ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to examine the role of development planning in the region during the socialist period and the complex relationship that existed between the ideals of the state, industrial growth and the environment. Research by the Instytut Morski had shown by 1973 that the Polish coastal zone was of special significance to the Polish economy and to the maritime economic development programme in particular. By November 1975, an agreement had been signed between the Central Board of Polish Sea Ports and the Union of Polish Ship Repair Yards concerning realisation of the Helsinki Convention. The complete fleet adaptation process was expected to be completed by the end of 1978 but this depended on 'the mastering by Poland's industry of the production of several new appliances and items of equipment'. The final commentary under communism was a clear admission of the problems facing Poland on the environmental front which had been lagrely skimmed over until the mid 1980s.
