CONTENT ATTITUDE TOWARDS NATURE | 7 | EUROPARC AND EUROPE’S NATURAL HERITAGE | 9 | SLOVENIA AND THE PROTECTED AREAS | 18 | NATURE PARKS | 20 | INSTITUTE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA FOR NATURE CONSERVATION | 23 | NATURAL VALUES | 24 | NATURA 2000 | 27 | MAB – MAN AND BIOSPHERE | 28 | UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARKS | 29 | ORGANIZATION OF EUROPE'S PROTECTED AREAS | 30 | MAP OF NATURE PARKS | 32 | ABOUT AREAS NEVER TO BE PROTECTED | 228 | THE COMMUNITY OF NATURAL PARKS | 272 |
NATIONAL PARK 34 Triglav National Park
REGIONAL PARKS 46 Kozjansko Regional Park 54 Notranjska Regional Park 62 Škocjan Caves Regional Park
ADMINISTERED LANDSCAPE AND NATURE PARKS 70 76 82 88 94 100 106
Goričko Landscape Park Kolpa Landscape Park Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park Logar Valley Landscape Park Pivka Intermittent Lakes Landscape Park Sečovlje Salina Nature Park Strunjan Landscape Park
166 170 174 178 182 186 190 194 198 202 206 210 214 218 222
Mrzlica Landscape Park Negova and Lake Negova Landscape Park Polhov Gradec Dolomites Landscape Park Ponikva Karst Landscape Park Landscape Park of Rače Ponds – Požeg Radensko polje Nature Park Rakov Škocjan Landscape Park Landscape Park Vrbje Pond With the Hinterland Robanov kot Landscape Park Štatenberg Landscape Park Šturmovec Landscape Park Tivoli, Rožnik and Šiška Hill Landscape Park Topla Landscape Park Upper Idrijca River Landscape Park Žabljek Landscape Park
UNPROTECTED AREAS
112 Škocjanski Zatok Nature Reserve
230 234 238 242 246 250 254
LANDSCAPE AND NATURE PARKS
GEOPARKS
NATURE RESERVE
118 Beka Landscape Park 122 Boč Mountain – Donačka Mounatin Landscape Park and Boč Mountain – Plešivec Mountain Landscape Park 126 Drava Landscape Park 130 Golte Landscape Park 134 Landscape Park Southern and Western Slopes of Nanos 138 Landscape park Southern Slopes of the Trnovo Forest 142 Kamenščak – Hrastovec Landscape Park 146 Kum Landscape Park 150 Lahinja Landscape Park 154 Ljutomer Fish Ponds and Jeruzalem Wine Growing Hills Landscape Park and Jeruzalem-Ormož Wine Growing Hills Landscape Park 158 Lake Maribor Landscape Park 162 Mašun Landscape Park
Dragonja Valley Kamnik-Savinja Alps Kočevje Region River Mura Ormož Lagoons Planina polje Pohorje
258 Idrija Geopark 262 Karavanke Geopark 266 Karst Geopark
ATTITUDE TOWARDS NATURE Janez Bizjak The exceptional abundance of biodiversity and the unrepeatable landscape build a mosaic of the most noticeable characteristics Slovenia has been gifted with. Thus Slovenia is a rich and large country. Although natural assets do not have a price, their worth is endless. What does such value, that we cannot measure mean to us? Those who can only measure and calculate, are not aware of their importance. They cannot bear to look at a mighty waterfall without calculating how much energy goes to waste every second, because the waterfall does not run through large pipes and power water turbines. But as Einstein would say: “Many of the things you can count, don't count. Many of the things you can't count really count.�
Unspoilt nature is disappearing, while our need for it grows. Some people find nature exciting and inviting for various forms of physical and mental experience, while others only use it as an adrenalin playground or object of their self-interest and material gain. How can we protect nature? Did we perhaps with our environmental measures unintentionally and with good intentions disrupt the world of the impersonal, measurable and anthropocentric way of thinking? Nature itself does not need protection, it only needs protection from man. The best way to protect it is to leave it undisturbed and perfect at least in protected areas and to meddle as little as possible with the intertwinement of its flawless cosmic arrangement. But our hunger for economic growth without the awareness that every growth is limited, causes an increas-
ing use of natural resources and inconsiderate interference with the natural values. In protected areas of nature, the environmental and ecological interests should have precedence over the economic interests. But all advocates and managers of protected areas know we are far from this vision. Nature and nature protection never had a lobby in Slovenia. Informing the public about nature and the environment was also never an attractive topic in the Slovenian media. Nature was not created by man. It was given to man. Therefore it does not belong to us; we only have the possibility to thoughtfully use it and experience it. People can change, use, exploit and even destroy nature. But we also have the possibility to stop this and in some areas consciously refrain from exploitation. People are becoming increasingly overloaded with knowledge and data, but deprived of the simplest basic feelings and experiences in nature. More and more children know how to impeccably control computer technology before they even know how to sign their name, they cannot, however, climb a tree, make a fire in naNature is not owned by ture, observe an anthill, wonder about the fraanyone, but its offerings grant smells of a bloomare owned by all. ing meadow or hear birds singing. When will (Native American proverb) we be able to treat nature like the bees do: after they harvest pollen, the flowers still remain, just like their fragrance and gloss. Will we be able to leave Earth to upcoming generations at least in a similar condition we found it when we received it from our ancestors?
