Klaus supports radical action against bark beetle

On a visit to the Šumava National Park on Tuesday President Vaclav Klaus expressed full support for the park management’s radical policy in fighting bark-beetle infestation in the protected nature reserve. The president said that the cautious policy of the former management and the Environment Ministry would have resulted in severe devastation of the region’s pine forests. The park’s present management, headed by former prime minister Jan Strásky, has come under fire from environmental activists and academicians for employing logging and harsh anti-insecticides to curb the spread of bark-beetle infestation.