Region. An essential element of a successful common strategy are harmonized tools and instruments for both air quality assessment and common air quality policy development. It was necessary to establish air quality modeling platform based on homogenous input data about emission sources. It enables various scenarios analyses taking into account the influence of transboundary emissions.
The LIFE Integrated Project is a response to the need of tackling not only air quality issue itself but also financial, social and administrative barriers hindering the implementation of environment protection strategy. A comprehensive approach, involving local, regional and international partners is necessary to address such complex problem.
