This absolute beauty of a stamp is part of a series themed around environmental protection and published in 1973. That was the year that the Polish Government established a Ministry of Environmental Protection and the creation of a long term programme of works around environmental issues. Poland had been an active lobbyist in international activity to protect fish stocks in the Baltic Sea and was a vocal member of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In part, this activity was related to the broader goal of promoting the Marxist way of life. As environmental issues became part of general conversation in Western countries (think Silent Spring, think Oil Crisis), the Soviet Union was keen to find ways of demonstrating that socialist / communist approaches were better for the environment that western, market-based approaches. I’m not sure either side has come out of the argument glowing when it comes to environmental issues, but at least we have this rather beautiful stamp.
Here’s a modern summary of environmental action and legislation in Poland:
https://www.sgi-network.org/2017/Poland/Environmental_Policies
