Archive: Nature | Nature Nature
Environmentalists up in arms over plans for Šumava National Park
The Šumava National Park – a protected nature reserve in southern
Bohemia –is at the centre of a row between scientists, environmental
activists and the park’s new management. The park’s new director,
former prime minister Jan Stráský, is proposing a radical remedy for the
parks bark-beetle infestation problem –a combination of logging and
effective insecticides. Critics are up in arms saying the proposed strategy
would do irreversible harm to the valuable ecosystems and biotopes in the
nature reserve and lower the non-intervention areas in the park from the
present 33 to 22 percent, which goes against the general principles of
nature reserve protection. Environmental activist Vojtěch Kotecký says
the new management is about to throw the baby out with the bathwater. More
The yellowhammer voted Bird of the Year
It’s official: the yellowhammer has been voted Bird of the Year by the
Czech Ornithological Society. The sparrow sized bunting is with us all year
round –but its numbers are dwindling. With a bright yellow head and belly
it is hard to miss –and moreover makes itself heard with a song that is
known as “a little bit of bread and no cheese” in English and “jak to
sluníčko pěkně svítí” in Czech meaning “see how brightly the sun
shines”. Ornithologists also claim they discern two dialects in the
yellowhammer’s call. To find out more about the bird of the year I spoke
to one of our leading ornithologists Petr Voříšek.
More
A bear-faced lie: Czech environmentalists fall for a prank
Czech environmentalists were celebrating last week after they discovered
bear tracks in a rail underpass in the north-east of the country. The
tracks were deemed proof that the recently-built underpass, designed to
allow animals to safely cross the railway line, was actually working. But
it soon turned out that the bear track was faked, and that
environmentalists had fallen for a prank. More
Šumava National Park director steps down amidst concerns about its future
The Czech government wants to implement a radical change of direction in
the management of the Šumava National Park in southern Bohemia. On Monday,
the director of the country’s largest nature reserve, František
Krejčí, stepped down – as he put it – in order to facilitate
negotiations between the authorities and the local communities on the
planned changes. But Czech environmentalists are concerned the director’s
resignation will open the way for firms who want to increase logging in the
park. More
Green group launches ambitious proposal to increase tenfold amount of Czech territory given over to wilderness
An environmental organisation this week launched an ambitious new proposal
to increase greatly the amount of land in the Czech Republic given over to
untamed nature. In fact, the Czech branch of Friends of the Earth wants to
see a full 3 percent of the country covered in wilderness – ten times as
much as now. I asked the group’s Vojtěch Kotecký why they were pushing
for what would be a considerable change.
More
Environment minister wants change of policy on bark beetle devastation
The new environment minister, Pavel Drobil, went to the Šumava National
Park at the weekend to get a firsthand look at a problem that has literally
plagued the forest for decades – the damage caused by bark beetle
infestations. After viewing some of the worst-affected areas he declared
the current strategy of leaving nature to clean up after itself untenable,
to the dissatisfaction of environmental groups and others, who fear
increased logging.
More
Parts of northern Bohemia hit by severe flooding
Severe flooding hit the parts of the Czech Republic over the weekend,
claiming at least three lives and causing widespread damage. Heavy rain on
Saturday swelled rivers and streams in both northern and southern Bohemia,
and thousands of people had to be evacuated. More than 4,000 households
remain without electricity and gas supplies.
More
West Bohemian spa town gets European funds to fight plant invader
A West Bohemian spa town has won European Union funds to fight one of the
most serious environmental problems in the area — an invasive plant that
spreads like wildfire and lets almost nothing stand in its way. The project
is believed to the first of its kind in the country and could lead to even
more ambitious efforts.
More
Golden eagles could return to Beskydy mountains after 100-year absence
Ornithologists in the Beskydy mountains in the far east of the country are
celebrating the possible return of the golden eagle after an absence of
more than 100 years. A project to reintroduce young eagles to the area
appears to have borne fruit – two of the birds have formed a pair, and
have now started building a nest. More
Cuckoo, declining in numbers in Czech Republic, named Bird of Year
The common cuckoo has just been named Bird of the Year 2010 by the Czech
Society for Ornithology. One of the aims of the annual award is to draw
attention to the problems faced by particular species of birds. In the
case
of the cuckoo, ornithologists report a baffling fall in numbers over the
last few decades. More
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