Greenpeace: Environment Minister Taraba's Policies Disaster for Nature

Bratislava, January 8 (TASR) - The activities of Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) and his state secretaries at the ministry have been a disaster for environmental protection, with most of their measures harming nature instead of protecting it, Greenpeace Slovakia spokeswoman Miroslava Abelova has stated. "Their actions, communication and conduct are aimed at undermining the pillars of nature protection and reflect total arrogance of power. The destruction of Slovak nature and its biodiversity has, in our view, become the main ideological focus of the Environment Ministry's work," stated Abelova. Abelova pointed to some of the actions taken by the ministry, such as permission for the culling of protected species, including wolves and bears. She added that the ministry has proposed a number of harmful legislative measures, such as a law on evaluating effects on the environment (EIA), a proposal for a new concept for water policy and a law on emissions permits. Greenpeace Slovakia has also criticised the project to build a liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal in Bratislava and the promotion of waste incinerators. "And while the minister is so busy weakening nature protection in Slovakia and via megalomaniac projects, he isn't doing what he should and, through his inaction, he's directly endangering the fulfillment of the recovery plan and hundreds of millions of euros," said Abelova. lin/df