“There is a fundamental problem with the question of punishment: our legal system cannot, in principle, adequately punish such an act. Although the law on the environment states that it is possible to compensate for ecological damage in money, here comes the catch. Even after almost thirty years, there is no implementing regulation for such compensation, which would define how to calculate the environmental damage, “Berg explained.
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Penalty? Only half a year
According to him, the Environmental Act assumes that in the event of disturbance or damage to the ecosystem, the perpetrator should either restore the situation to its original state or adequately compensate for it.
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“This can be assumed, for example, when someone illegally cuts down a tree, with the narrowing of both eyes, replacement planting elsewhere is such compensation. But how to compensate for a dead river? ”Berg asks.
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According to him, the police could accuse a potential perpetrator of the crime of damaging and endangering the environment for negligence. “However, there is a maximum rate of half a year or a ban on activities, in which case the police would have to show gross negligence to the culprit. Simple negligence does not create criminal liability at all, “Berg explained.
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The activist thus remains skeptical about the punishment even if the culprit is caught. “If the perpetrator is found, his punishment for poisoning the river, tens of tons of dead fish and massive interventions in ecosystems will be quite inadequate. It is sad, for many people in Wallachia the word Bečva is synonymous with the word river. She is dead now, “added Berg.
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He said that he would try to initiate changes with the law, together with other experts, which would increase the penalties for similar accidents, and that it would be possible for the perpetrators to demand compensation for environmental damage in money.
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“It will not bring life back to the fish in Bečva, but at least the next time companies that handle dangerous chemicals will have to be more careful,” thinks the Vsetín representative.
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In a week, the Minister of the Environment Richard Brabec (YES) confirmed the information to the daily Právo about the origin of cyanide, which could have reached Bečva via a canal leading from the area of the former Rožnov Tesla. The Czech Environmental Inspectorate (CEI) also has this suspicion on the basis of samples taken.
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The loop is tightening
“The loop tightens around the Tesla Rožnov complex, ie the canal that flows from the Tesla Rožnov complex to Bečva. There are several entities that, according to our information, handle cyanides, “said Brabec, who thus repeated the earlier findings of the daily Právo.
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Fishermen fished all the dead fish out of the river with almost no help. “It’s a tragedy that marks life in the river for forty years. And in the thirty-kilometer section. I want to cry. We also had rare species of fish here, it’s all gone, “said one of the fishermen from Choryně near Valašské Meziříčí.
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Just behind Choryní, the river continues through many kilometers of impenetrable terrain, which hides untouched nooks and crannies and is also home to rare species of animals dependent on fish food.
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“Kingfishers, for example, live here, but also several river otters. I don’t know if these water beasts survived, “shrugged the mountain Wallachian conservationist Miroslav Horský. In the vicinity of Bečva there are also various species of water birds such as grebes or herons.
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