The Slovak Water Management Company (SVP) has cut all the vegetation on the banks of the so-called old Danube from Bratislava’s Čunovo up to Dobrohošť within its anti-flood measures and maintenance works. Local state nature conservationists consider the cutting to be a violation of valid legislation and plan to file charges. The Environment Ministry has turned to nature inspection to check the logging.
“This is making the country lose exceptionally precious floodplain forests that are a habitat for endangered species,” said the conservationists from the Bratislava arm of the Protected Area (CHKO) Dunajské Luhy. “The goal of this cutting is, in terms of today’s level of scientific knowledge, unjustifiable and we consider this to be a violation of the water law.”
The water management company has cut the vegetation on an about a 10-km-long stretch of the old Danube River basin flowing parallel to the man-made channel bringing Danube water down to the turbines of the Gabčíkovo hydropower plant. The company argues that the old river basin also serves for channelling excess water during high water discharge on the river as well as when it is not possible to channel needed amounts of water via the Gabčíkovo power plant.
