Arnika is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

(NGO) established on 29 September 2001, and officially registered as a

civic association Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...

. It focuses on

public participation Public participation, also known as citizen participation or patient and public involvement, is the inclusion of the public in the activities of any organization or project. Public participation is similar to but more inclusive than stakeholder e ...

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

protection, and eliminating toxic substances and

waste Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor Value (economics), economic value. A wast ...

. Engaging in national and international networks, Arnika collaborated with entities like the International Pollutants Elimination Network,

International Rivers International Rivers is a nonprofit, nongovernmental, environmental, and human rights organization. Founded in 1985 by social and environmental activists, International Rivers works with policy and financial analysts, scientists, journalists, ...

, European Rivers Network,

European Environmental Bureau The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) is a network of around 180 environmental citizens' organisations based in more than 40 countries, representing local, national, European, and international groups in European Union Member States and some ...

, and European ECO Forum. At the national level, Arnika associated with Green Circle, Climate Coalition, Czech Forum for Development Cooperation, and DEMAS. It also collaborated with

Wageningen University Wageningen University & Research (also known as WUR) is a public university, public research university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally i ...

and the

University of Ostrava The University of Ostrava (Czech ''Ostravská univerzita'') is a public university in the city of Ostrava, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. Founded in 1991, it is the newest public university in Ostrava. It consists of six faculties a ...

Programs and focus

Arnika's activities encompass a range of environmental issues, including river protection,

protection,

urban environment An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urba ...

, waste reduction, recycling and the elimination of

persistent organic pollutants Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds that are resistant to degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. They are toxic and adversely affect human health and the environment around the world. Becaus ...

(POPs). The organization is recognized as a

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

entity. As of 2022, Arnika operates through two main programs: the Center for Citizen Support and the Toxics and Waste Programme. There was also a Nature Conservation Programme in Arnika previously. The work of the Toxics and Waste Programme encompassed controversies related to various waste incinerators, with a specific emphasis on waste incineration residues, especially concerning

dioxins Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) are a group of chemical compounds that are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment. They are mostly by-products of burning or various industrial processes or, in the case of dioxin-like PC ...

in fly ash.

History

Arnika, founded on 29 September 2001, by environmentalists Jindřich Petrlík,

Martin Skalský Martin Skalský (born 9 April 1977) is a Czech Republic, Czech environmentalist and documentarian. He is a co-founder and chairman of the Czech NGO Arnika (NGO), Arnika, head of its Center for Citizen Support programme. He also worked in other civ ...

, Vlastimil Karlík, and Lenka Mašková, originated after their departure from the Czech NGO

Děti Země Děti Země (Children of the Earth – COE) is a Czech citizens' association for environmental protection. COE was founded in September 1989, shortly before the Velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia, as an unofficial initiative of several ecologica ...

. Subsequently, Petrlik, Skalsky, and Karlík assumed leadership as chairmen of Arnika. Notably, Team Bořena, established in 1979, joined Arnika in 2001. The team relocated endangered plant species from an area with waste soil from an

open-pit Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock (geology), rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially ...

brown coal Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, Combustion, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered ...

mine in the 1980s.

Toxic chemicals, waste, and plastics

Arnika led the Toxics-Free Future campaign between 2001-2004, contributing to the establishment of a Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and the ratification of the

Stockholm Convention Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international environmental treaty, signed on 22 May 2001 in Stockholm and effective from 17 May 2004, that aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organi ...

. Since 2005, Arnika has been compiling rankings of industrial sources emitting various substances, encouraging emission reduction efforts. Arnika also addressed sites contaminated with toxic chemicals, particularly focusing on the

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...

chemical plant

Spolana SPOLANA s.r.o. is a chemical factory located on the Elbe riverbank in Neratovice, Czech Republic. It is oriented mainly towards exporting its products, and exports represent more than 80% of its total production. It currently concentrates on the ...

Neratovice Neratovice (; ) is a town in Mělník District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. It is an industrial town, known especially for the Spolana chemical plant. Administrative division Neratovice co ...

post the 2002 floods.