ď ´ Planina polje
9
14
15
18
19
NATURE PARKS OF SLOVENIJA Nature Parks, Selected Unprotected Areas and Geoparks
48
37
8 33
1
16
41
27
36
47
7
38
30
18 45 3
17
49 13 11 10
34
12 40
4
31 9
24 42
5
26 43
23 19 46
22
15 29 39
28
44 35
34 LANDSCAPE PARKS:
14
32
25 20 2
1 2 3 4
21 6
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
NATIONAL PARK:
Triglav National Park
REGIONAL PARKS:
Kozjansko Regional Park Notranjska Regional Park Škocjan Cave Regional Park
ADMINISTERED LANDSCAPE AND NATURE PARKS:
Goričko Landscape Park Kolpa Landscape Park Ljubljana Marches Landscape Park Logar Valley Landscape Park Pivka Intermittent Lakes Landscape Park Sečovlje Salina Nature Park Strunjan Landscape Park
NATURE RESERVE:
12 Škocjanski Zatok Nature Reserve
13 Beka Landscape Park 14 Boč Mountain – Donačka Mounatin Landscape Park and Boč Mountain – Plešivec Mounatin Landscape Park 15 Drava Landscape Park 16 Golte Landscape Park 17 Landscape Park Southern and Western Slopes of Nanos 18 Landscape Park Southern Slopes of the Trnovo Forest 19 Kamenščak – Hrastovec Landscape Park 20 Kum Landscape Park 21 Lahinja Landscape Park 22 Ljutomer Fish Ponds and Jeruzalem Wine Growing Hills Landscape Park and Jeruzalem-Ormož Wine Growing Hills Landscape Park 23 Lake Maribor Landscape Park 24 Mašun Landscape Park 25 Mrzlica Landscape Park 26 Negova and Lake Negova Landscape Park 27 Polhov Gradec Dolomites Landscape Park 28 Ponikva Karst Landscape Park 29 Landscape Park of Rače Ponds – Požeg 30 Radensko polje Nature Park Landscape Park 31 Rakov Škocjan Landscape Park 32 Landscape Park Vrbje Pond With the Hinterland 33 Robanov kot Landscape Park 34 Štatenberg Landscape Park 35 Šturmovec Landscape Park 36 Tivoli, Rožnik and Šiška Hill Landscape Park 37 Topla Landscape Park 38 Upper Idrijca River Landscape Park 39 Žabljek Landscape Park
40 41 42 43 44 45 46
UNPROTECTED AREAS: Dragonja Valley Kamnik-Savinja Alps Kočevje Region River Mura Ormož Lagoons Planina polje Pohorje
GEOPARKS:
47 Idrija Geopark 48 Karavanke Geopark 49 Karst Geopark
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TRIGLAV NATIONAL PARK
Size: 83,982ha / Founder: Republic of Slovenia 1924 – Alpine Conservation Park in the Triglav Lakes Valley; lease contract 1961 – Decree declaring the Seven Lakes Valley the Triglav National Park 1981 – Law on the Triglav National Park 2010 – new Law on the Triglav National Park Managed by: Triglav National Park Public Institute
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TRIGLAV NATIONAL PARK Janez Bizjak Zois' bellflower
Triglav National Park covers almost the entire Slovenian part of the Julian Alps. It is a typical Alpine park with Slovenia’s highest mountains, cliffs and scree, deeply carved valleys, gorges with difficult access, wild waters, majestic forests, high mountain karst, glacial lakes, mountain pastures and carpets of mountain meadows, where “the most beautiful flowers bloom in the toughest conditions”.
