ThePolish society has not yet evolved into a civic society as we know itin Western Europe. It can be explained by post-war history of Poland andthe relatively recent political transformation.Another reason forlate development of the civic society mechanisms is the currentsituation in Poland. In terms of active involvement of the society inthe decision-making processes related to the location and setup oflarge-scale livestock farms in Poland, authorities simply fail to createconditions which would favour and encourage public involvement, whereaspublic information on active involvement and public participationoptions has not been properly disseminated.
Poland?slaws explicitly describes the conditions for public participation inthe administrative decision-making process; however, due to the lack oftransparency, restricted access to information, very limited time, andunwelcoming approach of many public officers, the role of the society istypically limited to passive acceptance and acknowledgement ofdecisions which directly affect local communities, made by publicauthorities at central level.
Thebasic problem are obscure public disclosure practices concerning theproposed investments. With information displayed on information boardsor published online in the Public Information Bulletin, which clearlylacks transparency, many stakeholders, including local communities andNGOs, remain underinformed.
Anotherproblem is the approach of public officers who are in charge of thedecision-making process. They frequently disregard complaints andappeals of local communities, even if they are formally submitted, byclaiming that the information in question cannot be disclosed or bymaking access to such information difficult. As a result, the voice oflocal communities is often disregarded in issuing decisions onenvironmental conditions for investment permits, construction permits,building use permits, and decisions defining the scope of use of theenvironment (integrated permit, permit required under the Water Act,decision on approval of dust or gas emissions, waste managementdecisions, decisions on permitted noise emission).
Onthe other hand, it is the local community which needs to show theinitiate, even in conditions favourable for active involvement in thedecision-making process or a community-friendly environment.Activisation is the core feature of a civic society. Lack of informationon the possibilities and options of active public involvement in theadministrative decision making is another problem.The role of NGOscannot be underestimated since they can act in an orchestrated manner asintermediaries between decision-makers and local communities directlyaffected by the decisions taken. However, public authorities still failto interact with NGOs on equal terms, or to accept the fact that theiractivity has been mandated by the society.