Prague, April 25 (CTK) – The city of Prague is unique among European capitals in terms of the number of protected nature localities and new will be added, daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes in its Prague supplement yesterday.
The dozens of protected localities are covered by swampy meadows, steppes as well as world important geological and paleontological sites.
At present, there are 69 natural monuments, eight national natural monuments, 16 nature reserves on the territory of Prague, which spread on a total area of 2200 hectares, MfD writes.
In addition, it writes, there are 12 nature parks in the city and the Central Bohemian Cesky kras (Bohemian Karst) spills over into Prague on its south-west edge.
Four localities in the Vltava River canyon in the north of Prague will be extended and the declaration of two entirely new protected localities is being prepared, MfD writes.
Due to the existence of the unique number of protected localities, care of the natural wealth in Prague is on a high level, Petr Styblo, from the Czech Union of Nature Conservation (CSOP), told MfD.
However, it would benefit Prague nature if individual localities were better interconnected, he said.
“Prague could also change the style of city greenery maintenance so that common parks be not alike and instead offered refuge to some animals,” Styblo said.
He said Prague’s specificity is that individual protected localities are largely diverse, which also applies to the city centre, including the Petrin Hill. The diversity is due to the varied geological substratum.
The Vltava River is also important from the point of view of the nature environment. Thanks to it, several relatively rare animal species, such as beavers and exotic birds, live in the city, Styblo said.
Prague also has some international unique localities. This is true, for instance, of Barrandien that is an important Paleozoic locality, Jan Moravec, from the CSOP, said.
He said Prague steppes are important from the national point of view. One of them, the Prokopske udoli valley, is also interesting due to the fact that it is surrounded all around by prefab housing estates.
The valley spreads on 101.5 hectares and it has been a national nature reserve since 1978. Its character makes it one of the most visited relaxation places in Prague, Moravec said.
