Motorsägen bedrohen den Nationalpark Sumava im Böhmerwald. Unter dem Vorwand des “Borkenkäferbefalls” sollen massive Schlägerungen in der ersten Zone des Nationalparks stattfinden. Die Naturschutzorganisation Friends of the earth, unterstützt von den südböhmischen Grünen, kämpft gegen die geplante Zerstörung des Nationalparks – und braucht dringend Unterstützung! Protest-E-Mails an die verantwortlichen Politiker ist genauso gefragt wie natürlich finanzielle Unterstützung der Kampagne. Es brennt: für heute ist ein großer Polizeieinsatz und die Räumung des umstrittenen, von Demonstranten besetzten Bereichs angekündigt.
Es war ein langer, schwerer Weg für viele AktivistInnen, bis Naturschutz wie in Sumawa, gesetzlich verankert wurde. Wenn er jetzt “stückweise” und unter Vorwänden angeknabbert wird, ist Widerstand von Anfang an angesagt!
Stop the destruction of Sumava National Park
Sumava is the largest national park in the Czech Republic, and arguably the closest thing our country has got to real wilderness. The national park encompasses more than 600 square kilometres of mountain spruce forests, peat bogs and other wetlands, glacial lakes and flower rich meadows. It is home to vital populations of lynx, caterpillare, black grouse, Ural owl and European elk. Sumava is a Natura 2000 site under both Bird and Habitat Directives, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, and its peat bogs and peat forests are listed as a Ramsar site.
However a recently installed new director of the national park Jan Strasky proposed large scale cutting of spruce forests in the national park. This will lead to enormous clearcuts across the national park. Beautiful habitats of ancient mountain forests will be lost. The official reason for that is bark beetle gradation, and vast majority of the trees to be cut is actually infected by the bark beetle. However, the situation is also a good excuse for timber extraction, and national politicians are under heavy pressure from logging interests.
Jan Strasky is former politician and a long-time critic of modern nature conservation. He famously said „The Nature is the enemy and therefore one must fight it. If it wouldn’t be for my ancestors who fought various animals I would not be here today“.
He announced also intention to implement and realize plans for certain projects such as ski lift to Hranicnik, enlargement of the road to Zadni Zvonkova border crossing point (CR / A), to support development of existing municipalities inside or around national park allowing further construction of new private buildings or even establishment of new municipalities inside NP. It is common knowledge that political groups associated with real estate speculators, developers and logging companies are behind appointment of Mr. Strasky.
Yet director Strasky and his first deputy Jiri Manek ordered logging inside some areas which until now were declaired as non-intervention forests. One of them is the area around Ptaci potok (Bird Creek) – waterlogged spruce forests and even peat bog spruce forests between peat-bogs and moors (cernohorsky moore, Ptaci peat bog, Ztracena peat bog and Modrava Creek). The whole area is a part of large complex of Modrava Peatbogs – the most precious jewel of sumava National Park and a crucial part of sumava Ramsar Site.
Hnuti DUHA – Friends of Earth Czech Republic initiated an investigation at Czech Environmental Inspection and Czech State Police [1]. Birdlife CR wrote a letter to DG Envi EU Commission. Since neither of those authorities stopped the logging in area mentioned, activists from Hnuti DUHA – FoE CR, Greenpeace CR, Birdlife CR and other NGOs, even ordinary citizens started peaceful blocade of cutting trees in the field. After 10 days National Park Administration obtained a preliminary decision set by a court ordering Hnuti DUHA – FoE CR to stop organizing the blocade. The court ruling isn’t about legality / illegality of the logging. From the justification for the court’s decision it is obvious that court was misled by NP director Strasky who did not mention valid administrative acts set by Czech Ministry of Environment. Hnuti DUHA – Friends of Earth CR obeyed the court’s rule but filled an appeal against it at the same time. Other citizens continue the blockade and their number increased in last few days from 30 to 70.
National Park Administration summoned state police to disperse this peaceful blockade. Police force includes special police commando units for public order and anti-conflict team. For 4 days now cca 60 policemen assist this illegal logging, dragging protesters away from forest, handcuff them and even using physical force which is in some cases used even by working lumberjacks. One policeman strangled one of the girls and threatened “to kill her”. Police is not able to maintain the safety of protesters while some trees are being fell directly inbetween people. There’s no charge against protesters other than that they failed to obey police order to stop enter and stay inside logging area, which (according to lawyers from Czech Environmental Law Lawyers Service) is not an offense at all in this particular case because the logging itself is illegal and protesters are only trying to stop this illegal action.
Czech Environment Minister doing nothing and Czech Environment Inspection just standing aside.
