The Czech Ministry of the Environment, in conjunction with the State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic, is launching two new calls from the EU-funded Operational Programme Environment (OPŽP) – securing financing for preventive measures against flooding and solving slope instabilities caused by natural phenomena.
“It is necessary to prepare for climate change, it is a necessary prevention so that we do not have to extinguish huge damages in the future. Of course, this means increased financial demands on municipalities, for example. Therefore, subsidies for adapting to the effects of climate change are one of the main areas of support in the new OPŽP program period,” said Minister of the Environment, Marian Jurečka.
“Unfortunately, extreme meteorological phenomena are occurring more and more often in the Czech Republic, such as this year’s spring storms with strong winds and hail or the series of floods in the last decade,” added the Minister. “Therefore, it is necessary to prepare for them as best as possible. The complex of preventive measures against floods also includes the construction of a forecasting service system, the modernisation of early warning systems, as well as the creation of analyses and studies to determine flood areas. It is to support these activities that one of the currently advertised calls is intended.”
The latest calls add up to a total of 23 calls since the start of the OPŽP. The 22nd call will enable state-owned enterprises and organisational units of the state, including their contributing organisations to submit project proposals for improving the quality of flood protection systems. Whilst the 23rd call will focus on the area of remediation of slope instabilities and rockfalls and will have a wider range of potential participants who can submit the funding proposals – including municipalities, their voluntary associations, public benefit societies, private businesses and individuals.
“Financial support is available for the implementation of flood prevention measures close to nature by municipalities, cities, regions and other entities within the framework of the already ongoing 19th call, which we announced this September,” added Petr Valdman, Director of the State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic. “The allocation of the call amounts to two and a half billion crowns, and there are still enough funds left in it to draw. In addition, it is a non-competitive call, so it is possible to apply for a subsidy on an ongoing basis.”
The Operational Programme Environment is a basic subsidy programme in the field of environmental protection. In its 3rd programming period (2021-2027) it will provide the Czech Republic with approximately 61 billion Czech korunas (2.5 billion euros) from EU funds (European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund).
