Welcome to the CCEP website
Coordination Center for Environmental Projects
The Coordination Centre for Environmental Projects (CCEP) is an organizational unit of the State Forests operating since 1 November 2006.
The main scope of its activities are:
1. acting as the implementing authority for Priority Axis 5 of the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment (OPI&E)
2. coordination of the State Forests’ projects co-financed from EU resources
3. other forest-related activities
1. Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment,
Priority Axis 5: Envirnmental protection and the promotion
of the ecological habits.
The Centre was assigned to act as an implementing authority for projects funded within the OPI&E, Priority Axis 5: Environmental protection and the promotion of the ecological habits, under an agreement on the implementation of the OPI&E concluded between the Minister of Environment and the CCEP. Some of the Centre’s tasks are: receiving and assessing applications, concluding funding agreements, disbursing funds, supervising projects, and reporting.
The OPI&E is one of the national operational programmes funded by EU resources in the period 2007-2013. The main objective of Priority Axis 5 is to reduce environmental degradation and biodiversity loss and increase ecological awareness.
The following measures will be financially supported under
Priority Axis 5:
- active protection of natural habitats and species,
- restoration of ecological corridors to a passable condition,
- development of protection plans,
- promotion of eco-friendly habits and attitudes.
The OPI&E’s implementation will be backed with €105 million. Nearly €90 million will be provided by the EU, under the European Regional Development Fund.
Applications for funding can be submitted by institutions which supervise protected areas or engage in nature protection or awareness-raising activities. These are:
- NGOs,
- national parks and landscape parks,
- central and regional administration bodies,
- organisational units of the State Forests,
- scientific institutions and R&D centres.
2. Environmental projects of the State Forests
The CCEP acts as a coordinating body for EU co-funded projects of the State Forests. Among the main tasks of the Centre are the preparation of necessary project documentation and the implementation of successive phases of the projects.
Enhancing Water Storage Capacity and Preventing Floods and Drought in Lowland Forest Ecosystems
This project’s objective is to stop or slow down the outflow of surface water in the vicinity of small catchment areas and to support the development of natural landscape. The activities include, among other things, the construction or renovation of several thousand water storage systems in lowland forests throughout the country. One of the major goals of the project is to support ecologically sound methods of water retention. The improvement of water balance will enhance biodiversity in forest ecosystems. This project can become the first large effort in Europe to develop small-scale water retention in forests.
Implementing authority | Coordination Center for Environmental Projects |
Beneficiary | State Forests National Forest Holding – Directorate General of the State Forests |
Final beneficiary | 178 forest districts, 17 Regional Directorates of State Forests |
Implementation period | 2007-2014 |
Implementation costs | ca. €50 million |
Subsidised amount | up to 85% |
Source of funding | Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment, Priority Axis 3: Resource management and counteracting environmental risks (resources of the Cohesion Fund) |
Number of hydro-engineering objects
(small-scale retention) | ca. 3,300 |
Total volume
of stored water | ca. 30 million m3 (including soil retention) |
Counteracting the effects of rainwater runoff in mountainous areas. Increasing retention and maintaining streams and associated infrastructure in good condition
The project’s goal is to reduce the outflow of surface water from mountainous areas by increasing the water storage capacity of catchment areas. Natural and technological methods will help minimise the negative consequences of natural phenomena (e.g. rapid runoff of stormwater from mountain areas, floods, droughts), while complying with environmental concerns.
Implementing authority | Coordination Center for Environmental Projects |
Beneficiary | State Forests National Forest Holding – Directorate General of the State Forests |
Final beneficiary | 55 forest districts in mountain and foothill areas |
Implementation period | 2007-2015 |
Implementation costs | ca. €42,5 million |
Subsidised amount | up to 85% |
Source of funding | Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment, Priority Axis 3: Resource management and counteracting environmental risks (resources of the Cohesion Fund) |
Number of hydro-engineering objects
(small-scale retention) | ca. 3,500 (including ca. 400 water reservoirs) |
Total volume
of stored water | ca. 1,300,000 m3 |
Total length of logging routes where surface outflow will be reduced | ca. 1400 km |
Rehabilitation of post-military training grounds managed by the State Forests National Forest Holding (SF NFH) for environmental purposes
The aim of the project is to restore the natural and functional properties of areas managed by the SF NFH and degraded as a consequence of military training activities. The full-scale rehabilitation of the areas will include the removal of materials that are hazardous to human health and life and the natural environment. This will be followed by activities to enhance the areas’ natural beauty and make them available to the public. The following activities are planned in the project:
- explosive-ordnance reconnaissance and removal of hazardous materials,
- removal of soil contamination,
- dismantling or securing post-military facilities and site cleanup,
- subsoil rehabilitation,
- renewal and afforestation of post-military training grounds,
- adjustment of tree species to local habitats – tree stand conversion,
- preservation and reintroduction of plant and animal species,
- environmental assessment,
- geo-environmental assessment.
The project will support the protection of animal and plant species and enhancement of the forests’ natural beauty.
Coordinator | Coordination Center for Environmental Projects |
Beneficiary | State Forests National Forest Holding – General Directorate of the State Forests |
Final beneficiary | 57 forest districts |
Implementation period | 2009-2013 |
Total implementation cost | ca. €40 million |
Subsidised amount | up to 85% |
Source of funding | Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment, Priority Axis 2: Waste management and soil protection, Action 2.2 – Rehabilitation of degraded sites and sea-shore protection (resources of the Cohesion Fund) |
3. Other forest-related activities
Another task of Centre is to support the organisational units of the State Forests. The activities are aimed at supporting initiatives which contribute to the protection of forest resources and development of the forest sector. They include:
- analyses on possible financial support for the State Forests’ organisational units from EU programmes other than the OPI&E and from national funding institutions,
- providing training and assistance to the State Forests’ organisational units in applying for grants through the LIFE+ programme and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management,
- supervision of state aid for the forestry sector.
