This was preceded by several years of intensive negotiations with representatives of municipalities, major land managers, interest groups, and other partners. After many years of effort, the unique complex of floodplain forests, exceptional even on a European scale, has gained large-scale protection. Designation as a PLA does not change anything for public access; people can continue to enjoy the landscape as they did prior to its designation. The key task is to return water to the local landscape and preserve its species diversity.

The confluence of the Morava and Dyje rivers is one of the most ecologically valuable areas not only in the Czech Republic, but also on a European scale. Water plays a fundamental role in the area, along with a network of river branches, wetlands, pools, alluvial meadows, and floodplain forests. This area of exceptional biodiversity is home to around 900 species of vascular plants and hundreds of rare animal species, such as the Danube crested newt and the Eastern imperial eagle.

“Almost ten years have passed since designation of the most recent Protected Landscape Area – Brdy PLA. We were preparing Soutok PLA in a completely different social climate, one in which social networks have gained importance, often serving as sources of rapidly spreading rumours and manipulation. It helped that the initiative at the outset came from local people, and we continuously engaged with local residents and land managers, adjusting the proposal according to their feedback. This is an extraordinary landscape of the largest floodplain forests in Central Europe, which simply deserves this kind of protection. Soutok PLA will therefore protect the local nature primarily for the people,” states Minister of the Environment Petr Hladík.

“The landscape at the confluence of the Morava and Dyje rivers is one of the places most severely threatened by climate change. The key is to return water to the floodplain forests – and this is the priority we are working on in cooperation with Forests of the Czech Republic and the Morava River Basin Authority. A flap weir is being constructed on the Dyje River, along with a number of related restoration measures designed to help retain water in the landscape. We are also preparing a management plan for this unique area, involving experts, land managers, and municipalities in its development,” adds František Pelc, Director of the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic.

As of 1 July 2025, Soutok PLA Administration has been established as a new department of the regional office of the NCA CR, South Moravia. Soutok PLA Administration will employ nine staff members (three landscape ecologists, two foresters, a water management specialist, a zoologist, and a landscape ecologist specialising in agriculture). Most of these positions have already been filled, with one forester still to be appointed. Based on a selection process, Vladan Riedl was appointed as the head. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Forestry at Mendel University, with twenty years of experience as a forester at the NCA CR. He has long collaborated with the Forests of the Czech Republic state enterprise, is active in forestry research, and has been involved throughout the entire process of negotiating Soutok PLA. The Soutok PLA Administration office will be temporarily located at T. G. Masaryka 10, in vacant offices provided by the town of Břeclav.

The official website of Soutok PLA is: soutok.aopk.gov.cz

Joint press release of the Ministry of the Environment and the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic.