In 1994 Karkonosze National Park organized a science conference entitled "Geoecological Problems of the Karkonosze." This conference followed one which took place in 1991, when 50 papers were presented by scientists from Wroclaw, Poznan, Warsaw, Katowice, Krakow, Olsztyn, and the Czech Republic. This year, scientists from research institutes in Poland and the Czech Republic will present 70 papers based on the results of their latest research.

In 1959, Poland's Karkonosze National Park was established on an area of 5,500 ha. In turn, the Czech Krkonose National Park was established in 1963 on an area of 40,000 ha. In 1992, the Karkonosze/Krkonose Bilateral Biosphere Reserve was established, comprising the area of both parks. The most valuable portions of the Parks, including over 10,000 ha in the sub-alpine and alpine zones, are under strict protection and constitute the core zone of the Biosphere Reserve. The Polish part of the Reserve has core and buffer zones only, while the Czech side has all three zones: core, buffer, and transition. The Polish and Czech sides are now working together to prepare a common action plan for the Reserve and to determine the ways in which the two sides may communicate better. Karkonosze National Park is going to prepare a plan for nature conservation in the Park, which should outline the main goals of the Park's existence.

The Karkonosze mountains can be considered a single unit, so the Polish and Czech sides face similar problems which may be categorized into two main groups. The first of these is the deterioration of the health of the environment. Both natural and anthropogenic factors threaten the nature of Karkonosze. Natural factors include the difficult climatic conditions (cold and wind) and pests. Anthropogenic factors include historic forestry practices (the common replacement of natural mixed forest by spruce monocultures in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries) and air pollution (generated mostly by the "Black Triangle," but also by local industry). In the last few years, the situation has improved as the level of pollution has decreased, and the health of the forest has improved distinctly. Karkonosze National Park obtains the seedlings necessary for reforestation from its own nurseries, and work has begun on the reconstruction of the lower mountain forest. The Czech and Polish parts are participating in a common project for reforestation in the Karkonosze mountains.

Tourism is responsible for the second category of problems. Between 8 and 11 million tourists visit the Biosphere Reserve annually (2 to 3 million on the Polish side and 6 to 8 million on the Czech side). The network of tourist routes is well-developed, extending to about 200 km on the Polish side and more than 1000 km on the Czech side. The National Park has numerous shelters, ski lifts, and ski-roads as well as two chair lifts on the Polish side and one on the Czech side. New problems have appeared recently, as local authorities become more active with the changes taking place in Poland. Over the last few years, tourist organizations increasingly have been pressuring the Polish part, with many groups suggesting that more areas of the Park should be opened up for skiing. New methods of communication are still developing and settlements are being founded.