Nature protection

Since its establishment in 2001, Arnika has consistently opposed the construction of new

dams A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

on the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

near

Děčín Děčín (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It is the seventth largest municipality in the country by area. Děčín is an important traffic junction. Administrative division Děč ...

, emphasizing the protection of

ecosystems An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

species sites and the preservation of

migratory fish Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousa ...

, such as

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

. In 2005, the organization filed a complaint with the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

, leading to a warning about the Czech government's insufficient designation of

Special Protection Areas A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Birds Directive, Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitat (ecology), ha ...

(SPA). In 2015, Arnika joined the European network for the protection of tree avenues and collaborated with the

on a

LIFE Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

project to expand the

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

for the endangered hermit beetle within the

network since 2017.

Public participation and urban planning

Arnika raised concern over

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

potentially losing its

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

status and pushed for restricting the height of buildings planned by developers on the

Pankrác Plain The Pankrác Plain or Pankrác Terrace () is a geomorphological and urban area in Prague associated with the Pankrác district. The name of the district refers to the church of St. Pancras in the area. It stands about 1.5 km from the World ...

in 2008. In the years 2012–2019, Arnika heavily criticized the Metropolitan Plan for Prague, opposing market-driven changes to the city's land-use plan. The focus of collaborative efforts with

in 2008 was Urban water management in Prague.

Jan Skalický

In 2019, Jan Skalický, the former head of the Directorate of Waterways, accused Arnika of being financially supported by competing railway carriers. Jan Hodovský, author of the

Environmental Impact Assessment Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental impact, environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the te ...

(EIA) documentation on dams on the

in 2011, made similar claims about Arnika's funding from German railways. Arnika demanded an apology from Hodovský, who later modified his statement, acknowledging that

environmentalists Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecologi ...

were financed from the state budget of Germany at that time.

International activity

Arnika, expanding its environmental endeavors beyond the Czech Republic, has engaged in projects across

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, Central and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, and

Central and Eastern Europe Central and Eastern Europe is a geopolitical term encompassing the countries in Baltic region, Northeast Europe (primarily the Baltic states, Baltics), Central Europe (primarily the Visegrád Group), Eastern Europe, and Southeast Europe (primaril ...

. In collaboration with

IPEN The International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) (formerly International POPs Elimination Network) is a global network of Non-governmental organization, NGOs dedicated to the common aim of eliminating pollutants, such as lead in paint, Mer ...

and the

Basel Action Network The Basel Action Network (BAN), a charitable non-governmental organization, works to combat the export of toxic waste from technology and other products from industrialized societies to developing countries. BAN is based in Seattle, Washingto ...

, Arnika highlighted

dioxin Dioxin may refer to a number of different substances. Most notably: * 1,2-Dioxin or 1,4-dioxin, two unsaturated heterocyclic 6-membered rings in which two carbon atoms have been replaced by oxygen atoms, which gives the molecular formula C4H4O2 ...

contamination at an

e-waste Electronic waste (or e-waste) describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. It is also commonly known as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or end-of-life (EOL) electronics. Used electronics which are destined for refurbi ...

site in

Agbogbloshie Agbogbloshie was the nickname of a commercial district on the Korle Lagoon of the Odaw River, near the center of Accra, Ghana's capital city in the Greater Accra region, before it was demolished by the Ghanaian government in 2021. Near the ...

in 2019. Conducting studies on global toxic pollution from

plastics Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic materials composed primarily of polymers. Their defining characteristic, plasticity, allows them to be molded, extruded, or pressed into a diverse range of solid forms. This adaptab ...

recycled from e-waste, Arnika collaborated with

. Arnika's Toxics and Waste Programme acts as the Regional Hub for Central, Eastern & Western Europe for the International Pollutants Elimination Network, and it was the sole member of the Health Care Without Harm network in the Czech Republic, in 2018. In 2018, the organization organized an international conference in

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

, focusing on combatting air pollution, recognized within the

Aarhus Convention The UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, usually known as the Aarhus Convention, was signed on 25 June 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus. It entered into ...

framework. Since 2018, Arnika has also been addressing

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

issues in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Environmental organizations based in the Czech Republic 2001 establishments in the Czech Republic Environmental organizations established in 2001 Nature conservation organisations based in Europe