Natural Landmarks The biodiversity is among the highest in the Alps due to the geological composition of the soil and the mixing of the impacts of the climate between the Alps and the Mediterranean. There is the European watershed in the park running between the Adriatic and the Black Sea. The greatest wealth is represented by the crystalline waters and alpine flowers. Slovenia gets 20% of its drinking water supply from the springs in the Julian Alps. Our most beautiful river, the emerald Soča, is a habitat of the endemic marble trout (Salmo trutta marmoratus), and in the basin of the Upper Soča lie the deepest valleys of the Julian Alps, the shadiest and sunniest at the same time. The most famous waterfalls and karst springs are the Savica, Peričnik, Martuljek Waterfalls, the Šum Waterfall in the Vintgar Gorge, the waterfall of Ribnica, Nadiža in the Tamar Valley, the spring of the River Soča, waterfalls in the Koritnica Valley, waterfall under the Zapotok Mountain and numerous smaller waterfalls on the tributaries of the Rivers Soča and Tolminka. The waters have carved out picturesque canyons and gorges: The gorge on the River Radovna, Pokljuka Gorge, gorges on the Rivers Mostnica, Ribnica, Mlinarica, Soča, Koritnica, Vrsnik, Tolminka and Zadlaščica. Among the natural sights, the following glacial lakes have a special place: Lake Bohinj, the largest permanent lake in Slovenia, a group of mountain lakes (the
Triglav, Križ and Krn lakes) and a number of wetlands in the highlands and mountains; the peat bogs at Pokljuka are the southernmost lying bogs in Europe. The glacial transformation of the surface is evidenced in the glacial valleys, rumble meadows, glacial end moThe Triglav National raines, boulders, numerous solitary rocks in the valley Park, named after and a symbolic remnant of the former mighty Triglav the Triglav Mountaglacier.
in, which is the hig-
Triglav Lakes Valley, poetically called the valley of pethest mountain and rified sea, is known as the the national symbol heart of the Triglav National Park because of its geoof Slovenia, is the logical features and mountain flowers. The alpine only national park in meadows and plateaus in the high mountains also Slovenia. feature many endemic species: Triglav hawksbeard (Crepis terglouensis), Julian poppy (Papaver julicum) monkshood (Aconitum angustifolium) and Zois' bellflower (Campanula zoysii) in rock crevices. Four flowers were named after Mount Triglav: Potentilla nitida, Eritrichium nanum, Gentiana terglouensis and Crepis terglouensis. Naturally preserved blooming meadows in the valleys and highlands also feature an extraordinary variety of different plant species.
Zelenci Springs and Ponce Mountains
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Bled Gorge
Goshawk
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The Park is marked by geomorphological and geological peculiarities of the high mountain karst: karst plateaus called podi, lapies, grooves, kotlich, tables, sinkholes, chasms, karst fields and steep scree. The most well-known natural windows are the large window at Prisank, the window at Zadnji Prisank and the Hornovo window at Jalovec. The mightiest northern walls include the north face of Triglav, the second highest wall in the eastern Alps, Loka Wall, north wall of Prisank and the northern walls between Mojstrovka and Jalovec above the Planica Valley. There were more than 600 underground caves and abysses detected and registered in the park. Petrified ammonites in the Triglav Lakes Valley, 84cm long fossilized fish birgeria found high above the Vrata Valley, and the rocky face of the Pagan girl in the northern wall of Prisank round off a mosaic of exceptional geological features. Very diverse forest vegetation extends from the riparian willow on the river gravel to large areas of impassable dwarf pines above the tree line. The park featured allegedly the oldest larch in Slovenia, almost 1,100 years old, and the forests are the habitat of the western capercaillie, hazel grouse, Tengmalm’s owl, black woodpecker, threetoed woodpecker, and the brown bear in recent years. A characteristic of the highlands are the habitats of mountain species: chamois, ibex, marmot, golden eagle, black grouse, grouse, alpine chough, an endemic butterfly named sooty ringlet (Erebia pluto) and occasionally a griffon vulture.
