The original idea of creating a preserve here came out in 1946, at a
conference in Łeba with scientists from Poznań and Gdańsk. The park however was
created 21 years later, in 1967, on an area of 180.69 km
(69.76 sq mi). Today it is slightly larger, covering 186.18 km
(71.88 sq mi), of which 102.13 km (39.43 sq mi)
consists of waters and 45.99 km (17.76 sq mi) of forests. The
strictly preserved zone covers 56.19 km (21.70 sq mi). In 1977
UNESCO designated the park a biosphere reserve under its Programme on Man and
the Biosphere (MaB). The
