History

The Warsaw Ecological Economics Centre (WOEE) was founded at the University of Warsaw (FES) in 1993. This initiative was inspired when Prof. Tomasz Żylicz received the Pew Scholar Award in Conservation and the Environment. Soon after, the Centre became involved in numerous local activities, such as programmes for the reintroduction of the lynx in the Kampinos National Park and the grey seal in the Baltic Sea, the establishment of the Masurian Landscape Park, and in scientific international undertakings, like the Baltic Drainage Basin Project, an international initiative which applied non-market valuation methods for the first time in this part of Europe. Educational activities were also developed, by increasing the number of classes offered to UW students, organising courses and training sessions, and launching a postgraduate course on the economic basis of environmental policy, with the Harvard Institute for International Development. 

The Centre participates in numerous national and international research projects in the field of environmental economics. We cooperate with many research centres, at home and abroad. The results of our research have been published in the best scientific journals. We support Polish and foreign institutions of public administration, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector by preparing expert opinions, reports, and recommendations concerning issues in environmental economics. As part of our teaching activities at FES UW, we offer numerous lectures, tutorials, and seminars on environmental economics and natural resources. Our staff are high-level specialists who are engaged in scientific research and its practical aspects, and they are able to provide students with the most up-to-date knowledge and first-hand information on its applications. We are actively involved in numerous projects to popularise knowledge about environmental economics and its practical applications and take part in public debates.