Poland

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AC member since 1996

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Poland’s scientific presence in the Arctic region began during the Second International Polar Year in 1932 with a 12-month expedition to Bear Island (1932/1933). Since then, Poland has established a network of university research summer bases in Svalbard and the permanent Stanisław Siedlecki Polish Polar Station in Hornsund in the Svalbard Archipelago. Poland has a research vessel s/y Oceania that is used for research expeditions in the European Arctic. Furthermore, the Polish research community is involved in international Arctic science cooperation via various networks (such as IASC, SAON, EU-Polarnet, BOREAS) and research projects in many Arctic sciences and disciplines.

The Committee on Polar Research and Polish Academy of Sciences oversee Polish scientific activities in the region. In addition, in 2015, 18 major scientific institutions established the Polish Polar Consortium; currently, 17 partner institutions are involved. The Consortium aims to enhance collaboration in conducting and managing polar research in order to gain a better understanding of the current environmental changes in the Arctic and Antarctic, and their influence on other parts of the Earth. The Consortium initiated the Polish Snow Research Programme on Svalbard, which aims to define the role of snow in the functioning of the present polar environment. In April 2013, Kraków hosted an Arctic Science Summit Week.

This page was last updated on 1 August 2022. If we have missed anything, please contact info@thearcticinstitute.org.

Polish engagement in the Arctic is founded primarily on multidisciplinary research and long-term involvement in the work of the Arctic Council, in which it was one of the first nations to gain observer status. Poland has also been involved in political cooperation in the Arctic region first as an observer in the AEPS and then in the Arctic Council. Poland is also an observer in the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, and is a party to the 1920 Spitsbergen (Svalbard) Treaty, Antarctic Treaty and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Poland has worked to develop a pragmatic dialogue of the Arctic Council chairs with state observers – the so-called Warsaw Format Meetings – which took place in 2010, 2013, 2015 and 2018. The Warsaw Format is one of the few forums in which state observers have a chance to discuss problematic issues with each other and with the current leadership of the Arctic Council.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs established the Polar Task Force in 2011, which consists of representatives of government agencies, scientists, academics, experts and others. The Polar Task Force is a platform for exchanging information and coordinating measures by different actors. At the Polar Task Force meeting in December 2019, Deputy Minister Przydacz emphasized the importance of polar policy to Poland, and called for strengthened internal cooperation and a multidisciplinary approach to face emerging climatic threats.

In 2020, the government accepted the Resolution 129/2020 of the Council of Ministers of 11 September 2020, which introduced the Polish Polar Policy (the English version starts on page 92 of the pdf), which is based on the Strategy for Polish Polar Research – a concept for the years 2017–2027 and the Polish Polar Research: Green-and-White Paper.

On 28 January 2022, the Prime Minister Republic of Poland established the Governmental Committee for the National Polar Policy to implement a national polar strategy. The Government Committee held a constituent meeting on 22 March 2022 and set up two working groups for the Arctic and the Antarctic. Their tasks include the adoption and implementation of international and legal regulations relating to the environment and tourism traffic.