[1] Polish national parks have carried out numerous research programs and they play an important role in the ecological education.
The national parks can be visited as they provide a well-developed tourism infrastructure, though visitors typically need to keep to designated areas such as trails.
Many parks furthermore offer thematic trails, educational centres and natural history museums.
In order to become a national park, an area needs to be at least 1000 hectares in size and have outstanding environmental and cultural value.
Poland's national parks are governed by the Nature Conservation Act, last amended in 2004,[4][5] and they are funded from the central state budget.