The importance of water management in the Czech Republic

Veronika Jaglova, Water Director of the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic and Head of the Czech Delegation to the ICPDR, speaks about the importance of water management and the complexities of implementing the EU Water Framework Directive.

Veronika Jaglova, Director of the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic and Head of the Czech Delegation to the ICPDR.

In its continuing series, Danube watch presents portraits of the leaders whose passion and commitment actively steer IPCDR processes and help determine the future of the basin.

In the work of the ICPDR, the Heads of Delegations are often seen as ‘behind-the-scenes players’ who, inconspicuous as they sometimes may seem, actively steer the ICPDR processes and represent their countries at the highest political level. Veronika Jaglova joined the ICPDR Family as the new Head of the Czech Delegation and recently met Danube Watch.

Danube watch: what are the most pressing water issues in the Czech Republic?
Ms Jaglova: Water management is a very interesting issue for the Czech Republic – in particular the implementation of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, because the end of the transitional period (end of 2010) is very close and the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) is of course very important and so everyone is involved in planning.

Danube watch: What is the organisational structure of the water management system in the Czech Republic?
Ms Jaglova: The organisational structure of water management in the Czech Republic is a bit complicated due to the divided authority between the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry of the Environment – in cooperation with the Water Research Institute, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute and the Czech Inspectorate of the Environment – is responsible for water protection and the Ministry of Agriculture, in cooperation with the River Boards and state enterprises, is responsible for water management. Water issues in the Czech Republic are a big compromise.

HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS

The arrival of the Slavs in the fifth and sixth centuries marked the beginning of the Czechs’ history. Its tribes united in the Great Moravian Empire (830-906), before the independent State of Bohemia was formed at the end of the ninth century. An influential church-reform movement, the Hussite Revolution, took place in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, and in 1526, the Czech kingdom came under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This period lasted until the end of World War I, when the Czechs and Slovaks merged to form Czechoslovakia, which came under the Soviet sphere of influence after World War II. With the end of the communist period in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its independence through a peaceful ‘Velvet Revolution’. On January 1, 1993, the country underwent a ‘Velvet Divorce’ into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. On May 1, 2004, the Czech Republic became a member of the European Union. The Czech Republic signed the Danube River Protection Convention on March 3, 1995.

Danube watch: how is the quality of water in the Czech Republic?
Ms Jaglova: The status of water quality in the Czech Republic has improved markedly since 1990. Between 1990 and 2007 there was a drop in discharged pollution BOD5 by 94.7%, CCOCr by 88%, suspended solids by 90% and dissolved organic salt by 14.6% – and there was also success in reducing the amount of dangerous and especially dangerous substances and discharged amount of AOX (absorbable organically bound halogens). There was also a significant drop in macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous) as a result of the fact that the biological removal of nitrogen and biological or chemical elimination of phosphorous is being applied in a targeted manner in the technology of wastewater treatment in new and intensified wastewater treatment plants.

Danube watch: The Czech Republic is drained by three major european river basins: the odra, the elbe/labe and the Danube. This is quite a challenge labe and the Danube. This is quite a challenge as all of them require international coordination regarding the implementation of the eU water framework Directive. what are the main differences in approach?
Ms Jaglova: There are of course differences depending on the structure of commissions – the Elbe commission is the easiest approach because there is only the bilateral cooperation between Germany and the Czech Republic, and due to the similar mentality of the Czechs and Germans, work is going fast and without any major problems. In the Odra commission, however, everything is different, slower and much more complicated due to inexperience with other international commissions on the Polish side.

Many countries develop a Joint Programme of Measures rather than just compiling the different national reports, etc. The ICPDR is very specific due to cooperation between a lot of EU a non EU states in very different conditions. Finding a joint approach and creating a Joint Programme of Measure for all 19 countries is a very difficult task.

THE CZECH REPUBLIC: FACTS & FIGURES

Size of the country: 78,866 km²
Population: 10.2 million
Capital: Prague (1.2 million inhabitants)
Per-capita gDP, PPP (2007): US$ 24200
Main tributaries to the Danube: Morava and Dyje rivers
Share of the total Danube River basin area:
21,6888km² (2.9%)

Danube watch: The Joint Danube Survey 2 was carried out along the Danube last summer, but your country was also an important partner in the survey, offering laboratory capacities as well expertise, through core team member hana hudcova. What significance does this survey have for the Czech Republic?
Ms Jaglova: It was an honour for the Czech Republic to contribute to the achievement of the Joint Danube Survey 2 and of course a great experience for those who were part of it. The results of JDS2 will be good tool for comparing with the results of national monitoring.

Danube watch: Thank you very much, Ms Jaglova.

Next: Leave your marks in the Danube River Basin Management Plan

Disclaimer

The information contained in the ICPDR website is intended to enhance public access to information about the ICPDR and the Danube River. The information is correct to the best of the knowledge of the ICPDR Secretariat. If errors are brought to our attention we will try to correct them.
The ICPDR, expert group members, nor other parties involved in preparation of information contained on this website cannot, however, be held responsible for the correctness and validity of the data and information provided, nor accept responsibility or liability for damages or losses arising directly or indirectly from the use of the information conveyed therein.
Only those documents clearly marked ICPDR documents reflect the position of the ICPDR.
Any links to other websites are provided for your convenience only. The ICPDR does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy, availability, or appropriateness to the user's purposes, of any information or services on any other website.
When using the information and material provided on this website, credit should be given to the ICPDR.