Local Spatial Plans in Supporting Sustainable Water Resources Management: Case Study from Warsaw Agglomeration—Kampinos National Park Vicinity

Abstract

The crisis resulting from progressive climate change is reflected in increasingly violent problems with periodic excesses and shortages of water. Integrated water management has thus become a necessity and it depends, inter alia, on the effectiveness of the adopted strategies, policies and individual investments. In many countries, including Poland, the implementation of this postulate is slow. The importance of local spatial plans, which are a tool that directly translates adopted policies into spatial development, is underestimated. The article presents studies of the provisions of planning documents with particular emphasis on the local spatial plans regulations in terms of considering the issue of water management. Some municipalities in the Warsaw agglomeration were selected for the detailed research, as the areas characterized by various water conditions. Local spatial plans adopted for this territory were compared to model planning acts from other regions of Europe. The conclusions include recommendations for local spatial plans and a method for assessing planning documents regarding the scope of the sustainable water management arrangements. The study results indicate that the principles of integrated water management have not been fully incorporated into the existing plans in Poland and that national and regional policies are poorly translated into real management planning.