About us
Arnika is a Czech non-profit organization that has been uniting people striving for a better environment since 2001.
Our mission is to protect nature and a healthy environment for future generations both in Czechia and abroad. In our activities, we rely on three components - public involvement in the decision-making process, expert opinions and justified requests, and media coverage of the problems. In the long-term, we are promoting less waste and hazardous substances, wild living rivers and diverse nature, and the right of citizens to make decisions about the environment.
Our stories with a happy ending prove that the work of the people in Arnika brings concrete results. We are constantly working to keep it that way. However, Arnika's list of successes would be much shorter without the help of volunteers and sponsors.
We are members of international & Czech associations:
IPEN (International Pollutants Elimination Network) is a global network that strives for a healthier world in which people and the environment are no longer harmed by the production, use, or disposal of toxic chemicals. We contribute to this goal mainly through our activities under the Toxic Substances and Wastes programme, which include worldwide sampling and the implementation of analyses and research that map toxic pollution, and efforts to strengthen national and global policies in the field of chemicals and waste.
GAIA (Global Alliance for Incineration Alternatives) is an alliance supporting alternatives to waste incineration, sustainable waste management, and reducing the production of waste to the ideal state in which all materials will be reused and waste will not be generated at all (zero waste). It is a network of many organizations and communities around the world. Arnika deals with the topic of waste incineration and its management as part of the Don't Incinerate, Recycle! campaign and its other activities.
Health Care Without Harm is an international organization striving for the global transformation of healthcare in order to reduce its ecological footprint and to contribute to the protection of the environment by its very nature. It supports the introduction of ecological and healthy alternatives in healthcare that do not pollute the environment and, as a result, do not contribute to disease. This includes, for example, the introduction of sustainable alternatives to the incineration of hospital waste, which we also advocate.
EEB (European Environmental Bureau) is the largest network of environmental civil organizations across Europe. At the European level, EEB deals with topics such as climate change, biodiversity, the circular economy, sustainable development, air, water, and soil pollution, or chemical pollution. In cooperation with other EEB members, we strive to promote progressive policies aimed at the protection and prosperity of the environment in the European Union and beyond.
European ECO Forum is a coalition of non-governmental organizations promoting the principles of environmental democracy in the UNECE region (Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union). Together with the Forum, Arnika participates in meetings of the states of the Aarhus Convention, monitors events in individual countries, draws attention to violations of the law, and supports local civil society. In 2022, for example, we managed together to secure the creation of a Rapid Response Mechanism to protect environmental activists from persecution.
ERN (European Rivers Network) is a non-governmental organization dealing with the protection and sustainable management of water and rivers. Through its activities such as information campaigns and educational programmes, the network contributes to the protection of rivers and their ecosystems throughout Europe. Arnika has been dedicated to the protection of rivers and their ecosystems for a long time, currently, for example, as part of the campaigns For a Living Elbe, Stop the Danube-Odra-Elbe Canal, and Rivers Without Poisons or as part of our work abroad to protect Bosnian and Moldovan rivers.
International Rivers is an international network working for the global protection of rivers. In this way, they try to act against their fragmentation and pollution, and they try to support communities that depend on free-flowing rivers. Arnika supports the protection of rivers within the framework of Czech campaigns (For a Living Elbe, Stop the Danube-Odra-Elbe Canal, and Rivers without Poisons), as well as persistent and long-term work abroad, for example on the protection of rivers in Bosnia and Moldova.
FoRS (Czech Forum for Development Cooperation) is a platform of Czech non-profit entities that deal with development cooperation, development education, and humanitarian aid. Together with other organizations in FoRS, we share a common interest in promoting greater relevance and effectiveness of Czech and international foreign development cooperation and increasing its positive effects for the inhabitants of developing and transforming countries. As part of our work, we help protect the environment not only in the Czech Republic, but also in countries such as Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Bosnia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, or Thailand.
Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) is the largest umbrella organisation of NGOs from the Eastern Partnership region and the EU, working together to promote European integration, facilitate reforms and democratic transformations in the six Eastern Partnership countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Their mission is to ensure effective participation of civil societies of Eastern Partnership and the EU in the process of planning, monitoring and implementation of the Eastern Partnership policy in constructive dialogue with the EU and EaP decision-makers.
Zelený kruh (The Green Circle) is an association of Czech environmental non-governmental organizations and is dedicated to monitoring laws and policies. It coordinates legislative campaigns and provides support in advocacy activities focused on environmental protection and civil rights. As part of the Green Circle, we coordinate our work in the area of public participation in decision making or construction and waste legislation. We also have a representative on the Green Circle Council.
KliK - Czech climate coalition is a platform for Czech non-governmental non-profit organizations that deal with the climate and environmental protection. We cooperate within it with other organizations that work on mitigating the climate crisis and adapting to its effects, social aspects of the climate crisis, development cooperation, and humanitarian aid.
STEP - Network of Czech environmental advice centres is a national professional association that promotes, develops, and supports environmental consulting and education through its activities. STEP also supports newly-emerging ecoconsultancies and represents them. Arnika has been contributing, among other things, by running its own free eco-advice for over fifteen years, in which it has handled hundreds of your questions every year and continues to do so.
Pavučina (The Spider Web) is a network of ecological education centres. It is an umbrella organization for those who are engaged in environmental education in the Czech Republic. Within the network, we contribute with our eco-advisory and educational activities and thus help to support the development of education that contributes to the protection of nature and to the sustainable life of individuals and society as a whole.
Our international activities are kindly supported by individual donors and the following funds and authorities:
