This page provides a preliminary summary
on the following items for Slovenia:
- Spatial planning
- Environment
- Nature Conservation
- Sectoral Development
- Framework for Development of ICZM
- National Achievements in the Field of ICZM
- Problems and Constraints for the Development of ICZM
1. Spatial planning
1.1 Legislation
No information received.
1.2 Administrative competencies
At the national level the Ministry of Environment
and Physical Planning is performing the national administration
duties. Within the Ministry an Office for Physical Planning
performs duties concerning physical planning (state physical
plan together with the regional components) and the supervision
of the preparation of physical plans at the local level.
The municipalities have important responsibilities
in the field of physical planning. They prepare and adopt physical
plans and detailed urban plans.
1.3 Coastal Policy
In 1993 the Office for Physical Planning organised
a planning workshop for the entire coastal area entitled ‘Physical
Planning of the Coastal Area’.
2. Environment
2.1 Legislation and Regulations
- Natural and Cultural Heritage Act, (1981).
- Draft Environmental Act.
2.2 Administrative Competencies
At the national level the Ministry of Environment
and Physical Planning is performing the national administration
duties. Within the Ministry a Nature Protection Authority is
performing the national administration duties. The Nature Protection
Authority performs duties concerning comprehensive environmental
protection, natural heritage, water protection (including the
sea), comprehensive environmental impact assessment and allocation
of concessions for use of water.
The municipalities have important responsibilities
in the field of environmental protection. As soon as the law
determining the distinction between national and local public
goods will be adopted, it will be possible to declare natural
public goods status to natural goods and, on the basis of this
status, allocate concessions on these goods.
2.3 Environmental Policy
No information received.
3. Nature Conservation
3.1 Legislation and Regulations
- Natural and Cultural Heritage Act, (1981).
- Draft Environmental Act.
3.2 Administrative Competencies
At the national level the Ministry of Environment
and Physical Planning is performing the national administration
duties. Within the Ministry a Nature Protection Authority is
performing the national administration duties. The Nature Protection
Authority performs duties concerning comprehensive environmental
protection, natural heritage, water protection (including the
sea), comprehensive environmental impact assessment and allocation
of concessions for use of water.
The municipalities have important responsibilities
in the field of environmental protection. As soon as the law
determining the distinction between national and local public
goods will be adopted, it will be possible to declare natural
public goods status to natural goods and, on the basis of this
status, allocate concessions on these goods.
3.3 System of Protected Areas
At the present time, about 8% of Slovenia’s land
area is under protection. There is one national park (the Triglav
National Park), 6 proposed regional parks, 10 nature reserves,
27 landscape parks and a long list of natural monuments. There
are 6 marine and coastal areas already protected on the Slovenian
Coast. Only the national park is being managed, the other protected
areas exist more or less only on paper. In spite of the country’s
small area, there are at least 3 sites of worldwide interest,
all 3 are in the Karst region.
4. Sectoral Development
4.1 Coastal Defence
No information received.
4.2 Recreation and Tourism
Tourism and the diverse opportunities offered
by the combination of coastal, mountain and historic centres
constitutes an additional option for medium term development
potential. The rich historical tradition of Slovenia combined
with private sector sustainable tourism investment will enable
Slovenia to capture a much larger share of upper-market tourism.
Tourism growth should be based more on quality product enhancement
rather than growth of arrivals and uncontrolled expansion of
building development. The area is visited by tourists because
of its natural beauties and naturally because of its attractive
location relatively near the bigger cities of Northern Italy,
Austria and Hungary. The Slovenian coast has a relatively well-developed
tourist infrastructure. The coastal zone accounts for 21,000
tourist beds, which is 27% of the national tourism accommodation
capacity, most of them in Piran receiving about 400,000 tourists
a year. Tourism development in Piran and other parts of the
coast, sprawls outside the city creating needs for new infrastructure
and is excessive beyond the carrying capacity of the coast and
the road network. It is also located in sensitive coastal landscapes
reducing the area’s biodiversity potential.
4.3 Fisheries and Aquaculture
The mariculture is concentrated on white fish
farming and farming of edible thorny mussel. The current breeding
quantities amount to levels of 100 tons of shellfish and 100
tons of fish. According to information of the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Food, an increase of white-fish breeding to 450
tons and oysters to 1,000 tons per year is planned. The problems
are feeding and treatment (antibiotics) of young fish in the
already overloaded maritime environment, and construction of
the infrastructure for the farms on the shore.
4.4 Transport
The number of registered motor vehicles per 1.000
inhabitants in the coastal region is higher than the national
average and is comparable to the situation in developed countries.
The consequence for such a high degree of motorization is a
high traffic density and pressure on the road infrastructure.