Some leading Czech scientists protest against logging and devastation of sumava National Park, some of those even taking part on the blockade in person.
Not only Bird Creek area is endangered by logging or even clearcutting. Thousands of trees are marked to be cut in other core areas of the national park (Bavorska cesta, Jezerni hrbet) where important nesting spots for capercaillie lie. Since start of August 2011 the NP Administration management plans to start logging inside unique mountinous ancient forest at Smrcina / Hranicnik area at Austrian border where plans exist to build a ski lift or even ski slopes (by Southern Bohemian Regional Government).
However completely inadequate deployment of police forces suggest that it is not just this particular logging of 3 to 6 thousand trees in the vicinity of Bird Creek but rather a demonstration of political power aiming to devastate national park, its mission and values in the public eye. Bird Creek Area which lies inside so called Wild Heart of Europe became a symbol for that.
See photos and shots: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIwT_-DITdI&feature=share
http://www.facebook.com/netunelujtelesy#!/media/set/?set=a.10150280905137764.357101.58887737763
http://www.facebook.com/netunelujtelesy#!/media/set/?set=a.10150280149042764.356852.58887737763
Please spread this information around the World.
Please write to the key Czech officials who are responsible for the national park. Some of the key talking points are as follows:
- Ask them to stop immediately logging in previous non- intervention areas in Sumava NP
- Ask them to stop violence and Police actions against peacefull civic blocade of cutting trees
- You may want to emphasise that leaving substantial zones – usually more than 50% of the park – without human intervention is a common practice in national parks in Central and Western Europe, and that it includes non-interference with natural disturbance such as windbreaks and bark beetle.
- The government needs to understand that if it goes ahead with logging in the national park’s non-intervention zones, Sumava will not meet IUCN national park standards anymore.
- You could also stress that protection of wild nature and fascinating experience of forest wilderness attracts thousands of tourists to Sumava and other national parks in Europe.
- Evidence shows that mountain spruce forests regenerate after bark beetle gradations in European national parks, and this regeneration is faster than after artificial re-planting of clearcuts. Also, biodiversity and visitor value of naturally regenerating forests wilderness is much higher than that of clearcuts after intervention against bark beetle.
You should write to Mr. Tomas Chalupa, the minister of environment, Ministry of Environment, Vrsovicka 65, 100 10 Praha 10, Czech Republic, ministr@mzp.cz
and Cc. your letter to the following officials:
- Mr. Tomas Tesar, deputy minister of environment, on the same address; tomas.tesar@mzp.cz
- Mr. Jan Strasky, director, Sumava National Park, 1. maje 260, 385 01 Vimperk, Czech Republic, jan.strasky@npsumava.cz
Also, please write to Mr. Petr Necas, prime minister, Cabinet Office, Nabrezi Edvarda Benese 4, 118 01 Praha 1, posta@vlada.cz
and Cc. your letter to the leaders of junior coalition parties:
- Mr. Karel Schwarzenberg, leader, TOP09 party, Michnuv palac, budova c. 2, ujezd 450/40, 11800 Praha 1 – Mala Strana, Czech Republic, info@top09.cz
- Mr. Radek John, leader, Veci verejne party, stefanikova 23/203
150 00 Praha 5, Czech Republic, r.john@veciverejne.cz
Finally, you can your letters also to the chairpeople of the two chambers of the Czech parliament, and to the leader of the opposition:
- Mrs. Miroslava Nemcova, chairwoman, Chamber of Deputies, Snemovni 4, 118 26 Praha 1, nemcovam@psp.cz
- Mr. Milan Stech, chairman, Senate, Valdstejnske namesti 17/4, 118 01 Praha 1, Czech Republic, stechm@senat.cz
- Mr. Bohuslav Sobotka, leader, Czech Social Democratic Party, Lidovy dum, Hybernska 7, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic, bsobotka@socdem.cz
FUNDING
We urgently need additional funding for the campaign. Any funding or suggestions for possible funding sources are extremely welcome. If anybody can support, here we send the account nuber etc.:
Account No: 233916650/0300
Bank: Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka, a. s.
Bank address: Milady Horakove 6, 60179 Brno, Czech Republic
Swift code (BIC): CEKOCZPP
Account name: Hnuti DUHA – PZ CR
IBAN: CZ38 0300 0000 0002 3391 6650
For more information or to suggest donors, please contact Marie Svedova, marie.svedova@hnutiduha.cz, : +420-5-45214431 to discuss any details and arrangements
Thank you very much
Petr Machalek, director, Hnuti DUHA – FoE CR
Jaromir Blaha, forest campaigner, Hnuti DUHA – FoE CR