The Julian Alps are the boundary of two building cultures, the culture of wood on the northern side and the culture of stone in the Soča Valley Region. This boundary is sketched by the villages and hamlets with highlighted differences between a typical Bohinj, Tolmin, BovecTrenta and the Upper Sava house, double hayracks or hayracks in the Bohinj villages as well as herdsman’s settlements with building characteristics distinguishing the typical Bohinj, Tolmin and Kobarid mountains, and the sheep mountains above the Upper Soča Region. Traditional activities in the park include the alpine pasture farming and cheese-making. Bohinj and Tolmin cika, Bovec sheep and the Drežnica goat are protected native breeds, whereas cheese varieties tolminc, bovški ovčji sir and mohant from Bohinj have obtained a trademark of quality of controlled origin. The most famous active mountain pastures lie high above Tolmin and Kobarid, above Bohinj and Bled and in the Bovec area. Some are linked to tourist cheese routes. Under Mount Krn, scientists discovered stone artefacts, stone tools of the first inhabitants of the highlands i.e. Stone Age hunters of the Middle Stone Age 10,000 years ago, and in recent years numerous remnants of mining and shepherds' dwellings, and traces of mining in prehistoric times, antiquity and the Middle Ages. The River Soča gave its name to the most terrible mountain battles in global military history during the First World War, the Isonzo Front. Remains of this tragic history are still visible from the Krn Range to Mt. Rombon.
Cultural Heritage The cultural heritage of the Triglav National Park comprises archaeological, ethnological, architectural, urban, religious, cultural and historical heritage. There are 300 units of fixed cultural heritage registered and a number of cultural monuments of national importance declared. The most famous cultural monuments: churches of St John and the Holy Spirit by Lake Bohinj, the memorial church at Javorca, the Russian Chapel below the Vršič Mountain pass, the Kluže and Predel Fortresses and Aljaž Tower on the summit of Mount Triglav. Visitors can also visit the renovated Pocar Homestead in Zgornja Radovna, arranged as a museum, the renovated Oplen House in Studor, and the refurbished buildings on the sheep mountain Za Skalo.
International Significance 2003 UNESCO MAB biosphere area (the entire Julian Alps and a part of the Karavanke Alps) 2004 Diploma of the Council of Europe 2009 Certificate of the Europark Federation for the Cross-border eco-region of the Julian Alps (along with the Nature Park Prealpi) 2014 Cross-border pilot region for ecological connection in the Alps, declared by the Alpine Convention (together with the Nature Park Prealpi)
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Peričnik Waterfall Ibex
SIGHTS • Park information centres in Bled, Trenta, Bohinj and Kobarid. • An extensive network of educational and various themed trails. • The first eco-village in Slovenia, Čadrg above Tolmin. • International Wild Flower Festival in Bohinj. • The annual Trenta International Music Forum, organized by the Vienna Philharmonic. • Triglav National Park is fully integrated into the Natura 2000 network.
Pink cinquefoil
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Ĺ ijec Peatbog
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Triglav Mountain
Heathen Maiden
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Alpine sea holly (Queen of the Alps)
Savica Waterfall ď ľ
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Julian Alps
The sixth Triglav Lake
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Trenta Valley
SoÄ?a Gorge
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NOTRANJSKA REGIONAL PARK
Size: 22,200ha Year of foundation: 2002 Founder: Cerknica Municipality Managed by: Notranjska Regional Park Public Institute
ŠKOCJAN CAVES REGIONAL PARK
Size: 401ha Year of foundation: 1996 Founder: Republic of Slovenia Managed by: Ĺ kocjan Caves Public Institution
GORIČKO LANDSCAPE PARK
Size: 46,200ha Year of foundation: 2003 Founder: Republic of Slovenia Managed by: Public Institute of GoriÄ?ko Landscape Park
KOLPA LANDSCAPE PARK
Size: 4,331ha Year of foundation: in 1998 the park was declared by the ÄŒrnomelj Municipality, in 2006 the foundership was taken over by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia Founder: Government of the Republic of Slovenia Managed by: Public Institute of the Kolpa Regional Park
LJUBLJANA MARSHES NATURE PARK
Size: 13,505ha Year of foundation: 2008 Founder: Republic of Slovenia Managed by: Ljubljana Marshes Regional Park Public Institute
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LJUBLJANA MARSHES NATURE PARK Barbara Zupanc Oldest wooden wheel in the world
