CZECH REPUBLIC

 

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Cars and cultivation threaten fields and forests

The Czech Republic enjoys a large amount of arable land and forest, but the country's farmland may be over-cultivated and a boom in the number of cars on the road has brought in pollution that hurts the trees – and the citizenry too. The country's nuclear power programme has also caused concern among environmentalists.

The landscape of the Czech Republic is characterised by pine forests and relatively flat terrain, which is good for farming. The average altitude in the country is 430 meters above sea level. More than half the land in the country is designated agricultural, and about 70 percent of that is cultivated. This is one of the highest cultivation rates in Europe, and a potential source of environmental stress. The forests are mostly coniferous and cover about 33 percent of the total area of the Czech Republic. Protected landscapes cover about 14 percent of the country.

One of the biggest environmental problems the country faces is the level of traffic, which has increased by an almost geometrical progression since 1989. And many cars in the Czech Republic are less environmentally friendly, either lacking a catalytic converter or using leaded gasoline. The resulting pollution takes a severe toll on the nation's forests – and negatively impacts urban life as well.

Nitrogen oxides from exhaust-gases cause much of the air pollution in Czech cities. Other pollutants, such as sulphur dioxide, have actually been reduced over the past ten years through improvements on power plants in North-Bohemia and a trend among households to convert from coal to gas or electrical fuel.

Aside from air pollution and higher noise levels, the dramatic growth in traffic brings other environmental problems. New roads, throughways, parking places and garages are being built, which means a reduction of green spaces in cities and out of them. Sometimes new roads cut through protected areas with valuable natural resources. For example, the important throughway D8 from Prague to Dresden is supposed to pass through the Czech Middle Mountain protected area (Ceske Stredohori). Fortunately, Czech citizens have a chance to participate in crucial proceeding on these matters, so they are able to stop some projects that would give priority to development of transport over nature protection.

Another environmental issue in the Czech Republic that has grabbed headlines is the Temelin nuclear power station in Southern Bohemia. Construction on the plant was launched in 1987, but critics, who said the plant had an unsafe design and would not be economically feasible, sought to prevent its completion. The Czech Cabinet voted to continue construction of the controversial plant, on May 13, 1999, and completion was projected to come by the end of the year. Government officials in neighboring Austria strongly opposed the plant, and threatened to make Temelin an issue when the Czech Republic enters European Union accession negotiations.

Other areas of environmental concern include the following, mentioned in a 1997 State of the Environment report:

Almost 5,000 small municipalities did not have sewer systems and waste water treatment facilities in 1997. The fraction of waste water discharged into the public sewers that is not further treated equalled 9.7 percent  in 1996. Most of the large waste water treatment facilities in operation are not yet equipped for removal of nitrogen and phosphorus.

In the vast majority of cases, water from individual wells does not meet the standard for drinking water, especially from the standpoint of the content of nitrates and bacterial pollution.

The total amount of waste produced in the country increased by about 25 percent between 1995 and 1997.

The fraction of special and hazardous waste deposited in landfills equals about 56 percent of total waste production.

Forty-six percent of agricultural land is significantly endangered by erosion.

The fraction of forests damaged by emissions was dropping, but still 59.7 percent of the forests were affected in 1996. The extent of forest damage by emissions in the Czech Republic is amongst the worst in Europe. The weakened tree stands have reduced resistance to biotic and abiotic factors. In the winter of 1995-96, the extremely unfavourable climatic conditions led to serious emission damage to about 20,000 hectares of forests in the Krusne Mountains, and 1,610 hectares were completely destroyed.

The number of variously endangered fauna and flora species remains high and only slow improvement is expected. Of the individual classes of vertebrates, on an average 28 percent of the fish and cyclostomata, 95 percent of the amphibians, 100 percent of the reptiles, 57 perecent of the birds and 35 percent of the mammals are endangered. According to the latest version of the "Red List," 30 percent of vascular plants, 52 percent of mosses and 40 percent of lichen species are endangered. In addition to an improvement in the environment, further systematic measures must be introduced if this situation is to improve.

Taken from: Regional Environmental Center's The Media Source Directory, December 1999.