- felling of forest stands with suspicion of its illegality?
- mortality of fishes, birds, crabs, etc. in the river or pond?
- excessive threatening of wildlife or plants, such as due to terrain modification?
- unauthorized construction activities in the open air?
- destruction of caves?
- destruction of memorable tree?
Contact the CEI, as it may be a violation of Nature and Landscape Protection Act. If possible, provide an evidence (photographs, video or testimony of credible persons).
- Illegal felling of trees growing outside the forest?
First you should inform at the Municipal Authority or Municipality or District Office which is competent to permit felling of trees. If this office do not receive a proper answer, you can submit a complaint to the CEI, or directly contact the information line of CEI - 800011 011. CEI will report on the investigation of the complaint within 30 days.
If you want to fell a tree or bush on your own land, you need permission in the case when the tree is 130 cm high over the ground, girth is greater than 80 cm or if the area of bush you want to cut down is more than 40 m2 wide. Permission to fell is regulated by the Nature and Rural Landscape Protection Act No. 114/1992 Coll., by section § 8 and section § 8 of the Implementing Decree No. 395/1992 Coll.
Application for felling is administered at the locally relevant Municipal Authority, or the administration of Protected Landscape Area. Application may be made only by a landowner or tenant with permission of a landowner. The request must contain justification of the project, a description of kind of trees and their exact specifications (location, size). If you cut down the tree without a permission or damage the tree, or otherwise break the Act No. 114/1992 Coll., on the Nature and Landscape Protection, CEI is authorized to impose a fine up to 100,000, - CZK, or require corrective action. The inspector cannot legally use a settlement.
If you suspect the risk of fall of tree growing on your property (for example, the tree is refuted) and there is an immediate life-threatening danger or danger of large-scale damage, you do not need a permission to fell the tree and citizen is allowed to fell the tree in this situation. But the announcement about felling must be made to the relevant Municipal Authority and the Nature Protection Authority, within 15 days after felling. In this case, we recommend to ensure adequate evidence for state before felling.
If you suspect that a tree on your land dries up or is infected with a disease, contact the State Phytosanitary Administration.
If you break the law when running your own business, the penalties for breaking the law are higher and will be dealt with according to the Code of Administrative Procedure No. 500/2003 Coll., not according to the Infractions Act No. 200/1990 Coll., as in the case of individuals, ie, people who do not perform business activities.
If you want to import unusual holiday souvenir it is necessary to take into account whether a product is made from the endangered species of flora or fauna. A large part of such souvenirs is protected by CITES. Numbers of protected products which are usually available as souvenirs are mainly made from crocodiles, Komodo, boas and pythons, land and sea turtles, sea corals, etc., from plants, eg. products from some tropical woods. Similar products can be imported to the Czech Republic only on the basis of an export permit of the country of origin and import permit of the Czech Republic, issued according to the export permit. Ministry of Environment is competent to issue export and import authorizations. The disadvantage is that obtaining these permits is burdensome and time-consuming and during a short holiday abroad usually unrealistic. You should prepare in advance to import a particular product protected by CITES. Before leaving on vacation it is at least useful to know which types of souvenirs can and which cannot be imported to the Czech Republic (see section CITES).
If you want to breed particular protected species of animal or plant you should be familiar with the regulation. Besides health, or medical phytosanitary regulations, breeding of specially protected species of animals or growing of specially protected plants subjects to the Nature and Landscape Protection Act No. 114/1992 Coll. Keeping these animals or plants can only be based on valid exemption granted by relevant authority. A citizen must apply for an exemption pursuant to the Act No. 114/1992 Coll. and justify his intention before getting a particularly protected species. Nature Protection Authority decides whether an exemption will be given in the administrative proceedings. Nature Protection Authority is a regional office of the category "endangered" and PLA (Protected Landscape Area) for categories "strongly and critically endangered".
If you want to import or export an animal or a plant across the border of the Czech Republic, it is necessary to verify whether animals or plants are protected by international conventions (especially CITES), by local law or by the laws of the Czech Republic. Importation of live and dead specimens of CITES is possible only with an import license by the Ministry of the Environment and the export permit issued by the exporting State. Export can be made only on the basis of an export permit by MoE. The same restrictions are applied to species protected by the Act No. 114/1992 Coll. Requests for permission to import or export should be submitted at the Ministry of Environment. Issued permit (export or import permit) must be presented for customs inspection, or the documents should be attached to the transport documentation. All live specimens, regardless of whether they are protected or not, subject to veterinary and phytosanitary regulations.
If you want to purchase a CITES specimen in the internal market, you should know whether the specimen is necessary to apply for registration. Some species of reptiles, birds and mammals protected by CITES are necessary to register at regional authorities or PLAs based on legal import or documented rearing according to the Act No. 100/2004 Coll. If you want to buy CITES specimen, subject of compulsory registration, in the internal market, buy only the one with valid original registration certificate. The data entered in it must correspond with the purchased specimen. You are required to submit the registration sheet at the local regional office or PLA where the pre-registration is recorded in the statutory deadline. Registration certificate along with other documents shall be submitted, if you are summoned by nature protection authority. Proof of purchase of CITES specimens is recommended that retain in all cases (although subject is not the type to compulsory registration). The lists of species which are subject of CITES and species which are subject of compulsory registration are part of the implementing regulation of Act No. 100/2004 Coll.
CEI does not deal with following instances in the field of nature and landscape protection:
- removal of black buildings (the responsible authority is building office)
- issuance of exemptions and permissions (the responsible authorities are other Nature Protection Authority - Environment, Regions and local authorities)
- issuance of permission to import or export of species protected by CITES (the responsible authority is the Ministry of the Environment)
- assessment of conditions in which animals are kept or transported according to the Act No. 246/1992 Coll., on the protection of animals against cruelty (the responsible authority are Veterinary Services)
- allocation of investments among environmental programs (the responsible authority is the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment)
- fishing (the responsible authorities are Fishing Unions and Ministry of Agriculture, if fisherman’s activity does not violate the Act No. 114/1992 Coll. - for example, catching fish protected by law, damaging the flow of the Significant Landscape Element or SLE pond)
- hunting and release of animals into the wild (the responsible authorities are the Ministry of Agriculture and hunting associations, if activities of gamekeeper do not infringe the Act No. 114/1992 Coll. - for example, blasting of legally protected animals, building of hunting equipment in the Specially Protected Areas, etc.)
Permanent staff availability of the nature conservation departments is provided by telephone lines intended for reporting of accidents in all folders, and by mobile phones of workers providing emergency CITES, protection of trees emergency and mobile phones of the executives workers from all departments of nature protection (viz.www.cizp.cz)