Poland and SDG 9, Blog 4

Poland is a country in central Europe. It is bounded by seven nations. Historically, Poland has suffered tremendously throughout the course of 20^th century. During World War II, Poland’s strong Jewish population was almost wholly annihilated in the Holocaust along with non-Jewish Poles, victims of more partition and conquest. When the Third Reich fell, Poland lost its independence and became a communist satellite state of the Soviet Union. By the 21^st century, Poland established itself as a market-based democracy and a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the European Union (EU) (Kondracki et al., 2020).

Fig. 1.Shah, Shakhil. 2018. Europe’s best connected country [Image]. Retrieved from https://emerging-europe.com/news/poland-is-emerging-europes-best-connected-country/ on March 31,2020.

Poland presented a new national development model in the Strategy for Responsible Development (SRD). The SRD is coherent with Agenda 2030 in many aspects: at the level of objectives, areas and priority actions, and indicators.  In Poland’s Voluntary National Review 2018 (VNR), Poland outlines its national approach to the implementation of all 17 SDGs. All the SDGs come up with a short diagnosis, identification of the priorities in each area and presentation of key actions to implement the set priorities. They share their experience in building partnerships, dialogue, and cooperation between administration and stakeholders (UN, n.d.). According to Poland’s 2018 VNR report, the Polish government has established a task force to select national priorities, ensure a participatory VNR, and ensure information exchange and monitoring of progress on implementation (Risse, 2019).

Fig 2. Elzbieciak, Tomasz. 2019. What is the future of polish infrastructure? CEOs and ministers give their predictions [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.eecpoland.eu/2020/en/news/what-is-the-future-of-polish-infrastructure-ceos-and-ministers-give-their-predictions,338790.html on March 31,2020.

To develop an innovative economy, investments in research and development are steadily growing. Expenses on R&D in Poland are mainly sustained by the business enterprise sector (66% of total domestic expenditure in 2016), and the second main investor is higher education (31%). About 3% of domestic R&D is invested by government sector finances. For the SDG 9 goal, almost half of total infrastructural expenditures are allocated to engineering and technology (Statistics Poland, 2018).

Poland has developed a comprehensive programme of adaptation of forests and forestry that aims at preventing or minimizing the negative effects of natural phenomena, combating excessive soil erosion, strengthening the resilience of forest ecosystems threatened by progressive climate change. Poland is an active participant in the global climate policy. Poland’s efforts focus on fulling international agreements and commitments on climate protection (The 2018 National Report, 2018). In my opinion, Poland is committed to improving the country’s infrastructure while focusing on climate change.

Fig 3.Kruk, Przemyslaw. 2016. The majestic beauty of trees in Poland captured in infrared photography [Photo]. Retrieved from https://www.boredpanda.com/tree-nature-infrared-photography-przemyslaw-kruk/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic.

References

Kondracki, J.A., Davies, N, Dawson, A.H., Jasiewicz, K., Kazimierz, M.S., Roos, H., & Wandycz, P. (March 28, 2020). Poland. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Poland.

Risse, N. (April 4, 2019). Audit finds Poland has identified SDG accelerators, needs work on indicators. Retrieved from https://sdg.iisd.org/news/audit-finds-poland-has-identified-sdg-accelerators-needs-work-on-indicators/.

Statistics Poland. (2018). A picture of Poland statistics for SDGs [PDF File]. Retrieved from http://unic.un.org.pl/files/279/Folder%20GUS%20-%20Internet.pdf.

The 2018 National Report. (2018). Implementation of the sustainable development goals in Poland [PDF File]. Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/19409Poland_VNR_20180615.pdf.

United Nations. (n.d.) Poland. Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates/poland.