Czech president supports measures against bark beetle in Sumava (České noviny)

Czech President Vaclav Klaus today put the first signature on a petition for A Healthy Sumava calling for measures to be taken against bark beetle outbreaks in the Sumava National Park, at a meeting with South Bohemia regional governor Jiri Zimola.

Zimola (Social Democrats, CSSD) who, like Klaus is a supporter of interference against the bark beetle, said this policy pursued by the park management had already caused a bark beetle calamity.

However, Environment Minister Ladislav Miko has rejected Zimola's position.

"If no measures are taken, I am prepared to declare a state of emergency in the Sumava," Zimola said, adding that it can be introduced in a matter of days.

Miko said he disagreed with the need to fight against the bark beetle and that Zimola's words are part of the Social Democrats' campaign ahead of the early general election in October.

Miko said Zimola's rhetoric aimed at first scaring voters and then luring them with an illusion of a quick solution.

The monitoring of the forests in the Sumava mountains has showed that the bark beetle incidence is under full control and that no danger threatens, he said.

If Zimola's recommendations are met, heavy wood processing machines would appear at the highest altitudes of the Sumava mountains which would threaten its ecosystems and the very existence of the Sumava National Park, Miko said.

ČTK, České noviny, 27. 8. 2009, 13:15, News in English