The quality of the natural environment in Poland, in comparison with other European countries, can be characterized as relatively high. This affects the fact that, in Poland, there are a number of areas of great natural beauty, a relatively small area of degraded soils and a traditional rural landscape. Therefore, the direct expenditures on environmental protection in the past have been minimized. However, escalating anthropogenic pressures have led to disturbing changes in the environment. This is primarily the result of socio-economic development and uncontrolled consumerism uncorrelated with environmental awareness. Implementation of the objectives of environmental protection, therefore, requires incurring specific, sometimes very high volumes, especially in rural areas. This article presents the changes in the level of investment in the rural environment based on the example of Warmia and Mazury and an indication of the main tangible results of these activities. A data analysis shows that the rural areas of Warmia and Mazury have observed high investment growth in fixed assets in environmental protection, resulting in increases in tangible effects, especially in sewage treatment plants and the sewage network.

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