A modified national structure plan was adopted in 1995.
To satisfy the needs of the growing traffic in
the port of Koper, a railway was constructed in 1967 from Koper
to Divaca or to the Slovenian railway network. Today 80 % of
the goods from the port are transported by rail, which is about
5,6 million tons.
For transport via Port of Koper see below.
4.5 Harbours and Shipping
The Port of Koper handles 7 million tons of cargo,
1.5 million tons of oil and oil products and 100,000 tons of
chemicals per year. The port undergoes fast and dynamic development.
Compared with the rival ports of the Northern Adriatic (Rijeka,
Triest, Venice) it has good development opportunities, first
of all because of its spatial capacity, modern equipment as
well as reliable and qualified working force. The physical traffic
in the port in increasing as shown by the figures on traffic
movement by years (4 million tons of cargo (without crude oil)
in 1992, over 7 million tons in 1995). The port is connected
to the hinterlands by a single-track railway (which covers 80
% of the freight transport) and by road.
4.6 Industry
No information recieved.
4.7 Agriculture
Agriculture is largely neglected as an activity.
The main agricultural characteristics of the coastal area are
as follows:
- small and fragmented estates (prevailing size is up to
0,5 ha);
- only 10 % of the farms are bigger than 0,5 ha;
- A small share of rural and active farming population
(about 3 %).
The consequence is an extensive production, but also lower environmental
pollution due to agriculture than in areas with intensive agricultural
production. The major agricultural activities are wine and fruit
growing and gardening. The problem is melioration of valleys,
construction of water accumulations, and reduction of ecological
diversity.
5. Framework for Development of ICZM
In recognition of the need to preserve and develop its coastal
resources, the Republic of Slovenia has in recent years been
a very active participant in a number of important international
initiatives. Besides participating in the Earth Summit in Rio
de Janeiro in 1992, where Slovenia signed a number of important
declarations, Slovenia also accepted the ‘Agenda 21’ as the
most important document to provide guidance towards sustainable
development. In 1993, Slovenia has acceded to the Barcelona
Convention, becoming an active partner in this regional initiative.
It has also endorsed the regional Mediterranean Agenda 21, adopted
in Tunis in 1994. Other conventions that Slovenia signed and
ratified are the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea, the Ramsar Convention and MARPOL. Slovenia has actively
been involved in many other regional initiatives, particularly
in the Mediterranean Action Plan, within which the decision
has been made to implement the Coastal Area Management Programme
for the coastal area of Slovenia, but also in METAP of the World
Bank, UNDP and projects of the European Investment Bank and
the EU. The project No. ZZ96 03, Slovenia Coastal Zone Management,
has been commissioned by the European Commission, DG1A, and
has been funded within the PHARE program.
6. National Achievements in the Field of
ICZM
- Preparation of sectoral programme documents and strategies
to serve as an input for the preparation of the strategic
framework.
- Preparation of the coastal profile in the document "Analysis
of development and environmental protection opportunities
and constrains in the Slovenian Coastal Area".
- Preparation of the strategic framework that includes
all aspects and strategies prepared by stakeholder groups,
local and international experts and Slovene counterparts.
- Preparation of a training course on Integrated Coastal
Area Management and Sustainable Development.
- Preparation of a proposal for a Coastal Protection and
Development Authority.
- Preparation of documents on strategic framework and ICAM,
physical planning, environmental protection, management
of natural resources, institutional arrangements and training
on the implementation tool.
- The project No. ZZ96 03, Slovenia Coastal Zone Management,
has been commissioned by the European Commission, DG1A,
and has been funded within the PHARE program.
7. Problems and Constraints for the Development
of ICZM
- Difficulty to maintain the attention and interests of
the stakeholder group members throughout this project phase.
That was reflected by a decreasing participation at meetings
in time, especially the industry group showed modest results.
- While there is little problem in combining sustainable
fisheries and tourism, it may be very difficult or even
impossible to mix port development and/or wastewater disposal
on one hand and development of mariculture on the other.
- Discrepancy between the number of inhabitants (which
doubles in summer time in the southernmost part of the coastal
area) in the coastal area and the available infrastructure.
- The majority of the activities in the coastal zone are
still running without a proper Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) and without an estimate of the cumulative impact of
different activities on the environment.
- Inadequate management of special areas in the coastal
zone (protected areas and intensively used areas).
- Problems in protecting the public maritime domain, securing
public use and public access to the coast.
- Inadequate instruments for implementation of plans. [30]
References
| 30 |
Information source: ‘Slovenia Coastal Zone Management’,
Programme PHARE ZZ 96 03, Vienna, July 1998. |
Prepared by Martijn Onderstal at EUCC International Secretariat
