CBD Fifth National Report
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The Fifth National Report of the Czech Republic to the Convention on Biological Diversity 1 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................. 3 CHAPTER 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 5 AN UPDATE ON BIODIVERSITY STATUS, TRENDS, AND THREATS .................................... 5 1.1 General overview of biodiversity status, trends and threats .................................................... 5 1.2 Assessment of the overall causes of threats to biological diversity in the Czech Republic .... 14 1.3. Agro biodiversity .................................................................................................................... 23 1.4. Forest biodiversity .................................................................................................................. 34 1.5 Biodiversity in inland waters ................................................................................................... 41 1.5. Mountain biodiversity ............................................................................................................ 46 1.6. Biodiversity and climate change ............................................................................................. 50 1.7. Protected areas, species and NATURA 2000 Network ........................................................... 55 CHAPTER 2 ...................................................................................................................................... 61 NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN (NBSAP), THEIR IMPLEMENTATION AND REFLECTING BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION IN OTHER SECTORS ......................................................................................................................................... 61 CHAPTER 3 ...................................................................................................................................... 63 PROGRESS IN ACHIEVING AICHI 2020 TARGETS .................................................................. 63 Strategic Goal A: „Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society“ ............................................................................... 63 Strategic Goal B “Reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promote sustainable use“ ... 71 Strategic goal C „To improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species and genetic diversity“ ........................................................................................................................... 77 Strategic Goal D “Enhance the benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystem services“ .......... 81 Strategic Goal E “Enhance implementation through participatory planning, knowledge management and capacity building”............................................................................................. 85 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................. 91 ANNEX 1 – LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................... 97 ANNEX 2 – LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ............................................................................ 99 Date of submission of the report: 11 June 2014 Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Fifth National Report provides an overview of the present status and trends of biodiversity and its protection in the Czech Republic. The report is divided into three parts – the first one updates the previous Fourth National Report with the current status and trends of biodiversity in the Czech Republic. The second part provides information on the present National Biodiversity Strategy 2005 – 2015 and on its response to the current CBD Strategic Plan. The third part deals with the current performance and fulfilment of the Strategic Plan and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets at the national level. Proper protection of biodiversity as well as landscape and environmental protection is a necessary prerequisite for any sustainable development of the Czech Republic. In this sense biodiversity protection is included /reflected in numerous national strategic documents and policies (Strategic Framework for Sustainable Development in the Czech Republic1, State Environmental Policy of the Czech Republic2, National Biodiversity Strategy of the Czech Republic 2005-20153 and Update of the State Programme for Nature and Landscape Protection4). Even though biodiversity protection is significantly covered by the key strategic documents, general awareness on the importance of biodiversity, especially due to its relationship to functionality of ecosystems and ecosystem services is still weak. The key change should arrive with the update of the present National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan 2005 - 2015 (hereinafter as the “Updated NBSAP”), which will take place within the next two years. The Updated NBSAP will among other focus on mainstreaming of biodiversity protection aiming at integrating it into the decision making processes at all levels of the state administration (see details in Chapter 2). The key finding of this report is that no significant changes in biodiversity status and trends have been recorded since the submission of the Fourth National Report in 2009. Individual changes in status and trends as recorded e.g. by indicators of selected species population are reported in Chapter 1. These individual changes in biodiversity status and trends are mostly due to the following threats: 1) Breakdown, damaging and destruction of the original environment leading to its vanishing; 2) invasive alien species; 3) excess deposition of nutrients in the environment, especially nitrogen and phosphorus (eutrophication); 4) direct hunting by man and overexploitation of target species and other taxa; 5) climate change; 6) natural disasters; 7) contamination of the environment with pollutants; 8) diseases (see details in Chapter 1). The main part of the National Report is the review of the current progress in implementation of the CBD Strategic Plan 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Since the present NBSAP (2005-2015) does not directly reflect the CBD Strategic Plan 1 Strategic Framework for Sustainable Development in the Czech Republic, 2010 2 State Environmental Policy of the Czech Republic 2012-2020 3 National Biodiversity Strategy of the Czech Republic 2005-2015 4 The State Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection Programme of the Czech Republic, 2009 3 2011-2020 and most of the individual strategic objectives are reflected only partially, it was not possible to sum up, how the individual Aichi Targets are being fulfilled by the current NBSAP. The present status of the implementation of the Aichi Targets and their coverage by the national regulations and strategies is in detail described in Chapter 3. The updated NBSAP will cover all the Aichi Targets relevant for the Czech Republic, including the set indicators, allowing better monitoring of the implementation progress. 4 CHAPTER 1 AN UPDATE ON BIODIVERSITY STATUS, TRENDS, AND THREATS 1.1 General overview of biodiversity status, trends and threats Biodiversity means the variability of living organisms (plants, fungi, animals, and unicellular organisms, members of the kingdoms of nature) at the levels of genes, species, habitats and ecosystems. The most thoroughly known are the levels of species and habitats. The state of knowledge if biodiversity in the Czech Republic is rather good, especially thank to long research tradition and active recent research. Thanks to its location on the boundaries of four biogeographical subprovinces (Hercynian, Polonian, West Carpathian, and North Pannonian) and its geological diversity, the Czech Republic can be proud of its relatively wide range of animal and plant species and habitats, formed by them. Nearly 80 000 species have been recorded on the Czech territory. The number of recorded species might still grow along with our knowledge of the living world. In some areas, the numbers of species populations are increasing (e.g., introduced species); whereas in other parts of the country species are disappearing for various reasons, usually as a direct or indirect consequence of human activities. Around 2 500 out of total 3 500 vascular plant species known in the Czech Republic are native and/or archeophytes, i.e. species introduced until about the 15th century. Furthermore, 886 species of bryophytes, 1 500 of lichens, and up to 40 000 species of fungi (about 4 000 species of macromycetes – higher fungi) have been recorded. Over 24 000 species of insects, about 8 000 species of other invertebrates, and 711 species of vertebrates have been documented. 5 Figure 1- Map of the species richness in the Czech Republic Naturally, species diversity is not evenly distributed around the country. In addition to poorer areas, we can also find several sites with above average species diversity. Their existence depends on many natural factors and human activities in the landscape. Such sites are particular to Podkrušnohoří, Polabí, Central Bohemia including Prague, the canyon of the Vltava River, the Třeboň region, Podyjí, the Brno region, and south-eastern Moravia – especially in Pálava and the junction of the Morava and Dyje Rivers. According