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Organisation profile

Slovenia and other countries of Europe (Germany, UK, Sweden, Hungary etc.)

It is a special Natura 2000 site under the Habitats Directive (pSCI). Wetland, Periodic Lake, Caves... It is a semi karstic area.
The Radensko polje is the smallest of the nine most pronounced karst poljes (flat, steep-walled depressions with no outflowing streams) in Slovenia. It lies in the middle of the Lower Carniola karst region, 3 kilometres southeast of Grosuplje and 30 kilometres southeast of Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. This area, only a few kilometres wide, includes all the typical karst phenomena, such as karst springs, caves, sinkholes, estavelles, and dry karst caves. Estavelles – funnel-shaped hollows with a hole at the bottom – function as vent-holes in rainy periods and as sinkholes when it is dry. The estavelles freeze over during the winter. When the water recedes underground, only broken ice remains in the hollows.
The flora of the Radensko Polje is very rich and varied. The most significant habitat is the wet grassland, which ensures the survival of many endangered plants such as the bog orchid (Orchis palustris) and marsh gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe). Marshes, groves, and water both above and below ground are home to many endangered animal species, especially insects and amphibians, including the olm. Larger animals such as bears, wolves, and lynx are timid and avoid people, whereas white storks make their nests in villages.

Landscape park Logarska dolina

The good practice management within the Natura 2000 areas was shown to the local NGOs and community members in one well established Landscape park with Natura 2000 called Landscape park Logarska dolina at the end of 2006. Local people from Radensko polje were taken to see the management of the Landscape park Logarska dolina. The trip was organized together with a local NGO tourist NGO and with the help of a local farmer of Radensko polje, who believes that nature protection and sustainable rural development can go hand in hand.
The result of the trip was very good. The visitors liked the idea of local people (as in the Logarska dolina) taking the responsibility for their own land and at the same time being sustainable in using the land and also having the responsibility for the nature conservation of the area.

Building bird nests to become birds friends

We have carried out (with a lot of help from Birdlife Slovenia – DOPPS , a local tourist NGO (Turisticno drustvo Bostanj) and two primary schools in Grosuplje), a project called 'building bird nests to become birds friends'. We have built app. 300 bird nests for tits (Parus major) and starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in a period of one week. Some of the nests were then put on Radensko polje Natura 2000 site. A lot of them were taken home by children.
The purpose was to communicate nature through objects that children like very much. Though Radensko polje in not a SPA, it was the first step towards the communiation on protecting nature. The project was very good notably because many parents and grandparents came to help their children or grandchildren building the nests. The name Radensko polje, Natura 2000 was mentioned during the whole time.

Calendar of Radensko polje

The production of the Radensko polje calender was very successful and it was delivered to every household. We delivered more than 600 calendars. The local people were very proud to see their fields, forests, grasslands etc. on the calendar. The calendars were delivered for free. The calendar included information about natura 2000 and about special species etc.
The calendar has been such a big success that 200 futher copies were printed by local schools and a local fire brigade.

Activities and products for the communication of Natura 2000

 

✓Workshops

✓Action plans

✓Green Days more info

✓Exhibition

✓Guided visits

✓Brochures

✓Calendar with the Natura 2000 area

 

✓At least once per month

 

✓Yes

 

We encourage students from the local area to help us with different kinds of activities that are directly or indirectly involved with the Natura 2000 area. These include helping with the organization of guided tours in the Natura 2000 area and different lectures that we give on Natura 2000 area etc.

 

✓Posters

✓Leaflets

✓Magazines / periodicals: we have arrangement with a local newspaper that we are in charge and take care of for the articles and all the information about the Natura 2000 area and Radensko polje - protected area in establishment

✓Guides / maps

✓Other: Calendar with Radensko polje - landscape park establishment information, Natura 2000 area information. The calendar is given to all families that live in that area. They are proud to have the calendar with the photos of their home area.

 

✓General public

✓Scientists

✓Stakeholders

✓Other site managers

✓Local community

✓Site visitors

 

✓Yes, just finished in October 2007

 

It is called "Komunikacijska strategija procesa ustanavljanja Krajinskega parka Radensko polje" it will be available on the website www.radenskopolje.si from January 2008.

• Information telephone
• Information point
• Website: www.radenskopolje.si
• Calendar of the site delivered to every household of the site
• Articles, interviews for local media
• Regular (monthly) meeting with local opinion makers
• Monthly lectures for all interested
• Stakeholders about the Radensko polje

 

✓Yes

 

We have signed a treaty about this kind of cooperation. The treaty was signed (31/03/2007) and the Nature conservation Network was established with different organizations (Notranjska Regional park - Ramsar site, Natura 2000, pSCI and SPA SITE, NGO called Dondes - association for nature heritage protection of Slovenia, Institut for Physical Biology, etc.)

The purpose of the Network is to share information about managing Natura 2000 sites, helping each other with a knowledge and human resources.
We believe that we do not need all experts for the Natura 2000 management in our project group, because we can get some specific expert from different nature park, on the other hand we can help the other Natura 2000 area with our knowledge.

• Maintenance of Natura 2000 site to achieve a favourable condition
• Prevent waste depositing
• Overgrowing of the most valuable areas of the site
• The prevention motorcycles or cars in the most valuable areas of the site

Radensko polje Natura 2000 site is slowly being integrated into the overall management of the site. The problem is that we cannot do much legally because we are not the site managers. So what we can do is educate people about the importance of Natura 2000.
There are some COP measures that farmers can use, but because there is a lot of paperwork involved, people do not use these subsidies as much as they could.

The aim of the project is to achieve the optimum acceptance of a new nature park Radensko polje by the different stakeholders, especially the nearby local people and landowners.

The problem is that the local public opinion is more or less unfavourable or at least suspicious about what nature conservation and Natura 2000 will bring to them and what kind of restriction it will demand of them. In general they all support the idea about nature conservation. They are especially afraid that if their villages will be inside the nature park they will have a lot of difficulties living a normal life.

The Center Grajski vrt Boštanj Ltd.'s team is trying to show the benefits and the examples of good practice of sustainable development opportunities within the park.

• Landowners
• Local community representatives
• Local municipality of Grosuplje
• Mayor of Grosuplje
• Schools in the municipality of Grosuplje
• Local and state associations
• Local and state media
• Experts
• Local opinion makers
• State nature conservation institutions
• Ministry for the environment and spatial planning etc.

• Education about the importance of nature conservation
• Personal contact
• Lectures
• Seminars
• Local media (radio, newspaper)
• Web page
• Questionnaires etc.

An agreement on cooperation in the process of protected area establishment was signed between the Slovenian Government and Grosuplje municipality.

Local people are more and more in favor of the project of protected area establishment. That means that we have a chance to protect the Natura 2000 site.

The overall budget for the two year project is Euros 170,000.

As we are not yet the site managers we do not get any budget for general nature conservation so far.

As our aim is people to accept the nature park which is also the Natura 2000 site, we have about Euros 15,000 to Euros 20,000 reserved for communication for 2 years.

No