“A green deer leaping” is how some describe Arnika’s mission. Arnika is a Czech non-governmental organization. It strives for a better environment since 2001. Arnika unites people for environmental protection. Its focus includes public participation and biodiversity protection. It also aims to eliminate toxic substances and waste.
Arnika engages in national and international networks. It collaborates with entities. These include the International Pollutants Elimination Network and the European Rivers Network. Arnika also works with the European Environmental Bureau. It is part of the European ECO Forum. Nationally, Arnika is associated with Green Circle and Climate Coalition. It also works with the Czech Forum for Development Cooperation and DEMAS. Arnika collaborates with Wageningen University and the University of Ostrava too.
Arnika’s activities cover a range of environmental issues. These include river and biodiversity protection. Arnika also addresses the urban environment, waste reduction, and recycling. The organization works to eliminate persistent organic pollutants too. Arnika is recognized as a consumer protection entity. As of 2022, Arnika operates through two main programs. These are the Center for Citizen Support and the Toxics and Waste Programme. Previously, there was also a Nature Conservation Programme.
The Toxics and Waste Programme addresses controversies. These relate to waste incinerators. It emphasizes waste incineration residues. It particularly focuses on dioxins in fly ash.
Arnika was founded on September 29, 2001. Environmentalists Jindřich Petrlík, Martin Skalský, Vlastimil Karlík, and Lenka Mašková founded it. They departed from the Czech NGO Děti Země. Petrlik, Skalsky, and Karlík became chairmen of Arnika. Team Bořena joined Arnika in 2001. This team relocated endangered plant species in the 1980s. They moved them from an area with waste soil. It was from an open-pit brown coal mine.
Arnika led the Toxics-Free Future campaign from 2001 to 2004. It helped establish a Pollutant Release and Transfer Register in the Czech Republic. It also supported the ratification of the Stockholm Convention. Since 2005, Arnika compiles rankings of industrial sources. They emit various substances. This encourages emission reduction efforts. Arnika addresses sites contaminated with toxic chemicals. It focuses on the Spolana Neratovice chlorine chemical plant. This was after the 2002 floods.
Since 2001, Arnika has opposed new dams on the Elbe near Děčín. It emphasizes protecting ecosystems in Natura 2000 species sites. It also works to preserve migratory fish like salmon. In 2005, Arnika filed a complaint with the European Commission. This led to a warning about the Czech government’s insufficient designation of Special Protection Areas. In 2015, Arnika joined the European network for tree avenue protection. Since 2017, it has collaborated with the University of Ostrava. This is on a LIFE project. It aims to expand the habitat for the endangered hermit beetle. This is within the Natura 2000 network.
In 2008, Arnika raised concern. Prague risked losing its UNESCO World Heritage status. It pushed for restricting building heights. These were planned by developers on the Pankrác Plain. From 2012 to 2019, Arnika criticized the Metropolitan Plan for Prague. It opposed market-driven changes to the city’s land-use plan. In 2008, collaborative efforts with Wageningen University focused on urban water management in Prague.
In 2019, Jan Skalický accused Arnika. He claimed it was financially supported by competing railway carriers. Jan Hodovský made similar claims. He said Arnika’s funding came from German railways. Arnika demanded an apology from Hodovský. He modified his statement. He acknowledged environmentalists were financed from Germany’s state budget.
Arnika extends its environmental work beyond the Czech Republic. It engages in projects across Africa, Central and Southeast Asia. It also works in Central and Eastern Europe. Arnika collaborated with IPEN and the Basel Action Network. In 2019, it highlighted dioxin contamination at an e-waste site in Agbogbloshie.
Arnika studies global toxic pollution from plastics recycled from e-waste. It collaborates with IPEN. Arnika’s Toxics and Waste Programme is the Regional Hub. It covers Central, Eastern & Western Europe for the International Pollutants Elimination Network. In 2018, it was the sole member of the Health Care Without Harm network in the Czech Republic.
In 2018, Arnika organized an international conference in Ostrava. It focused on combating air pollution. This was recognized within the Aarhus Convention framework. Since 2018, Arnika has also addressed air pollution issues in Ukraine.