Inspections in the field of nature protection are carried out by state supervision on the basis of six component laws:
- Act No. 114/1992 Coll., on nature and landscape protection, as amended,
- Act No. 334/1992 Coll., on the protection of the Agricultural Land Fund, as amended,
- Act No. 100/2004 Coll., on the protection of species of wild animals and wild plants by regulating trade with them, as amended,
- Act No. 78/2004 Coll., on handling of genetically modified organisms and genetic products and on the amendment of some related laws, as amended,
- Act No. 162/2003 Coll., on the conditions for operating zoos and on the amendment of certain laws,
- Act No. 93/2018 Coll., on conditions for the use of genetic resources according to the Nagoya Protocol.
The purpose of the Act on Nature and Landscape Protection (No. 114/1992 Coll.) is to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of the natural balance in the landscape, to the protection of the diversity of life forms, natural values and beauties, and to the careful management of natural resources. In the field of nature protection, the CEI oversees compliance with legal regulations and decisions regarding nature and landscape protection by their addressees. Its supervisory authority also extends to state administration bodies. It investigates cases of endangerment and damage to nature, their causes and responsible persons, and in cases of imminent damage, it is entitled to order the restriction or cessation of harmful activities until the time of elimination of their deficiencies and causes. It is authorized to impose fines on legal entities and natural persons for violations of nature protection obligations. On a general level, the Inspectorate, within its competences given by the Act on Nature and Landscape Protection, focuses in particular on the protection of non-forest greenery from damage and unauthorized felling, the protection of significant landscape elements and landscape features. In territorial protection, the condition and compliance with the basic and special conditions of protection of specially protected areas, which are national parks, protected landscape areas, national nature reserves, national natural monuments, nature reserves and natural monuments, are controlled. Species protection according to Act No. 114/1992 Coll. mainly concerns specially protected species of animals and plants and their habitats. Special provisions of the law are also devoted to the protection of memorial trees and sites of European importance.
Within the protection according to Act No. 100/2004 Coll. the Inspectorate mainly checks the conditions of import and export of endangered species of animals and plants. For the effective fulfillment of obligations, the CITES emergency service (CITES International Convention) was established by law, within the framework of which the Inspectorate provides professional cooperation primarily to customs authorities. In this area, the CEI is also widely involved in international cooperation, including participation in the expert subgroup for species protection at the General Secretariat of Interpol. The Inspectorate can confiscate illegally obtained CITES specimens, including non-living specimens and products made of them, and impose fines for offences.
According to Act No. 78/2004 Coll. on handling of genetically modified organisms and genetic products (GMOs), the Inspectorate checks, from the point of view of environmental protection, compliance with the legal regulations and conditions set by the decisions of the MoE, which relate to the handling of GMOs, including import and export. The CEI's supervisory activity over compliance with the GMO Act reflects the dynamic development of biotechnology in the world and compliance with EU legislation. The Inspectorate imposes remedial measures and fines for breach of obligations under this Act on legal and natural persons who are the cause of defects. The CEI can impose fines in the GMO section, which are very high compared to other component laws. Learn more here.
Within the competences conferred by the Act on the Protection of Agricultural Land Fund (No. 334/1992 Coll.), the Inspectorate checks the pollution of agricultural land by selected risk substances and risk elements, the introduction of unauthorized substances and preparations and the use of sludge and sediments on lands belonging to the Agricultural Land Fund (ALF). When deficiencies are detected, it imposes measures to correct the defective condition and imposes fines for violations in the above-mentioned areas. Financial sanctions can be very high considering the importance of ALF as an irreplaceable wealth and source of life. The Inspectorate also obtains information from its control activities, which are transferred to the register of information on the quality of agricultural land.
According to the Act on the Operation of Zoos (No. 162/2003 Coll.), in the case of operating a zoo without a license (the license is issued by the MoE), the Inspectorate will issue a decision to close the zoo. According to this law, the Inspectorate can impose fines for violations, or it can impose a decision on the operator to eliminate certain deficiencies.
The most recent legal regulation according to which the CEI carries out supervisory activities in nature protection is the Act on the conditions for the use of genetic resources, which is based on the Nagoya Protocol (No. 93/2018 Coll.). This new law was adopted on the basis of the international Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and also on the basis of Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) No. 511/2014. A total of 194 signatory countries have agreed to fulfill three basic goals: the protection of biological diversity, its sustainable use and the fair and equal distribution of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. The Czech Republic possesses a considerable wealth of genetic resources, which is given both by its geographical location and also by its cultural and historical development. The application of the Nagoya Protocol can thus extend to other component laws, especially in the area of nature protection, CITES and handling of genetically modified organisms. According to Act No. 93/2018 Coll., the Inspectorate, in cooperation with the MoE, mainly checks its compliance by users, and whether the collections included in the register of genetic resources meet the established criteria. The CEI also imposes measures to correct identified deficiencies and fines for violations of legal obligations.
The Nature and Forest Protection Unit, together with other units of the Czech Environmental Inspectorate, especially the Water Protection Unit and Waste Management Unit, also deals with solving the consequences of accidents and natural disasters.