Discussions on the new Act on NP Šumava are ending and the draft law is heading for the legislative process

Press release: 12.01.2012

Representatives of the regions, mayors and scientific community, chairs of Parliamentary Committees for the Environment, representatives of the environmental associations Zachraňme Šumavu, ŠumavaPro and the Council of the Šumava National Park met Minister Tomáš Chalupa at a round table for the last time to discuss the draft law of the Ministry of the Environment on the Šumava National Park. The draft law will enter the legislative process by the end of the month. “I am of the opinion that everyone is aware of the necessity of concessions and compromises, everyone is sufficiently sensible to know that you can never get everything. Each of us would like something more, but I believe that this is an acceptable, beneficial and viable compromise that has a chance to bring peace and stability to the Šumava National Park,” says Minister Tomáš Chalupa.

The final draft from the Ministry of the Environment anticipates that the area of the first zone of the park will be 26.53% (22.08% non-intervention zone + 4.46% temporary intervention zones) and a further 8.49% will be in zone IIa, to be prepared for transfer to the first zone. “The area of the first zone of the Šumava National Park together with the area of zone IIa would then reach 35%, which is historically the greatest area of a first zone in the Šumava National Park that has ever been agreed on. In practice, 35% of the area of the park corresponds to almost 24 thousand hectares. This area is greater than the total area of the neighbouring Bavarian Forest (Bayerische Wald) National Park,” said Minister Tomáš Chalupa and added that the draft further encompasses an area of zone IIb equal to 59.87% and 5.12% in the third zone.

Minister Tomáš Chalupa did not accept the original request of the municipalities for allocating 15.95% of the area of the national park to the first zone and the construction of a cable car line. He made his final decision to include, in the law, the construction of a corridor and the related evacuation route conditional on a substantial increase in the area of the first zone, to the final 26.53% in the first zone and a further 8.49% in zone IIa. The municipalities agreed with this condition; the cable-car line would connect the Czech side of the border with the Austrian Hochficht winter sports area. The narrow corridor should have an area of 13.7 ha and should be set aside from the area of the national park. However, the zones around it will remain unchanged to prevent it from being widened for construction purposes.

“The idea of a cable-car line is acceptable for me, but only a cable-car as a means of transportation. The “snowball effect”, where a ski resort and similar things would attach themselves to the permission for construction of the corridor, is not acceptable for me,” said the Minister and also drew attention to the fact that the cable-car would substantially reduce road traffic between Přední Zvonková and the Hochficht ski resort. During the skiing season, several tens of thousands of cars pass through this area, which is located in the 1st zone of the national park.

Michaela Jendeková, tiskové oddělení MŽP