Slovakia Today, English Language Current Affairs Programme from Slovak Radio

A state of emergency was recently declared for the Brezno district due a severe outbreak of the European bark beetle. To qualify as an emergency, over ten percent of the forest must be under threat. This declaration brings with it an emergency management regime that is meant to save as much of the forest as possible. To better understand the current and historical outbreaks of this native pest and its habitat, I spoke with two experts. Dr. Andrej Kunca works in the forest research department at the National Forest Center in Banska Stiavnica. The department focuses on many different varieties of forest pests. Erik Balaž is a former student of forestry and current nature documentary filmmaker. He is also a founding member of the non-profit forest advocacy group called My Sme Les (We are the forest.)