Environment and regeneration in the Czech Republic: Fid-Bau Portal

Environment and regeneration in the Czech Republic

Hammersley, Richard

This article addresses the issue of environmental regeneration in the Czech Republic with special emphasis on Northern Bohemia; reference is also made to parallels in former East Germany and in Poland. In much of Eastern and Central Europe there are gross environmental problems which have created tensions for the emergent politics of the region and for the capacities of local planning systems. The 'environmental deficit' of 40 years of communist rule is exampled in the exploitation of brown coal reserves on a massive and massively polluting scale. The now democratically elected national and local governments have a critical role in an effective response to the situation, but solutions are prescribed by the politics of the government, the availability of finance and the expertise of the planning systems. The centre-right national government of the Czech Republic is committed to the free market and to the reduction of the role of the state; local municipalities are likewise subject to pressures for 'market solutions'. However there is a lively 'green' opposition and a realization of the need for radical action—unfortunately without a sound understanding of the demands of development in a capitalist system. Given the massive flow of investment from the West, the parallel with eastern Germany is not helpful. In Poland the problems are similar, but the new left-wing government is attempting a more 'regulated' approach; the parallels will be interesting. Technical help from the West, including the UK, will be important and is already coming through in cooperation initiatives. The need overall is for a political will, at all levels, to manage development pressures in an appropriate manner; bowing to the dictates of the market will create uneven and inequitable development favouring the environmentally preferred areas and leaving devastated areas such as Northern Bohemia to their fate.