Environment minister rubbishes claims that bark beetle infestation is out of control

Environment Minister Ladislav Miko has said that the number of bark beetles in the Šumava National Park is ‘under control’ and that declaring a state of emergency in the region would be ‘nonsensical’. Regional governor Jiří Zimola had said that there was an infestation of bark beetles in the national park, which, in his view, was caused by the decision to leave parts of the forest to its own natural development. But on Tuesday, the environment minister said that Mr Zimola’s rhetoric was simply to shock voters ahead of an election and that the regional governor did not present a real way of reducing beetle numbers. Mr Miko added that the bark beetle was a problem all over Europe and that the situation here was typical.

Author: Rosie Johnston