Government under fire for neglecting measures against drought and soil-erosion

The government of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has come under fire from the opposition for dragging its feet on measures aimed at curbing the impacts of drought and soil erosion. Ahead of a debate in the lower house on bills relating to these issues the Pirate Party presented a set of measures for improving water management, sustainable agriculture and a more ecological administration of towns and villages, pointing out that all these changes were long overdue. It is also proposing a series of amendments to the government-proposed bills on the table.

Jan Farsky,  head of the Mayors and Independents group in the lower house, criticized the fact that a planned government decree on measures to prevent soil erosion has been in the making since 2017 and has not yet been implemented. Environment Minister Richard Brabec said it would come into effect next year.

The drought this winter was reported to be the worst in 500 years. The Environment Ministry is now looking for suitable locations to build dozens of new water reservoirs and preparing badly-needed changes to the landscape that would help retain water.