Incubation of eggs of endangered fish species, regional seed mixes, removal of pharmaceutical residues from wastewater or protection against invasive crayfish species in Estonia. The State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic will present seventeen of its projects, implemented with the support of the Norway Grants, at a two-day expert conference. Experts from Norway, Poland and Greece will come to Prague’s Spojka Events to learn about Czech environmental protection projects.
The Environment, Ecosystems and Climate Change programme, funded by the Norway Grants, has supported activities through two open calls aimed at implementing the results of scientific research projects into practice and introducing pilot measures for ecosystem protection and water pollution reduction.
„Over the past three years, we have managed to support a total of 20 innovative projects with more than 240 million CZK and we aim to present their results to the public through this two-day conference. The range of topics is very broad. We will explore bird parks, focus on invasive species and discuss sustainable fish farming. The second day of the conference will be more technology-oriented, addressing the issue of micropollutants with a special focus on pharmaceutical residues in surface waters and possibilities for their removal,” explains Petr Valdman, Director of the State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic.
An important goal of the Norway Grants programme is to support the establishment of international cooperation in environmental protection. Therefore, the event will include foreign participants who will not only learn about the results of Czech projects but also present their own examples of good practice. For example, representatives from the Green Foundation will present a Slovak-Norwegian project on wetland protection. Ragnhild Nylund from the Norwegian MAFRO center, which focuses on marine pollution, will give a presentation about microplastics. Experts from Estonia will showcase their project focused on invasive crayfish species, similar to the Czech project whose results will also be presented at the conference.
Interest in innovative approaches to environmental protection is exceptional not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad. This is evidenced by the significant interest from participants. Registration for the conference is now closed, but those interested in environmental innovations will still have the opportunity to follow the presentations. “To accommodate everyone interested in ecological innovations, it will be possible to livestream the conference presentations online. Subsequently, the recording will also be made available,” concludes Petr Valdman. The event will be interpreted into English, and all conference outputs will be prepared bilingually.
Video recording of the conference (English/Czech)
