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Chlidren of the Earth

COE Communications
Chlumova 17, 130 00 Praha 3
Czech Republic
Tel/fax/ans.: +420-2-22 78 00 52
E-mail: deti.zeme@ecn.cz

Welcome at Children of the Earth (COE) homepage ! You are our 27738 visitor.

Motto:
"When the situation changed in 1989, we hoped that the state would do much more also for the environment. Now it seems that the situation moves backwards again where it was and that it is necessary to fight against selling natural resources and against building unreasonable giant plants, for example, a cement factory in Tmaň. We have to keep on fighting and must not get fed up, it must not matter that somebody says we are foolish. I hope that those young groups - Children of the Earth (Děti Země) and Rainbow Movement (Hnutí Duha) will continue in their activities and that they will not get fed up."

Olga Havlova (Vaclav Havel´s wife) - interview for the Czech Television, April 10th, 1995

NEW! - July - 25, 2000:
Accident in Spolana and escape of toxic materials
Children of the Earth Oppose to Postpone the Term of the Ban on PVC
Press Releases of the Children of the Earth
Brousek's Amendment of the Nature and Landscape Protection Act No. 114/1992 Sb.
Introduction	Who are COE	Sections and Campaigns	Local Branches	Publishing and Culture	Honorary Board

The Declaration of Ústí n. L. on Flooding Prevention and Wetlands Protection

Introduction

"Should we fear when scientists find out that we cause the climate on our planet get warmer and consequently continental glaciers melt and the water level in oceans moves up? Should we be afraid of the ozone hole? Do dioxins, DDT, or polychlorine biphenyls really endanger our life and all the beings on the planet in general? Does the number of animal species get reduced? A lot of questions that everybody has to answer. They will probably be more important after the crisis flourishes – after we have nothing to eat and drink and the air is not possible to breath. Will there be time for solution then? We have already been trying to look for it now. We begin from a part which is proximate. We have been solving global environmental problems in their concrete tangible form in our cities, towns, and landscape."

Dr. Jindřich Petrlik, Chairman of the Children of the Earth

Children of the Earth (Deti Zeme)

Children of the Earth are a non-governmental non-profit organization that was established in September 1989 as the fourth unofficial environmentally oriented public initiative in the Czech Republic. Today branch offices and clubs of the Children of the Earth operate in 13 cities and towns in the Czech Republic and independent activists work in some other ones. Our mission is to stop a negative human influence on the environment and to strengthen ecological consciousness in the society. In order to accomplish this aim, we:

comment new laws on the environment
are opposed to projects that would distinctly damage the environment
look for and enforce alternative solutions to these projects
take care of rare natural ecosystems and endangered flora and fauna species
provide ecological education to children and teenagers
inform the public by means of lectures, exhibitions, and media
issue publications and organize cultural events
pass our experience to newly established public associations and initiatives as well as to individual citizens

Organization's Activity Concentrates on Five Topics:

"For Preservation of Nature on the Earth" section moves against economic activities that damage natural ecosystems envincibly, reduce ecological stability of the landscape, or cause diversity of species in preserved areas impoverish.
Following campaigns belong to the main activities of this section: "For Preservation of Czech Carst (Český kras)" - at present this campaign focuses especially on stopping the new cement factory construction in Tmaň.
"For Preservation of Wetlands along the Labe River" - tries to save rare natural communities which would disappear in consequence of reservoirs construction in Velké Březno and Prostřední Žleb.
"For Preservation of a Valley near Vesec" - is opposed to a dam construction project near to Liberec.
"Rajchéřov Program" - protests against construction of a giant recreation park in South Bohemia.
"SKI 2003" - does not agree with organizing a world cup in classical skiing in the Jizerské Mountains.
"Club for Owl and Cormorants Preservation" and "Bořena Team", which occupies itself with rescuing rare plant species in České středohoří, operate also in this section.

"For Clean Soil, Air, and Water" section deals with the issue of industrial pollution of the environment and waste economy, and comments laws being prepared in this field, especially the law on citizens´ right to be informed about the environment. The main campaign of the section is focused on implementation of public Pollution Releases and Transfers Register (PRTR) in Czech Republic. This section concentrates also on an activity against communal waste incinerators construction in Prague – Malešice and Liberec. Children of the Earth representatives are members of a dioxin committee of the Ministry of the Environment. The committee works on inclusion of limits regarding these highly toxic materials into our legislative. The section also enforces more economical disposal of waste (for instance separation and recycling).
"For Enviromentally Clean Transport" section proposes ecologically more considerate kinds of transport and offers alternative solutions to transport projects that influence the environment in cities as well as in the country. At present the attention has been devoted to the following projects: "An Alternative to the D8 Highway Exists", "Plzeň Highway By-pass", and "Car Park in the City of Děčín". Information exhibitions for the public, discussion, and happenings are organized. Every summer a cycle event "Bike Tour" takes place. Annually there is a "Day without Cars" announced which should point out to growing problems with the automobile transport.
In Prague a "Center for Support of Citizens" operates. Its mission is to provide experience which Children of the Earth has obtained in the field of legislative. It helps especially the people who have decided to take an active part in decisions on the environment in the area they live.
"Eco-education" section informs the public and prepares education programs for children as well as adults. Among its activities there are, for example, traveling exhibitions "A Tent for Life" which show present environmental problems.

Local Branches

Local branches are basic geografical units of Children of the Earth. They works in following municipalities of Czech Republic:

Bohumilice, Brno, Děčín, Hodonín, Liberec, Litoměřice, Polabí, Olomouc, Ostrava, Plzeň, Praha

Publishing and Cultural Activity

Every year the Children of the Earth announce a popular competition "Ropák roku" ("Petroleum Man of the Year") in which approximately one-hundred-member committee consisting mostly from scientists, artists, and press representatives appoints a man or a woman who has contributed the most to damages caused to the environment in the course of the previous year.

The Children of the Earth issue a magazine called Alternativa which is published every second month. There you can read thoughts, interviews with interesting people, news on the environment from home as well as from all over the world and information on the Children of the Earth’s activities. You can find also a lot of ideas there how you personally can help nature. They issue also monthly magazine "Akce (Actions)" that informs about our activities and is addressed especially to the members of the Children of the Earth. A publishing center located in Brno issues a lot of other publications on the environment.

The Children of the Earth organize also music projects, for instance, an annual many-genre festival "Musicians to the Earth" or exhibitions which often become highly prestige (the photographer Ibra Ibrahimovič was awarded the 1st price in the Czech Press Photo Competition for a part of the photographic exhibition "Landscape and its People".)

Members of the Honorary Board of COE

Prof. Erazim Kohak, PhD - philosopher and Charles university professor

Ing. Ivan Dejmal - environmentalist, former minister of the environment (1990-92)

Vladimir Merta - musician and director

Doc.Dr. Cestmir Jech, PhD - physicist

Jiří Dedecek - musician

Zdenek Thoma - photographer and traveller

Jaroslav Pavlicek - polar explorer

Randy Kritkausky - president of US NGO Ecologia

Translated by Mgr. Veronika Hejtmanova