National Program to Abate the Climate Change Impacts in the Czech Republic.

The present National Program focuses on setting of the main national targets and appropriate policies and measures to ensure meeting of the reduction emission targets to the maximum possible degree in the sense of international agreements, to reflect existing and future social and economic conditions in CR and to promote sustainable development.
Chapter 7 outlines the policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The following Acts shall contribute to such reduction: Act on Protection of the Air No. 86/2002; Energy Act No. 458/2000 and the Act on Energy Management No.406/2000; Act on Integrated Prevention No. 76/2002; Act on Waste No. 185/2001 and Act on Packaging No. 477/2001. Also some national programs shall be implemented to alleviate emission reduction: National Program to Promote Energy Savings and the Use of Renewable Sources of Energy; Programs of the State Environmental Fund of CR; Integrated National Program to Reduce Emissions; National Program to Reduce Emissions of Particulate Matter, Sulphur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxides; Initiative for Energy-Saving Lighting. Others are: Program to Support Reconstruction and Restoration of Panel Buildings; Measures in the Transport Sector; Support for Afforestation of Unused Agricultural Areas; Support for the Production of Alternative Motor Fuels; Prepared Policies and Measures; Use of Landfill Gas and Biogas from Waste Water Treatment Plants; National Program of Clean Energy Management and Use of Renewable and Secondary Energy Sources.
Part 8 lays down provisions relating to adaptation measures. They consist of a set of potential adaptations of a natural or anthropogenic system to an actual or expected climate change and its impact. Adaptations that encompass the expected changes sufficiently far in advance or measures that are capable of immediately reacting following the occurrence of a natural or other catastrophe can be elaborated and subsequently introduced. Measures can be adopted at the level of individuals, private companies, groups of inhabitants, municipalities or cities, or can be adopted at the level of testate. However, such measures usually require mutual cooperation of a number of sectors.
The water management sector is clearly most sensitive to climate change under the national circumstances in CR and Central Europe. Adaptation measures for this sector should consists especially of implementation of measures leading to an increase in the water retention properties of the landscape, restoration of partial systems, reduction of affecting of water quality by contamination, the security of water-powered structures against overflowing, a change in the controllable retention space, an increase in the capacity of safety overflows, an increase in the effectiveness of management of water-powered structures under no stationary conditions and of the decision-making process in dangerous and uncertain situations. Suitably selected measures, respecting the technical and natural conditions in the individual water powered structures, can reduce the risk following from flood situations. Agricultural activities will undoubtedly be affected by climate change; nonetheless, in contrast to other sectors, the impacts can be relatively easily affected by changing the species composition and management methods.
The impacts on forest ecosystems will differ considerably by regions and thus adaptation measures must be the results of long-term planning, taking into consideration the specific features of the individual forest areas and local predictions of potential danger. In general, the most important measure consists in increasing the adaptation potential of forests through species, genetic and age diversification of tree stands. The most severe adaptation measure consists in an enforced change of the species composition of stands (premature felling of stands of narrow-leaved species, especially spruce, and replacement of single-species stands by mixtures of tree species) and a change in the clear-cutting method of management for undergrowth methods. Similarly as in the agricultural sector, it will be necessary to implement measures to eliminate the risk of increased populations of insect pests, vascular mycosis and especially root rot.
The text consists of 10 Parts as follows: Introduction (1); Climate change and its global impact (2); Climate change as an international issue (3); Climate change and its impacts in the Czech Republic (4); Greenhouse gas emissions in CR in 1990 to 2001 (5); GHGS emission projections in CR to 2030 (6); Policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (7); Adaptation measures (8); Costs of greenhouse gas emissions reduction (9); Policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (10).