The Ljubljana Marshes is a unique intertwinement of meadows, fields, hedges and channels, where the green surfaces meet with the sky and the River Ljubljanica, which has helped create the marshes through history. Here you can block out the bustle of the city, meet with nature and focus on yourself and your thoughts. The traditional agriculture has preserved the great biological and landscape diversity. The mosaic of different environments is home to many plants and animals, which are only rare elsewhere in Slovenia and Europe. The wet meadows, flooded waterside meadows and thousands of kilometres of drainage channels attract mainly moisture loving plants and animals. The Ljubljana Marshes are home to several hundred species of birds, numerous colourful butterflies, dragonflies and amphibians. The interdependent ecosystems of the Ljubljana Marshes clean the air, water and soil, and cool the hot summers. They also enable relaxation and new discoveries in the immediate vicinity of the capital city. The Ljubljana Marshes are also an important drinking water aquifer, while the preserved nature offers many opportunities for the sustainable production of quality healthy food and the development of environmentally friendly farming, as well as for new activities arising from the potential of the environment. Such areas attract visitors and can additionally promote the development of sustainable tourism. But not only nature, the heritage is also exceptional. In this small piece of territory, several cultures have left their mark, from the prehistoric pile dwellers and ancient Romans, to the determined drainers of the marsh, which was supposed to become the granary of the Habsburg Monarchy. Due to their interventions
into the once typical marsh, today’s Ljubljana Marshes are probably the most anthropogenically modified landscape in Slovenia. Although many have tried and are still trying to limit the extent and duration of floods through drainage, the Ljubljana Marshes are still one of the largest flooding areas in Slovenia, and regular annual floods during spring and autumn rains spill over a little less than a fifth of the area. The exceptional flood in the Ljubljana Marshes in 2010 covered as much as 60% of the area of the park. 35 million cubic metres of water spilled over. In recent years, modern society has also left many traces in the Ljubljana Marshes. Overgrown agricultural areas, intensively cultivated fields and meadows, accelerated urbanization and dumped waste daily impair the state of the natural environment and the quality of the inhabitants’ living environment. The reduction of naturally preserved areas and biodiversity, as well as the disappearance of individual types of plants and animals in the Ljubljana Marshes influence the natural processes from which it depends, whether people will have enough quality air for breathing, water for drinking and food for eating in the future. The Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park almost completely overlaps with the area of Natura 2000. The area of the park is managed by the Public Institute of the Ljubljana Marshes Nature Park, which has operated since 2011.
ď ´ Foggy marshes
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Black alders Snake's head fritillary
SIGHTS • Since the beginning of the drainage activities at the end of the 18th century, more than 5 thousand kilometres of drainage ditches and channels have been dug. • The world’s oldest wooden wheel with an axle was found in the Ljubljana Marshes. It is 5,150 years old and comes from the culture of pile dwellers. • Before the beginning of peat excavation, the surface of the Ljubljana Marshes was higher by 2 to 6 metres. • Nine out of more than 40 remains of pile dwelling villages found at the Ljubljana Marshes are entered into the UNESCO list of world heritage. • In the Ljubljana Marshes twice as many species of diurnal butterflies as in the entire British Isles can be found. But their future does not look bright. • The River Ljubljanica is a natural and cultural monument. Divers have discovered exceptional objects in its riverbed, which date from prehistoric times to the present (a 40 thousand year old spear head, dugouts and Roman ships, military equipment, Celtic coins etc.).
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Great white egret
Church of St. Michael
Winter morning
False ringlet
Old Ljubljanica riverbed
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ŠKOCJANSKI ZATOK NATURE RESERVE
Size: 123ha Year of foundation: 1998 Founder: The Republic of Slovenia Managed by: The Bird Watching and Study Association of Slovenia (DOPPS)
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ŠKOCJANSKI ZATOK NATURE RESERVE Nataša Šalaja, MSc Little bittern
On the border between the sea and the land, where the rivers Rižana and Badaševica used to flow into the sea, lies the Škocjanski zatok Nature Reserve: the last witness to the insular past of Koper and the Slovenian largest brackish wetland, which has today again become a natural gem thanks to human love and dedication. The Škocjanski zatok Nature Reserve is very unique. Not only as a restored cradle of life, where many rare and endangered animal and plant species live, but also as an oasis of peace at the threshold of Koper, alluring for anyone who wants to learn about nature and experience it. The main attractions for visitors are sports activities and relaxation, as well as the observation of animal and plant species. The unique variety of species, mainly birds, the small surface area and special infrastructure for the observation of nature, which is also adapted for persons with special needs, make every visit special. The goal of the protection of the Škocjanski zatok is the conservation of brackish and freshwater habitats and bird habitats, which nest, winter and stop during migration in this inlet in large numbers: both criteria have contributed to the proclamation of the Inlet as an area of Natura 2000. Due to the variety and abundance of food, the nature reserve hosts many species in all seasons. In spring the nesting islands in the brackish inlet become home to the offspring of bird colonies, such as common terns and black-winged stilts. The reeds are full of great reed warblers, Eurasian reed warblers and herons, while on the open water surfaces little grebes, coots and common moorhens set up their nests, and the thermophilic scrubs are full of various types of
