Wilderness in Czech Republic!
Czech Republic, (after Germany and Austria) is the next European country dealing seriously with Wilderness conservation.
Currently the leading force behind this process is Hnuti Duha, Friends of the Earth Czech Republic. It is one of the largest and best-known Czech non-governmental environmental organisations and the long term partner of the European Wilderness Society.
After many years of involvement in the Wilderness conservation in Sumava National Park, Hnuti Duha is focusing on Wilderness conservation beyond the limits on the core zones of National Park in Czech Republic. With this objective together with Czech University of Life Science, Prague, organised at the end of June, 2016 international seminar: Protection and restoration of Wilderness – European trends and how to proceed in the Czech Republic?
Experience show that it is important to go out and to do the field check of the Wilderness quality standard and so prove that Wilderness is a very practical and pragmatic subject for Europeans…
The seminar focused on a wide spectrum of key players in the Czech Republic, particularly institutions responsible for the land management such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environment, Minister of regional Development and Ministry of Defence. All these ministries, as well as the land managers, have an opinion on the subject of Wilderness conservation.
The section at the beginning of the seminar named “Experiences and trends in the protection of Wilderness in Europe”, was open by Deputy Director of the European Wilderness Society, Vlado Vancura, who presented an unique experience on how to implement the theoretical concept of Wilderness in Europe into the real-life.
“Wilderness in central Europe needs Wilderness heroes. Like managers in the Kalkalpen Wilderness or Hohe Tauren Wilderness or Zacharovanyy kray Wilderness. All these together with many others Wilderness supporters in Europe, prove that Wilderness conservation in not just a theoretical subject discussed at meetings, seminars and conferences. They prove that it is important to go out and to do the field check of the Wilderness quality standard and so prove that Wilderness is a very practical and pragmatic subject for Europeans…,” reminded Deputy Director European Society, Vlado Vancura.
Further international perspective of Wilderness conservation in Europe was presented by several other organisations working to different degree on the Wilderness subjects like Wild Europe from Great Britain, the Ministry of nature conservation from Germany, the Frankfurt Zoological Society from Germany and WWF Austria.
Currently Hnuti Duha and European Wilderness Society are working on several follow-up projects how to improve Wilderness conservation in the Central Europe, especially in the Czech Republic.
