Československo‑polské vztahy z hlediska environmentálního, pokusy o řešení (1927–1992)

Abstract

Thanks to its diverse terrain, Czechoslovakia represents a watershed, or rather a basin of rivers that flow into neighbouring countries. Their pollution, which was caused by excessive development of heavy industry in the 20th century, had a significant impact on the devasta‑ tion of the environment, especially in the northern parts of the territory and in border regions of Germany and Poland. This study presents basic trends in the development of Czechoslovakia–Poland relations in the field of environmental protection in the period under review, but also tries to view them from a more general perspective. Special attention is paid to the impact of Ostrava’s heavy industry on the pollution of the rivers Olza and Oder (or parts of their tributaries) that flow through the Czech‑Polish border regions via the Ostrava indus‑ trial agglomeration; the Oder then continues northwards across the whole of Poland. However, air pollution caused by the development of the Ostrava and Upper Silesian industrial areas had an adverse effect on environmental development too.