passerines. Near the pools along the way visitors can see dragonflies and butterflies in all colours and listen to the frogs croaking. During bird migrations various types of sandpipers stop at the inlet, while in winter the large water surface area, which does not freeze, attracts large flocks of coots and ducks, as well as different grebes and cormorants. In the wet meadows, where the vegetation is balanced by Podolian cattle and Camargue horses grazing, different ducks and geese spend their winter. But the Škocjanski zatok was not always so lively, diverse and full of bird song. In the second half of the 20th century the inlet was the site of the largest destruction of nature in Slovenia. Only the representatives of civil society and the members of the Bird Watching and Study Association of Slovenia have prevented the Škocjanski zatok from completely drying out and covered with buildings. After 1993 the area was protected, the destruction stopped and a brighter future began: the area was first permanently protected in 1998 and restored until 2007, and has since 1999 been carefully managed by the Bird Watching and Study Association. The planning was finished in 2015, with the construction of buildings, which were inspired by the living world of the Škocjanski zatok. The restored marsh also greets its visitors as a natural classroom.
Common snipe
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Little egrets among halophytes Visitors Centre
SIGHTS • In the Škocjanski zatok the freshwater, brackish and maritime habitats are uniquely intertwined. • In the last decade more than 245 bird species have been recorded in the Inlet, which is more than 60% of all the species which had been observed in Slovenia. • Škocjanski zatok belongs to the most important nesting places of herons, water rails, great reed warblers, Eurasian reed warblers, common terns and black-winged stilts in Slovenia. • Due to the revival of the pasture for cattle and horses, the freshwater part of the reserve was populated by cattle egrets, while dung beetles and scarabs returned to the Slovenian coast. • The inlet is distinguished by silt and gravel shores, where halophytes grow — plants, adapted to grow on salty ground. They have adapted to the extreme conditions in their habitat similarly to desert plants: with fleshy leaves and stems, where they store water, which they pump during rain, when the concentration of salt in the ground decreases.
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Podolian cattle and cattle egrets
Wigeon
Little tern
Marsh frog
Scarlet dragonfly
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LJUTOMER FISH PONDS AND JERUZALEM WINE GROWING HILLS LANDSCAPE PARK AND JERUZALEMORMOŽ WINE GROWING HILLS LANDSCAPE PARK
Size: 3,260ha Year of foundation: 1976/1992 Founder: Ljutomer Municipality / Ormo탑 Municipality
LAKE MARIBOR LANDSCAPE PARK
Size: 200ha Year of foundation: 1992 Founder: Municipality of Maribor
RADENSKO POLJE NATURE PARK
Size: 1,500ha Year of foundation: 2009/2011 Founder: Grosuplje Municipality and the Republic of Slovenia
ABOUT AREAS NEVER TO BE PROTECTED Peter Skoberne, PhD From time to time we hear the following question: “How come the Kamnik-Savinja Alps or the Kočevje Forests are not protected?” This is a spontaneous question, stemming from the feeling about the importance of a particular area and the expectation that it should be preserved. But the protection of an area does not guarantee its conservation, and neither does a label of quality. Each protection, as well as non-protection, has its own, interesting and usually long story, in which nature and humans are importantly linked. Nature conservation is a reliable indicator of how estranged humans have become from nature, and a sign that our way of life has exceeded the natural sources at the cost of other beings. Individuals, who are more connected to nature, are aware of its importance and also notice potential threats. When both detections unite, they are followed by a response in the form of nature protection, which is, however, always a step behind development. The experiment to preserve nature with protected areas is a classic protection measure — a geographical definition of an area, where we subjugate the code of conduct with bans, limitations and directions to preserve nature. This is where we also encounter the social dimension — the gap between an individual’s or a group’s ideas and the wider acceptance of society, that is by the locals and everyone, who is connected to a certain area through their activities and interests. The form and the quality of protection, as well as its implementation depend on the interests of all participants, or their power to enforce them. Thus the social sphere should not be overlooked in protected areas, because this is where the answers to the initial question hide. There was, for example, never any doubt about the natural extraordinariness of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps from the first ideas onward, which were published in the Spomenica nature protection programme in 1920. But the naturally rounded area is composed of
