Open letter from Slovak Scientific Societies to the President, Government, and National Council of the Slovak Republic Regarding the State of Environmental Protection in Slovakia

Dear Mr. President, Dear Prime Minister, Dear Members of the Government, Dear Members of Parliament,

We, representatives of the scientific community, united under the undersigned professional societies, are reaching out to express our profound concern about the current state of nature conservation and environmental protection in Slovakia. We are convinced that the current leadership of the Ministry of Environment (MoE) and many of its appointed representatives in subordinate organizations have committed an unacceptable number of missteps, mistakes, and actions that are unequivocally against the interests of environmental protection since assuming their positions. These began with the unprecedented dismissal of more than fifty experts from leading positions in organizations under the MoE and have culminated in the adoption of an unprecedentedly harmful amendment to the Act on Nature and Landscape Conservation.

We believe these damages stem from the professional incompetence of the MoE leadership and its appointees but also, regrettably, from a deliberate effort to weaken environmental protection in Slovakia to enable uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources. We have thus reached the clear conclusion that the ministry, under its current leadership, has ceased to fulfil its fundamental role, which is the protection of our environment.

As experts from academic and professional environment, we are also convinced that the MoE is currently operating contrary to contemporary scientific knowledge and trends in nature conservation. This includes advocating logging in mountain forests instead of allowing natural regeneration, abandoning proven methods of prevention and education for coexistence with large carnivores while reinstating their hunting under questionable and likely unlawful conditions, promoting the construction of new water structures, and fostering artificial conflicts between nature conservation and stakeholders (farmers, water managers, foresters, private landowners, or ordinary visitors to nature) instead of seeking mutually beneficial cooperation.

Given the scope and impact of the negative actions and attitudes of the MoE leadership, we believe that the constitutional and international rights of Slovak citizens to a favourable environment are currently being severely violated. We are convinced that if the current situation continues, Slovakia will eventually lose millions of euros from the Recovery an resilience plan and EU Funds, and the European Commission will initiate infringement proceedings, leading to significant fines, i.e. as it was in the case of Poland Białowieża Forest dispute. Most importantly, our natural environment will suffer irreversible or difficult-to-reverse damage, negatively affecting us all.

As representatives of the scientific and professional community concerned about the current situation and the future of our country, we feel it is our moral duty and right to alert you to the negative consequences of the current leadership of the MoE for all Slovak citizens. In light of all the above, we call on the Government of the Slovak Republic to immediately halt the ongoing destruction of nature conservation and hold those responsible accountable. We also call for the rectification of all mistakes and damages caused in recent months in the field of environmental protection in Slovakia, including reinstating experts in key positions, responsibly fulfilling milestones and reforms related to the Recovery and resilience plan, reversing harmful legislative changes, and leading the ministry in line with professional knowledge.

Given the unprecedented threats currently facing Slovak nature, we also respectfully request the President of the Slovak Republic to use all constitutional powers and responsibilities to protect our environment. These include vetoing contentious legislative proposals and challenging them in the Constitutional Court if there are suspicions of their inconsistency with the Slovak Constitution or international legislation.

Finally, we urge members of the National Council to begin adopting and approving legislation that strengthens environmental protection rather than undermining it, which has become the norm in recent times.

In Bratislava, 25 November 2024

Signed by:
Association of Slovak Geomorphologists
Slovak Arachnological Society
Slovak Ecological Society
Slovak Geographical Society
Slovak Ornithological Society / BirdLife Slovakia
Slovak Section of the European Society of Scientists and Experts for Nature Conservation

Updated on 4 December 2024:
Scientific Council of the Institute of Zoology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
Scientific Council of the Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.
Scientific Council of the Institute of Landscape Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
Scientific Council of the Center of Biosciences of the Slovak Academy of Sciences

Updated on 13 December 2024:
Slovak Limnological Society

Updated on 17 December 2024:
Council of the Institute of Biological and Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Košice

Updated on 18 December 2024:
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Informatics, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra
Natural Science Commission of the Union of Museums in Slovakia

Updated on 19 December 2024:
Faculty of Natural Sciences, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica

Updated on 29 December 2024:
Slovak Mycological Society

Contact Person:
Dr. Jakub Cíbik
slovakia@es-sence.eu