Czechia

Czech Republic's Final Report for the International Year of Biodiversity 2010

Dates and Venue	Event
28 January 2010 Prague Confirmed	Seminar: Use of genetically modified organisms in the Czech Republic and public awareness
2 June 2010 Prague Confirmed	Biotechnology and its Use in Forestry Research and Practise
10 June 2010 Prague Confirmed	Biosafety and Risks in Genetic Resources Conservation
28 June - 7 January 2010 Prague Confirmed	Biosafety in Context of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity; Genetically Modified Animals
20 - 22 September 2010 Prague Confirmed	6th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to EUROBATS Organized by: Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats (EUROBATS)
October 2010 Cesky Krumlov Tentative	36th International film festival - Ekofilm Organized by: Ministry of the Environment
2 November 2010 Prague Confirmed	International Year of Biodiversity – Related Projects and Programmes
3 November 2010 Olomouc Moravia Confirmed	Genetically Modified Organisms and Biosafety Measures
26 - 27 November 2010 Bohemia Confirmed	Nature Diversity Conservation and Role of International Organizations
30 November 2010 Prague Confirmed	UNEP/GEF Project – Final Workshop

 
Before the International Year of Biodiversity started, the Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection published at the end of 2009 a study "Nature and Landscape in the Czech Republic - the Message about the state in 2009". It was a comprehensive assessment of the landscape, natural habitats and species status and their recent development. The Czech version is available at: www.mzp.cz/cz/priroda_krajina_2009. At the same time a number of representatives from the government as well as NGOs formed the coordination team under the guidance of the Ministry of the Environment in order to prepare the International Year of Biodiversity.

The IYB was officially launched at the Ministry of the Environment (MoE) press conference on 19 January 2010. The deputy minister, Dr. Frantisek Pelc briefed the journalists about the outcomes of the recent nature and landscape assessment, presented the official IYB slogan "For diverse nature, for the future", explained the purpose of this information campaign, the main planned activities and their timetable. A number of events were to be held under the auspices of the MoE, whereas Ministry of Agriculture, the Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection, the National Parks and a number of NGOs were prepared to actively cooperate or were planning to organize their own events. The MoE also created a special section on its website with all information about the IYB in the Czech Republic. The information is still accessible at: www.mzp.cz/cz/mezinarodni_rok_biodiverzity. More details