Environment minister: New law to solve Šumava park dispute

Prague, Aug 2 (CTK) - A new bill could solve the situation in the Czech Sumava National Park (SNP), situated in west and south Bohemia, where activists have prevented the felling of bark beetle-hit trees for over a week, Environment Minister Tomas Chalupa (senior government Civic Democrats, ODS) said yesterday.

He stressed that he would like to discuss the legislation with top politicians, regional representatives as well as scientific experts in August.

"A new law is a key to the solution to the problem of the Sumava National Park. It must set up a clear and firm long-term concept and thereby secure stability, including a clear strategy of the fight against bark beetle and the definitions of particular zones," Chalupa said in a press release.

The ministry is now completing the document, he added.

In reaction to yesterday's criticism voiced by the government TOP 09, Chalupa said he had already met scientists who disagreed with the tree felling in the Sumava valuable zones left to spontaneous development.

On Thursday, senators will debate the situation in Sumava. Chalupa promised to participate in the meeting.

Moreover, representatives of the Plzen region, west Bohemia, have submitted a bill to the Chamber of Deputies that would allow for the cutting of trees in the second and third zones on the Sumava park.

However, deputies do not have a unified stance on the bill on the SNP, according to a CTK survey.

Chalupa also called on SNP head Jan Strasky to convoke a meeting of all parties involved in the dispute about the respective locality in Sumava and try to find a solution that would be considerate of the nature and at the same time efficient in the fight with the bark beetle.

Strasky reacted to Chalupa's words.

After an agreement with Chalupa, Strasky convoked a meeting of all parties in dispute, representatives of the park management, environmentalists, municipalities, regions and scientists, to be held in Modrava in Sumava next week, SNP spokesman Pavel Pechousek told CTK.

Chalupa said he had met the mayors of local villages, deputies and senators as well as representatives of the Save Sumava and SumavaPro associations and scientists a couple of days ago.

Environmentalists have been blocking for over a week some of the spruces marked for being cut before the bark-beetle leaves them and spreads to the surrounding forests.

Apart from the government TOP 09, whose chairman Karel Schwarzenberg yesterday challenged the Environment Ministry's stance on the problem, the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) also criticised the ministry's approach to Sumava.

CSSD chairman Bohuslav Sobotka announced that he would visit Sumava on Wednesday being invited by the Friends of the Earth environmental movement, protesting against the tree cutting, and representatives of the local self-rule bodies. The SNP management and the Environment Ministry are not able to manage the situation, Sobotka said.

Sumava is the largest national park in the Czech Republic covering 16,827 hectares. Along with the Bavarian Forest National Park with 5843 hectares of mountainous spruce forests they make up the largest continuous belt of this type of forest in central Europe.