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 2022 — 25. 5. 2022 — Preface — Print article in pdf
Preface Anna Hubáčková issue 2022
Dear friends, dear readers,
You have got another issue of Ochrana přírody/Nature Conservation Journal presenting the selected articles published there in 2021 describing approaches of nature conservation in the Czech Republic, in both national and international contexts.
Allow me to namely highlight four contributions. The first presents an intention to restore extensive abandoned brown coal quarries in northern Bohemia using natural succession; if it is implemented it will provide significant economic and ecological benefits. The second proposes in accordance with the European Green Deal a new system of using the European Union funds for protected area management in Africa to preserve unique biological diversity and ecosystem services/nature’s contributions to people there. The third deals with experience of the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic in using management agreements, having been an important tool in cooperation with landowners and land managers in nature conservation and landscape protection. And last but not least the fourth points out inscription of the Jizerské hory/ Jizera Mountains Beech Forest National Nature Reserve on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the very first natural site in the Czech Republic.
On 1 July, 2022 the Czech Republic will take over the six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In environment protection and management, our priority will be supporting implementation of the European Green Deal. We are going to particularly aim at mitigation and adaptation measures to reduce climate change negative impacts and at biological diversity. The context of the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine has been to everybody well-known as well as helpful and unequivocal attitude of the EU Members States including our country to Ukraine. It is clear that wars are not a suitable time for implementation of effective environmental policy, but this is not the only reason to believe that the conflict will shortly end justly and fairly in favour of the attacked country. At the same time, the principal geopolitical event obviously affects also implementation of measures agreed during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 26) in Glasgow in the autumn of 2021 or of the above European Green Deal. Nevertheless despite negative aspects of the war in Ukraine European and other countries do not be discouraged from applying further environmental measures. In many cases, synergy among environmental, economic and geopolitical aspects in the current development can be expected; some European Green Deal’s visions have been accelerated, e.g. renewable energy source development in the Czech Republic. Rational energy savings through current technologies, wise use of renewable energy sources, and their supplementation by nuclear power shall probably be one of the current crisis outputs.
It definitely is not easy for Ukraine to fight against the dangerous aggressor for freedom and integrity and I am glad that the developed world including the EU Member States did not maroon it or leave it alone. Ukraine has been fighting not only for the territorial integrity and sovereignty, but also for humanity, democracy, freedom and other ideas which the European Union has been built on since its very beginning. I am very pleased and it is encouraging that the Czech Republic plays extraordinary positive role in it.
To conclude, allow me to express my sincere thanks to all professional and amateur nature conservationists in Europe and all over the world for their meaningful, useful and often brave work. Their efforts has been important for our life nowadays – as well as in the future.
Wishing all the best and finally peace for Ukraine
Anna Hubáčková
Minister of the Environment