Deforestation and land reclamation into forests planned in Poland up to 2030

The aim of the study is to present in the perspective of up to 2030 plans about deforestation in the area administered by the State Forests, formulated at the level of communes and judged on the level of provinces (voivodeships), as well as plans for land reclamation into forests, formulated at the level of counties. The data was collected in 2013-2014 in a survey, which included the following groups of respondents: mayors of all rural and urban-rural communes, heads of all rural counties and marshals of provinces. According to information provided by 34.4% of communes, it is planned to cease the production on at least 517.1 hectares of forests, located in 64 forest districts. In relation to requests for deforestation, marshals of provinces presented various approach to their assessment, but always within the limits of applicable law On the other hand, according to the data provided by 57.3% of counties, land reclamation into forests is planned to reach at least 498 hectares in 57 forest districts. Deforestation and forest reclamation affect both the landscape and the level of forest cover of the country. The results show a greater concern of commune heads about deforestation than it is in the case of heads of counties about land reclamation into forests. The balance in these activities proportion would be at least a positive natural, economic and social achievement. The processes of deforestation, afforestation, forest management and land restoration into forests directly affecting the quality of the landscape are important for assessing the implementation of the European Landscape Convention in Poland. Taking into account the current level of afforestation in Poland, it is unlikely to achieve the forest cover of 33% by 2050. Therefore, it is important to control the size of deforestation and to increase the scope and pace of land reclamation into forests.