MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT
 
Warsaw, 14 May 2008
   
15 May 2008 - the 89th Anniversary of Establishment of the Polish Geological Institute  
  
Professor Maciej Nowicki, Minister of the Environment participates to ceremonial celebration the 89th Anniversary of Establishment of the Polish Geological Institute. The ceremony is dedicated to the memory of the late Professor Stanisław Doktorowicz-Hrebnicki of the Polish Geological Institute, who was outstanding specialist in the scope of geology of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. Special exhibition commemorates his achievements in this field. The agenda includes also a scientific session with topical presentations including the utility hard coal deposit surveys within the Basin as the activities managed by Professor S. Doktorowicz-Hrebnicki and the development of geological cartography of the Upper Silesia Region in the second half of the 20th Century. Special awarded are to be granted during the ceremony to the individuals who put outstanding merits for geology. An outdoor exhibition is a traditional characteristic of such type celebration. This year it is titled "Geology - Profile and En-face". It includes a photo-outlook of really attractive in terms of nature and geology the terrain features of the Earth surface in Poland and worldwide.  
 
 
The Polish Geological Institute is the major scientific and research institution active in the field of geology in Poland. Founded under Resolution adopted yet in May 1919 by the Legislative Parliament, thus just half a year after Poland regained its independence the Institute is then one of the oldest Polish scientific institutions. It carries out various cross-sectoral surveys on domestic geological structure, the results of that have been applied for the purpose of the national economy and the protection of the environment. Apart from its scientific and research activities carried out in all fields of contemporary geology, the Institute plays also the role of the Polish Geological and Hydro-Geological Survey securing the national economic stability in the domains of both mineral and groundwater resources management, monitoring of the geological environment and it secures emergency warning on any related hazards. Its studies have provided for discovery of the principal mineral deposits in Poland such as copper, silver, native sulphur, hard coal, lignite, rock salt, potassium salt, and iron, titanium, vanadium, zinc and lead ores, as well as natural gas and petroleum deposits. The Polish Geological Institute is the leading establishment to produce and publish the geological maps, both surveying and topical ones, including those on paleogeology, hydrogeology, geo-economy and geochemistry. Thanks to its studies, Poland ranks among those few countries which offer complete knowledge on their natural environment. While acting on behalf of the State Treasury, the Polish Geological Institute manages for collection and storage of the country-wide geological data. Such computerised databases as Digital Geological Database, Midas, Infogeoskarb, Inventory of Mining Areas, Hydro-Bank, contain millions of the information items, including archive records and mineral core samples, maps, and aerial and satellite images. That data undergoes processing and is being made available to the end users via relevant networks and specialised software packages. The accredited Central Geochemical Laboratory of the Polish Geological Institute is one of the biggest of such type establishments in Poland. Being provided with the state-of-the-art analytic equipment it carries out hundreds of thousands analytical determinations annually. The Institute manages also for the international cooperation with the respective geological institutions in 30 countries, and it participates to the Community framework programmes, as well as to such ones as the Leonardo da Vinci, INTERREG and PHARE. It has also a membership of the EuroGeoSurveys international organisation of geological surveys - Centre of Excellence - Research on Abiotic Environment (REA) that provides for integration of the Institute's activity into the European Scientific Area. http://www.pgi.gov.pl