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very different cultural and historical sets: The Jezersko Region, the Solčava Region, the Kamnik area and the area of Bad Eisenkappel. Already on the Slovenian side it is not easy to define the importance of the protection of the entire area and arrange for its management, and it is even harder to agree on bilateral protection with Austria. For the awareness about the importance of protection of Pohorje, Kočevje, Gorjanci, the Dragonja Valley, the Planina polje, the Ormož Lagoons and the River Mura to mature, we also need time. The key message of this is: what will the advantages and the limitations of the protection be? Initiatives for protection usually come from the outside, and are not originally developed by the locals. Problems arise, because the outside ideas are also accompanied by proposals for measures which affect the local inhabitants’ way of life. From these often very straightforward sparks, the fire of anger and the feelings of exclusion and inferiority rapidly ignite, which are the regular companion of discussions. A nice example of the above are the disputes regarding cattle grazing in the area of the Triglav Lakes, which began in 1908 and are, in a slightly different form, still present in the discussions about the implementation of the Law on the Triglav National Park. Protections are also a reflection of the time: The Ljutomer-Jeruzalem Wine Growing Hills were, for ex-
ample, partly protected to prevent illegal building and the ineffectiveness of the urbanistic legislation, while the Udin Forests and the Trebče Memorial Park were protected for the purpose of preserving the memory of the revolutionary tradition. In addition to the social changes, the nature protection mentality has also developed: from the protection of individual species to the preservation of habitats and the scheme of ecological networks. The protected areas are thus not just islands in the middle of the developed world, but the core of green infrastructure. With this view in mind, we have established the Natura 2000 areas, when Slovenia joined the European Union. Natura 2000 areas go beyond the classical system of nature protection, since they do not have limitations set up in advance, but they only review effects of an intervention on particular plant and animal species. The World Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 adopted three international conventions and brought new expressions into the political language, such as “biodiversity” and “sustainable development”. A side, but by no means an unimportant effect of this meeting was the large focus on the living component of our planet, while non-living nature was pushed off into anonymity as a constituent part of ecosystems. Geologists knocked on many doors of international conventions in vain, since there was no real interest and place for discussing geological and geomorphological specialties, until in 1999 the UNESCO geoparks programme came alive, which encouraged a true renaissance in this area. Geoparks joined the family of internationally significant areas, such as the UNESCO Man and Biosphere areas (Julian Alps, Kozjansko Region, Mura River), Ramsar wetlands of world significance and world heritage sites.
In the Kočevje primeval forest
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KAMNIK-SAVINJA ALPS
KAMNIK-SAVINJA ALPS Suzana Zupanc Hrastar, MSc Chamois
The Kamnik-Savinja Alps are an extremely picturesque, diverse and preserved mountain world at the juncture of the Gorenjska, Štajerska and Koroška Regions. The characteristic image is created by the steep rocky mountain peaks, mountain plateaus with pastures, deep glacial valleys and vast forests. The Kamnik-Savinja Alps are an extensive mountain group, which is divided from the north to the south with picturesque river valleys which have a pronounced torrential character due to excessive precipitation. Its highest peak, Grintovec, has an altitude of 2,558m. The surface was shaped by glaciers, river erosion and karst processes. In the heart of the mountains narrow valleys, real gorges and deep abysses formed, such as Predaselj in the upstream of the River Kamniška Bistrica, as well as typical glacial valleys, such as Robanov kot, Logar Valley and Matkov Kot in the Solčava Region, and Ravenska Kočna and Makekova Kočna in the Jezersko Region.
tat of typical mountain animal species, such as the chamois, ibex, golden eagle, peregrine falcon, black grouse, rock ptarmigan and also the endemic cave beetle (Aphaenopidius kamnikensis).
The well-preserved pristine nature, large biodiversity and landscape diversity also contribute to the uniqueness of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. In the wider area there are 16 protected areas, of which one is a nature reserve (Melišče under the Planjava Mountain), two are landscape parks (Robanov kot and Logar Valley) and 13 are natural monuments. There are more than 200 natural assets, of which we would like to mention the most remarkable and best known ones: The Igla Solitary Rock, the Savinja and Kamniška Bistrica Watercourses with their tributaries, Rinka Waterfall, Snow Cave on the Raduha Mountain, the Hudičev Boršt Forest etc.
