(2 Oct 1997) German/Nat
The Erzgebirge Mountains in the east of Germany are choking to death.
The thickly forested area along the border with the Czech Republic is a popular attraction for tourists from Germany and beyond.
But emissions from power stations on both sides of the borders are polluting the air and killing off the trees.
Now politicians in both countries have agreed to a series of stringent air quality controls which environmentalists hope will revive this beautiful region.
The lush pastures and forest of the Erzgebirge mountains are one of Germany's most treasured natural resources.
The upland area stretches along the border between the Czech Republic and what used to be the German Democratic Republic.
Reunification provided all Germans will the possibility of coming here to hike in the summer or ski in the winter.
But it also brought with it a legacy of pollution and a seriously degraded environment.
Sulphur dioxide emissions from nearby power stations have caused severe acid rain which is killing off swathes of the forest.
Gottfried Mann of Germany's Association for the Environment and Nature says the forest is dying at an alarming rate.
SOUNDBITE: (German)
"The forest in the Erzgebirge has certainly been badly damaged over the past few years. About 50-thousand hectares (100-thousand acres) of the Saxony forest have been affected by harmful emissions. 10-thousand hectares (20-thousand acres) are seriously damaged and three-thousand hectares (six-thousand acres) of the forest were beyond repair at the end of 1996."
SUPER CAPTION: Gottfried Mann, Association for Environment and Nature
Air quality in the Erzgebirge has worsened considerably since the Czech authorities decided to install electric heating in publicly owned buildings across the country.
This has dramatically increased the nation's electricity consumption and means far more coal is being burned in power stations near the border with Germany.
Last January, sulphur dioxide rose to more than twice the danger level.
The poor air isn't just affecting the forest - it's harming people's health too.
SOUNDBITE: (German)
"Whether it's conjunctivitis, skin rashes or itching or, I know this from my colleague, a doctor, respiratory or cardiac diseases or headaches - all this is mostly connected to the dangerously high particulate emissions and southerly winds. The pollution that comes to us from the cool area in the Czech Republic over the Erzgebirge also plays an important role."
SUPER CAPTION: Siegfried Kanzler, paediatrician
Popular anger at the poor air quality has spurred the politicians into action.
The German government has promised that all the ageing Soviet-era power stations will be modernised to comply with environmental regulations.
The Czechs too have agreed to tackle the problem.
Prague refused a German offer to sell it electricity at cost value, but it has promised that all power stations in North Bohemia will be fitted with filters by 1998 or closed down.
Saxony's environment minister, Arnold Vaatz, says authorities on both sides of the border are committed to improving the air quality.
SOUNDBITE: (German)
"We have three objectives to achieve. First is to clean the waste gases of the power stations, second is to clean the waste gases of central heating stations and thirdly we have to systematically replace the central heating systems in apartments."
SUPER CAPTION: Arnold Vaatz, Environmental Minister of Saxony
Local people are holding the politicians to their word.
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