Why?
Our society faces consequences of climate change. Project from Zelený kruh and their partners wants to contribute towards successful adaptation within the Czech Republic. We want to help so that response to the climate change is effective, frugal, socially just, and realisable in the necessary time.
Outdated legislature amplifies negative impacts of climate change and worsens living conditions in towns and villages. Environmental laws are under constant pressure, while necessary changes are slow, inconsistent, and even counterproductive.
What?
Out of the wide range of topics and challenges we chose the domain of ADAPTATION to climate change in TOWNS AND VILLAGES. A path, we decided to embark on, is a path of legislative changes. We believe that well prepared rules and regulations can help LOCAL AUTHORITIES prepare and realize projects which will effectively prevent impacts of climate change such as overheating of cities, water shortage or floods, irreversible land take for agriculture and reduction in living countryside on the margins of cities.
In particular, we have the following aims:
- rules for land use planning together with economic methods incentivise local authorities and private investors to primarily build on brownfields and to protect land not yet built on
- expert and independent authorities responsible for protection of nature and other components of environment have strong competencies
- societies and public are full participants in the preparation of land-use and regulatory plans and in the procedures concerning construction location if interests of environmental protection are at stake
- municipalities have strong competencies in land use planning and in procedures concerning construction location so that they can use them to the benefit of adaptation to climate change
- legislation and secondary legislation support goals outlined by the Adaptation Strategy of the Czech Republic
How?
Legislative changes cannot do without mapping problems and barriers, discussions with experts and general public, and involving everyone affected by the change in regulations. Therefore, we cooperate with representatives of local authorities, academics as well as non-profit organizations, and we prepare proposals for legislators which will help to tackle climate change.
Who?
Project promoter is Zelený kruh. Project partners are news portal Aktuálně, associations Arnika – Centre for Citizens Support, Czech Republic, Nesehnutí – Independent Social Ecological Movement, Czech Environmental Law Society, alliances Healthy Cities of the Czech Republic, Chance for Buildings, National Network of Local Action Groups in the Czech Republic.
About the project:
Towns/villages are facing effects of the climate crisis. The goal is to change selected rules to make adaptation to climate change effective and fair. The project helps to regulate Building Law and related regulations, so that the protection of nature, water management and landscape planning were in conformity with the needs and goals of the adaptation. The target groups are law-makers, ministries, municipalities and NGOs. Partners will guarantee high quality communication with different types of residences, clear public presentation and high expertise of proposals.
The project has started in March 2020. In the first year and a quarter, our main focus was commenting on a proposal of construction law and on tens of related laws. We informed members of parliament about the major deficiencies via info lists and a seminar in the Chamber of Deputies.
The Chamber of Deputies passed the new construction law on 13 July 2021. It is a flawed law, and it should be one of the first laws to be invalidated after the election. It is a law whose creation was financed by the Czech Chamber of Commerce which unites big development companies. It is a law which radically reduces competencies of Ministry of the Environment. It is a law which prioritizes decision-making speed over quality of projects being judged. It is a law which ignores the fact that we need to mitigate climate change. We make efforts so that right after the elections there is a fair data-based debate about what should be included in the construction law to make it beneficial not only for big developers.
Project territory: Prague, Czech Republic
Total budget: 249.133,8 EUR
Start: 1st March 2020
End: 29th February 2024
The project is being supported by the Open Society Fund Prague from the Active Citizens Fund. The programme pro-motes citizens’ active participation in the public life and decision making and builds capacities of civil society organizations. It promo-tes respect of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and the respect for human rights including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. Active Citizens Fund came to the Czech Republic in September 2019 with the goal to support CSOs regardless of their size and experience. It is operated by the Open Society Fund Prague, Committee of Good Will - the Olga Havel Foundation and Scout Institute. The Active Citizens Fund is financed from EEA and Norway Grants 2014–2021. With EEA Grants, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway contribute towards a reduction in economic and social disparity and the strengthening of mutual cooperation in Europe. One of the important objectives of the programme is strengthening bilateral cooperation between donor and beneficiary states through financial contributions in specified priority sectors. It supports bilateral relations between the donor states Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein and the Czech Republic.