SIGHTS
The Kamnik-Savinja Alps are the habitat of endemic species of plants: mouse-ear chickweed, Kamnik leek, Kamnik oxeye daisy, Karawanken gentian, Kamnik orchid and Kerner Alpine poppy. It is also the habi-
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The pastures and the tradition, connected to pasture farming, also contribute to the character of this area. The unique cultural heritage can be experienced by visitors on the Velika Planina Mountain with mountain pastures, where the ringing of cowbells and the bleating of the Jezersko-Solčava sheep can still be heard.
• The picturesque and mysterious alpine world with the characteristic landscape, rich evidence of past life in the mountains and under them, the intertwining of man and nature etc. (Logar Valley, Robanov kot, Velika Planina). • Naturally preserved upper streams of the Rivers Savinja, Kamniška Bistrica, Kokra and Bela with numerous waterfalls (Rinka, Čedca, Orglice, Palenk), crystal-clear springs (Savinja, Kamniška Bistrica) and gorges (Predaselj). • Various karst formations, such as grooves, abyss, sinkholes, mountain plateaus, natural windows and bridges, screes, solitary rocks, boulders of exceptional dimensions and the underground world with caves (Snežna jama, Kamnik Cave etc.).
“Na Klemenčem” Farm – view from the Solčava Panoramic Road
Velika planina
Froelich’s gentian
Upper Jezersko Region
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KOČEVJE REGION
KOČEVJE REGION Tomaž Hartman, Andrej Hudoklin Bear’s footprint
The Kočevje Region is one of the largest naturally preserved regions of Slovenia. In addition to the unique nature and large wild animals, a real challenge for the managers is also that the forests are predominantly state-owned. The initiative for the declaration of the park was an important topic between the years 1990 and 2002, when the regional park was included into the national spatial strategy. The Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning stopped the project due to lack of funds, which were directed into the establishment of the Natura 2000 area. Neither did the initiative get the desired support by the locals and the politicians. The park encompasses the Dinaric mountains of the Kočevski Rog Plateau with the mountains of Poljanska gora, Velika gora, Stojna and Goteniška gora, as well as the intermediate karst valleys and the Kočevje Field. The variety of the landscape is complemented by the deeply carved valley of the River Kolpa together with the River Čabranka. A special character of the area is reflected in more than 1,000 caves and the underground waters. The Dinaric Plateaus are full of abysses, collapse valleys and ice caves.
survival of large wild animals. The symbol of the Kočevje Region is the brown bear and its key Slovenian population lives here, as well as the wolf’s, while the lynx, which has repopulated the area, is in a worse state. The most distinguished forest birds are woodpeckers, owls and grouse. The endangered white-backed and three-toed woodpeckers, capercaillies and hazel grouse receive most attention from environmentalists. The area also has a rich fauna of forest species of bats, beetles and cave animals, including the olm or proteus, especially in the water caves of the Kočevje Field. Due to the endangered European plants (4), animals (60) and habitat types (12), the area is defined as Natura 2000 according to the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive. The cultural heritage is distinguished particularly by traces of the former Gottscheers, ruins of steam powered sawmills and developments during and after the Second World War. There are preserved partisan hospitals, Baza 20 and different memorial plaques.
Only five centuries ago the forested mountain chain was solitary, unapproachable and scarcely populated due to remoteness and infertility. In the 14th century it was cultivated by German settlers, who changed it together with the Slovenian inhabitants over six hundred years. After they moved away in 1941, the cultural landscape was rediscovered and the possibilities for nature protection arose.
SIGHTS
The major part of the area is covered by forest with preserved Dinaric fir and beech stands. The latter became part of sustainable development at the end of the 19th century due to the forester Leopold Hufnagel, manager of the Auersperg Estate, who replaced the clear-cutting system with selective harvesting. The area boasts many varied species. The area is distinguished by preserved populations of large mammals, where herbivores and predators are evenly represented. The vast forests are of crucial importance for the
• The area includes 1,525 natural values and 47 forest reserves, of which 6 are primeval forests. • In 1892 these forests were defined as the first protected nature areas in Europe. • The restriction of brown bear hunting on the Auersperg Estate in Kočevje in 1889 is deemed as the first protection of bears in Slovenia. • The largest tree in the park is the Črmošnjice fir tree, which has a diameter of 606cm.
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Kobila in the front and Firstov Rep in the background
Brown bear
Krokar Primeval Forest
Wolf
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RIVER MURA
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