Issue

Introduction State Pressure  Response Action  Resources Monitoring Maps Databases

  What is being done to fix the problems ?

Nature Conservation

There are 10 nature parks and 88 small-size protected areas declared in the territory of Prague. In 1997 there occurred no major changes or amendments save for a continuing detailed delineation of the small-size protected areas in September 1998 (under the auspices of the Department of Environment of the Prague City Hall).

The restoration and maintenance of particularly important areas of protection have been going on. The educational tourist trail Barrandov Rocks was opened for the public; over its length of approximately six kilometers it acquaints tourists with the remarkable geological setting and other natural and historical facts of interest.

Some of the protected areas are endangered by their owners. It will probably be necessary to resort to sanctions which the Nature and Landscape Protection Act allows for. However, it is still preferable to educate the owners rather than use orders and sanctions. 

 Protected areas, their protective zones, and nature parks, 1998

See the list of nature parks and protected areas

The approval of the Environmental Stability Territorial System (ÚSES) represents an issue of importance for the whole city. For the time being the only document that has been prepared for Prague in this respect is the ÚSES Master Plan, which the Council of the City of Prague has endorsed as a basic supporting document for the Land-Use Plan. Until the Land-Use Plan is approved, the legal support/status of the Environmental Stability Territorial System in the territory of Prague is somewhat shaky.

A piece of good news is the approval of the Government’s Nature and Landscape Protection Program, one of the objectives of which is to provide enough land for effecting exchanges for land lots situated in areas of high protection and different elements of the Environmental Stability Territorial System. The land referred to above is forest or agricultural land offered in exchange for areas particularly valuable from a natural conservation or environmental viewpoint, which would thus become state-owned; another objective is to ensure continuity of the Environmental Stability Territorial System elements in the Czech Republic and Europe.

Outputs of the mapping of vegetation provide good supporting information for land-use decision-making processes, small and large capital investment and development projects, management of particularly valuable protected areas, and maintenance of public parks and greenery. The maps should find their full use in the planning of extensive capital investment and development projects and in the final phase of the Land-Use Plan of Prague. 


International Protection of Wild Animals and Plants 

In April 1997 a new legal standard, Act No. 16/1997 Coll., on protection of wild animals and plants known as CITES and based on the 8th Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Animal and Plant Species, became effective. The Act has been implemented by Implementation Ordinance No. 82/1997 Coll. The CITES Act is a follow-up of a modern concept of the protection of endangered species as stipulated in Act No. 114/1992 Coll., on protection of nature and landscape.

The Act divides wild animals and plants into the following classes of species:

• Annex I of CITES - species directly endangered by extinction (critically endangered)
• Annex II of CITES - species that must be protected in order not to become endangered (highly endangered)
• Annex III of CITES - species protected upon a suggestion of a country which is a signatory of the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Animal and Plant Species (endangered species).

Furthermore, the Act stipulates:

• possibilities of exports and imports of animal and plant species (appropriate licenses and permissions are granted by the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic)
• an obligation to register and mark animal and plant specimens in a unique fashion.

The CITES Act has imposed a number of important duties upon breeders and growers, in particular the mandatory registration of the species listed in Annexes I and II. The implementation of the Act in the territory of Prague amounts to a tremendous workload.

A much discussed issue is that of the unique marking of plant and animal specimens. The Act stipulates specimens to which the mandatory marking does not apply, as well as usable marking methods. The issue of unique marking represents a huge practical problem.

Maintenance of greenery and parks in Prague

Operating in the framework of the public parks maintenance system and observing the resolution of the Council of the City of Prague - Principles of Public Greenery and Parks - the City Parks Section of the Environmental Department carries on with its efforts to restore major parks in the city.Detailed records on parks and gardens in Prague have been prepared (Kinských Gardens, eastern part of the Letná Park, central part of the Royal Warren, bottom part of the Petrín Park). Furthermore, execution documentation on specific parts of the city parks has been prepared as well. As project documentation at different levels was prepared, construction work was ordered from various contractors. Undoubtedly, the most demanding project from the civil engineering viewpoint is the renovation and refurbishment of the Vrtbovská Garden.