Every year, on June 17th, we celebrate the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. This date was established by the UN General Assembly in 1994, marking the 31st anniversary of the adoption of the UNCCD
Author Archives: Stop suszy
Drought is affecting Polish cities here and now. It’s not just a problem for farmers, affecting the quantity and quality of crops. We’re also dealing with it in cities, both large and small.
When updating the Drought Effects Counteracting Plan (uDECP), broad cooperation of many groups is very important.
Polish Waters is preparing the first update of the Drought Effects Counteracting Plan (uDECP). Along with the subsequent stages of this project, the phases of the information and promotion campaign are changing, marked with colors: red (informing about the threat) and yellow (preparing the best solutions). The educational conference in Cracow is behind us, with which we have just entered the yellow stage. We debated on May 27th of this year.
On May 27, one topic dominated in Cracow: how to effectively counteract the effects of drought in our country. Experts discussed the needs and achievements in this area, and students from fields related to water management presented their unconventional ideas. This was the first meeting of this type integrating them around the topic of combating drought. The 2nd “Stop Drought! Start Retention!” Conference, at the University of Agriculture in Cracow, was attended by nearly 200 people. The event was broadcast online on YouTube by Polish Waters.
33 years ago – on May 22, 1992, the Convention on Biological Diversity was held. Eight years later, in December 2000, the UN General Assembly commemorated this event by declaring May 22 as the International Day of Biological Diversity. This holiday aims to increase public awareness of biological diversity and its importance for socio-economic development. In 2025, the motto will be “Harmony with nature and sustainable development.”
It is estimated that in Poland we have about 250,000 km of ditches. For comparison, the length of all streams that cover the surface of our country is about 150,000 km and the land border of our country is only 3,071 km. We could only surround Poland 80 times with a system of ditches. That is not much. Rising temperatures, longer periods without precipitation, and changing climate conditions significantly reduce the availability of water, which results in increasingly frequent and more severe droughts. By slowing down the surface runoff of water, we increase soil moisture and enable more effective supply of aquifers.
Water reclamation is a set of procedures aimed at regulating water relations in the soil in order to improve its production capacity, facilitate cultivation, and protect agricultural land from flooding. Reclamation consists of draining areas from excess water and at the same time retaining water and irrigating areas in the event of drought.
On May 27, 2025, the second nationwide “Stop Drought! Start Retention!” conference will take place at the Congress Centre of the University of Agriculture in Kraków. The event is being organized as part of the work on updating the Drought Effects Mitigation Plan (aPPSS).
The event will take place at the Congress Centre of the University of Agriculture in Kraków, at 46 al. 29 Listopada. Invited experts will present a scientific approach to the issue of drought, along with practical solutions for effectively mitigating its impacts.