On 5 March 2024, a conference was held in Warsaw to summarize the project entitled “Strengthening of atmospheric deposition assessment in Poland based on Norwegian experience” carried out in cooperation with the Norwegian Climate and Environmental Research Institute NILU and funded by the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014–2021.
Photo 1. Conference participants
On behalf of Damian Jakubik, acting Chief Inspector of Environmental Protection, the guests were welcomed by Anna Katarzyna Wiech, Director of the Department of Environmental Monitoring of the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection. The introductory speech at the conference, on behalf of the Norwegian partner, was delivered by Aasmund Fahre J. Vik, acting CEO of the Climate and Environmental Research Institute NILU, and Cristina de Brito Beirao Guerreiro, Research Director of the NILU. Among the conference participants were representatives of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway, Ministry of Climate and Environment, National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, The State Water Holding Polish Waters, representatives of the scientific community, for example from the following institutions: Institute of Meteorology and Water Management – National Research Institute, Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute, Institute of Environmental Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Laboratory of Natural Environment Chemistry of the Forest Research Institute, as well as guests from Norway, who are leading the implementation of works under the project.
Photo 2. Barbara Toczko – Project Manager and Deputy Director of the Environmental Monitoring Department of the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection against the background of a presentation on the new measurement network
During the conference, the results of the Polish-Norwegian cooperation were presented, including:
• a concept for modernizing and optimizing deposition measurements in Poland;
• a new measurement network with deposition measurement equipment;
• a concept for launching a quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) system for deposition measurements;
• guidelines for performing atmospheric deposition assessments;
• a website for presenting precipitation chemistry data via the Air Quality portal.
Photo 3. Participants of the press conference
Before the start of the summary conference, a press conference was also held which was attended by Barbara Toczko, Project Manager and Deputy Director of the Department of Environmental Monitoring of the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection, Piotr Bogusz, Deputy Director of the Department of European Funds of the Ministry of Climate and Environment, Aasmund Fahre J. Vik, acting CEO of the Climate and Environmental Research Institute NILU, and Cristina de Brito Beirao Guerreiro, Research Director of the NILU.
Information about the summary of many years of effective cooperation was also published in an article on the website of the Norwegian project partner.
The goal of the project was to simultaneously design and implement a monitoring system so that research could be conducted in a standardized manner throughout Poland, utilizing modern measuring devices. Expanded range of measurements, selection of suitable analytical methods and a new approach to analysing measurement data are the reasons why the new system responds to the current needs for access to information on precipitation composition both on the national and international scale.
Among other things, the system allows for:
• monitoring changes in the load of substances deposited to the ground in the territory of Poland;
• generating information on the deposition to the ground of substances relevant to water management, agriculture and forestry;
• generating information on deposition of substances for the purposes outlined in the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (EMEP program) and Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area (HELCOM) and for the purpose of complying with the European Union law.
