The BeginningThe history of EcoFund dates back to 1991, when the Paris Club uniting a group countries that were creditors of Poland decided to reduce the Polish debt by 50% providing that the remaining part is paid off by 2010. The Government of Poland proposed further 10% of the debt to be allocated for supporting the most urgent environmental protection undertakings. This was the first in the world initiative of allocating a part of a Government-secured debt for environmental protection purposes (usually referred to as "ecoconversion of debts" or "debt-for-environment swap"). A consent for such a proposal given by all the 16 creditor countries would mean a possibility to use over 3 billion US dollars for the protection of natural environment in Poland. This would make a substantial financial support for the efforts made in Poland to improve the natural environment, which was dramatically degraded due to multiannual negligence of the authorities in the former political and economic system. The Paris Club accepted the Polish proposal, making it generally possible to adopt the mechanism of allocating a part of the debts (up to 10%) for the purposes specified in bilateral agreements signed by Poland with individual creditor countries. As soon as in June 1991, the US Government took a decision to assign 10% of the Polish debt (about 370 million US dollars) for the debt-for-environment-swap scheme. This made a basis for setting up a special organization that would administer the money available from that source. In April 1992, the Minister of Finance, acting on behalf of the State Treasury, established EcoFund and gave that organization the status of an independent non-profit foundation. On August 19, 1992, the District Court for the Capital City of Warsaw entered EcoFund into the register of foundations and thus gave the Foundation the status of a legal person. The office of the EcoFund President was entrusted to Professor Maciej Nowicki, Doctor Habilitated in Engineering, the Minister of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry in the then Government headed by J. K. Bielecki. The first EcoFund's seat was located in a building at 372 Wilanowska Street in Warsaw. The first tranche of that money was transferred to the EcoFund's bank account on November 18, 1992. This made it possible to employ the first three staff members, to rent office rooms, and to start regular operation. The first grants, amounting to 4.25 million zlotys, were awarded by EcoFund to five projects as early as in 1992. The year 1993 was the first full year of operation of the EcoFund Foundation. In 1993, France and Switzerland decided to assign a part of the Polish debts for the debt-for-environment-swap scheme. The relevant agreement with France was signed on June 2, 1993 and stipulated the conversion of 1% of the debt, i.e. about 280 million French francs. The agreement with Switzerland was signed on December 17, 1993 for an amount of 78 million of Swiss francs, which made 10% of the Polish debt to that country. In 1997, a decision to take part in that scheme was taken by the Government of Sweden (4% of the debt, i.e. about 13 million US dollars) and in the next year Italy joined the group of the donor countries (by converting 2% of the debt, i.e. about 32 million US dollars). Afterwards, a decision to allocate 10% of the debt, i.e. about 27 million US dollars, for subsidizing environmental protection projects in Poland was taken by the Government of Norway in 2000. Thus, Poland received a total amount of 571 million US dollars for environmental protection projects in result of signing relevant agreements on the debt-for-environment swap with the six countries mentioned above. That money, paid in annual tranches from 1992 to 2010, is administered by the EcoFund Foundation.
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