Poland is among the nations facing potential fresh water shortage. State Water Holding “Polish Waters” points to the uptick in underground aquifers water usage and lack of retention methods in place. The 2017 report from the Supreme Audit Office showed that Poland is not ready to supply its urban citizens with fresh water in the event of a blackout or a natural disaster. The analyses published in Lubuskie Voivodeship’s Natural Environment Assessment report stated that due to rising annual temperatures and ongoing droughts, Lubuskie Voivodeship is among the most vulnerable to experience water shortages in Poland. Simultaneously, during the creation process of our own assessment we have not identified any comprehensive plans addressing the protection of fresh water resources in that region.

We want to address these issues by engaging groups of eco-activists from five municipalities in Lubuskie Voivodeship in creating a volunteering network. We will organize a series of educational workshops on ecology, civic engagement, public consultations participation and organizing public campaigns and events. Participants will take part in public consultations on shaping the budgets for municipalities, districts, and Marshall’s Offices of Lubuskie Voivodeship and the city of Gorzów, as well as file petitions for including the ecological education and water protections initiatives into the local budgets. Together with volunteering groups we will run a “Water for Life” campaign across the Voivodesip and organize a conference. We will invite representatives of the local governments and business, as well as citizens to the event. Together, we will work on a declaration and ideas on how to protect the fresh water resources. We will send these ideas to all the local governments in Lubuskie Voivodesip.