Summary of newsmakers of previous days – 19. 05. – 21. 05. 2006

Flood damages in agriculture and forestry exceed 300 mil. CZK

According to available data damages which were caused by this year’s floods in agriculture and forestry are over 300 million crowns. Other 51 millions represent losses in fish-breeding as results from data of the Ministry of Agriculture. Flood destroyed growths on fields of acreage 10 800 hectares and from more than 40 percent it damages crops on area of 5 700 hectares. The biggest part of damages is to winter wheat, winter rape oil and winter barley. The water afflicted also more than 180 hectares of hop gardens, roughly 140 hectares of fruit orchards and some areas of vegetable and fodder crops. Damages to field cultures reach 227 million crowns; other four million crowns are on lands with washed arable land and damaged machines and buildings.

Decrease in meat production in CR continues this year

This year for the first time the Czech Republic will not be self-sufficient in beef meat and this trend will deepen also in pig meat. According to ČSÚ data in comparison with the same period last year the decrease in production shows 0,5 %. An exception is poultry meat where statistics reported growth by 0,7 %. From the total amount the highest was the pig meat production (52,4 %), then the poultry meat with 34,8 %. Beef meat and veal share in production by 12,7 %. A lower slaughter is likely due to lower size of breedings. According to statistic data from animal production numbers of cattle decreased at the end of last year annually by 1,2 percents. Numbers of pigs decreased to the 1 st December 2005 annually by 6,7 percent and numbers of poultry fell by 10,3 %, from it hens by 12,7 percents.

Europe in Commission of UNO for sustainable development will be represented by CR

In the days of 1. – 12.May 2006 the Commission UNO for sustainable development was sitting in New York for the fourteenth time. The participants discussed about energetics, industrial development, air pollution and climatic change. This year’s meeting also evaluated aims of sustainable development in context of key documents [1]. The vice-chairman of the bureau for next negotiation was elected, according to the spokeswoman of the Ministry of Environment CR, Karolína Šůlová, Jiří Hlaváček from the Ministry. The participants agreed that for reaching of aims of sustainable development it is necessary so that industry would minimize negative impacts on environment and health of inhabitants, and at the same secure dignified social development.

European experts called on common fight against floods

Two hundreds European experts and politicians called on all members of the European Union today after two-day meeting in Vienna to improve their mutual cooperation in floods prevention and manage them. “Floods do not know borders, do not respect political barriers, therefore we have to make steps against them together”, the European Commissioner for environment, Stavros Dimas, proclaimed at the conference. He urged the EU member stats to join the directive of European Commission from this year’s January which suggests forms of cooperation in fight against floods on big rivers which flow through bigger number of countries, e.g. Danube. The proposal requires from the EU states to adopt preventative measures against floods on their territories, including prediction of risky areas, and working out operation plans within occurrence of floods in this zones.