The Journal is published by the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic in cooperation with the Cave Administration of the Czech Republic, the Krkonoše Mts. National Park Administration, the Bohemian Forest Mts. National Park Administration, the Podyjí National Park Administration and the The Bohemian Switzerland National Park Administration. It has been published since 1946.
cs / en
Nature Conservation 2/2011 — 11. 7. 2011 — Nature Conservation Legislation — Print article in pdf
Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection and the Water Act
Watercourses, water bodies and wetlands significantly contribute to health of ecosystems which they are part of and provide wild plant and animals with their preferred habitats. The Water Act (Act No. 254/2001 Gazette on Waters, as amended later) officially declares water ecosystem conservation. Nevertheless, because the piece of legislation aims particularly at water management and flood and drought prevention, interests of water management and nature conservation can sometimes clash.
The author compares the legal enactment in the Water and in Nature Conservation (Act No. 114/1992 Gazette on the Protection of Nature and the Landscape, as amended later) Acts when performing state/public administration. A State Nature Conservancy authority is among most often respective authorities in water management administrative procedures. On the other hand, a Water Management authority can be the respective authority in hearings carried out by a State Nature Conservancy authority. With respect to woody plant felling, a watercourse manager is allowed to fell woody plants along streams, which can be a barrier, precluding continuous water drainage during floods. A water work owner is obliged to cut self-sowing trees on a water facility dam. For such a tree cutting, the Nature Conservation Act provisions on woody plant felling and on significant landscape elements should not be applied. In addition, the Water Act sets the provisions on enhancing life of fish and other water animals. New water facilities on watercourses should not act as a barrier to water organism migration and passage. Removing migration and passage barriers which have been built on streams is financially supported by the Government, namely by subventions.