Center for Citizens' Support was established in 1996. Since 2001 it is one of the branches of the Arnika Association.
Arnika's mission is improvement of the state of the environment, its protection from pollution, protection and restoration of natural values on the territory of the Czech Republic, also in the European context. Arnika is a nationwide organisation with local branches; it participates in work of several international networks of non-government organisations.
The mission of the Center for Citizens' Support is to help people who want to participate in decision-making in environmental matters in the place they live in. We provide free help to municipalities, citizens associations, as well as individuals. We focus, in particular, on the issues of protection of water and watercourses, toxic substances and waste, environment in cities, felling of trees, right to information and participation of the public in decision-making.
Priority projects
Advisory Bureau of the Center for Citizens' Support
We provide legal, expert, as well as organisational consultancy, we help to enforce right to healthy environment. Branches of the Advisory Bureau of the Center for Citizens' Support work in Prague, Děčín, Jihlava and Ostrava. We ourselves take an active part in solving especially serious problems.
Save the Trees! Project
Massive felling of healthy trees has been taking place in recent years on the whole territory of the Czech Republic – both because of increasing density of buildings, widening of roads, or only under the pretext of improvement of stands. We aim to stop loss of greenery in parks and avenues of trees, along roads and watercourses, and we help citizens of cities and municipalities to protect green areas.
Cities for People Project
Not only forests and open landscape, but also cities and villages need protection against devastation of the environment, and reasonable development strategies. Together with local initiatives we aim at reduction of pollution caused by industry, maintaining of green areas, as well as public spaces, and progressive approach to urban development.
History
Center for Citizens' Support was established in 1996 as a separate section of the non government organisation Children of the Earth (Děti Země). Dozens of people contacted Children of the Earth yearly, asking for consultancy and help. Because the organisation did not want to refuse to help these persons, and the extent of consultations gradually began to exceed common consultancy, it established a specialised section for communication with citizens associations, municipalities, as well as individuals.
In 2001, the Center became one of the founding branches of the environmental association Arnika, which was being formed at that time.
Since the beginning of its activity, consultancy of the Center for Citizens' Support exceeded standard legal advices. Service of the Center includes also expert help, publicizing of problems in the media, help with establishing and managing citizens associations, negotiations, organisation of actions for the public, etc. The Center itself takes an active part in solving especially serious problems.
In addition to consultations and solving of selected cases, we organize workshops on utilisation of legal, as well as other, tools in environmental protection, issue methodical handbooks, leaflets, and other publications.
Since its establishing, the Center helped to establish dozens of citizens associations. In a number of cases, local citizens succeeded in defending the environment against devastation. The cases concerned felling of trees, construction of landfills and waste incinerators, construction of transport structures, and quarries.