The Barycz Valley has been awarded in the EDEN competition owing to the fact that it is a region of an integrated ecosystems management with well-protected environment and well-preserved cultural traditions.
“The Barycz Valley” Landscape Park is the biggest area of this kind in Poland (87040 ha), situated in the area of two voivodeships: Lower Silesia and Greater Poland. Since there are relatively few water and swamp areas in Poland, fish-breeding ponds are the most important especially for the fowl. The uniqueness of the “Barycz Valley” Landscape Park is underlined by registration in the Ramsar Convention,“Living Lakes” project and Nature 2000. These areas are characterized by birds’ high biodiversity and for many species. Over 280 bird species with 169 breeding ones were confirmed here. Only in the reserve "Milicz Ponds" (Stawy Milickie) 137 species regularly hatches with near half of them are the mud and waterbirds. Generally speaking “The Barycz Vallery” offers to bird watchers a great number of observation points situated on dikes.
In the Barycz Valley, tradition of breeding the carp fish dates back to medieval times. Presently the surface of the fish ponds exceeds 7000 ha, most of it located inside the ecologically clean areas of the national reserve and the Natura 2000 SPA.
The section of the Oder river extending between the mouth of its largest tributary, the Warta, near Kostrzyń, and the Baltic Sea is called the Lower Oder Valley
Drawsko Lake, is 1,871 ha large, 12,6 km long and 3.9 km wide (the 12th largest lake in Poland). Its maximum depth is 83 m, making it the second deepest lake in Poland.
Większość terenu wygranej destynacji znajduje się na obszarze chronionym Biebrzańskiego Parku Narodowego, który należy do największych obszarów chronionych w Polsce. Walory przyrodnicze tego terenu obejmują płynącą na tym terenie rzekę Biebrze, jej rozlewiska, torfowiska, stanowiące najrozleglejsze tereny bagienne w Polsce.
