On Monday, February 4, the Minister of Transport, Dan Ťok, will submit the Water Transport Strategy to the government for approval. The conception includes the construction of the Elbe at Decin without any compensation for the destruction of the valuable natural environment. It even casts doubt on the decision of the management of the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, which makes it no way to compensate for the destruction of the natural environment around the Elbe and its protection. Quite the opposite, the Czech government must respect its crucial decision and stop the preparations for the construction of the Weir at Decin.
Last year's government built the construction of the Weir at Decin, the design of the compensation measures for the destruction of the natural environment, which is included in the network of significant areas of Europe-wide, Natura 2000\t Protection of Nature 2000 and the Czech Nature and Landscape Protection Act. For state money, the government ordered the elaboration of several expert studies that all resolutely rejected any compensation measures and the devastation of the natural environment.
In addition to the destruction of the natural environment of Elbe, Minister Ťok proposes, for example, the construction of the Weir at Prelouc, which would mean the liquidation of the Slavik Islands. In spite of the fact that the government was tasked to include the area in the Natura 2000 network, it has never proceeded and thus, continues to violate European legislation.
Minister Tok clearly ignores all the rules. Moreover, he had an exception from prime minister Babis for the conception of being excluded from the comments of other ministers. Therefore, the Ministry of the Environment lost its opinion before the government vote.
Now it is the minister of the environment, Richard Brabec's turn to explain to the entire government and to minister Ťok why it is not possible to approve the conception. The approval of the document, including the Decin weir, would mean big trouble for the Czech Republic.
“If the government violates its own laws, they will be valid only sometimes, and only for selected ones. Neither nature protection nor economic interests are recognizably important for the government. The 5-billion crown investment in the construction of the Decin weir will destroy precious nature values with unlikely returnability,” states Jiří Kaňa from Arnika.
