Wetlands are defined as dynamic ecosystems that combine the characteristics of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and are important from ecological as well as social and economic perspectives. In ...response to the intense degradation and alteration of wetlands, communities have developed various management strategies. One of the ways to achieve more effective participatory wetland management is to introduce the concept of a Wetland Contract, a voluntary agreement that ensures sustainable management and development of wetlands. This study on the Sečovlje Salina Nature Park in Slovenia follows the methodology of the preparation (legal framework, scientific description and stakeholder analysis) and implementation (organization of Territorial Labs, scenario planning and development) stages of the Wetland Contract concept. Of approximately 200 potential stakeholders, 34 participated in the Territorial Labs, and 16 stakeholders signed the less binding type of Wetland Contract, called the Memorandum of Understanding. The Memorandum of Understanding and its implementation process, which included systematic cross-sectoral participation, successfully overcame conflicts between stakeholders with different interests. The methodology used has shown great potential for further applications in wetlands of common interest.
The beauty of landforms Smrekar, Aleš; Polajnar Horvat, Katarina; Erhartič, Bojan
Acta geographica Slovenica : Geografski zbornik,
01/2016, Volume:
56, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
This article determines which landforms attract people the most and whether one can speak of collective patterns in the aesthetic evaluation of a landscape. It therefore concerns enjoying the beauty ...offered by a more or less reshaped natural environment. This study is based on the Triglav Lakes Valley (Dolina Triglavskih jezer) in Slovenia which, due to the few man-made changes introduced there, includes hardly any anthropogenic “unnecessary noise.” The online survey included more than six hundred people and used photos of various landforms. Lakes were found to be the most attractive to the respondents, and fractured rock areas were the least attractive.
Environmental activism, defined as a range of difficult pro-environmental behaviors, is analyzed within the conceptual framework of Significance Quest Theory (SQT). In Study 1, 40 interviews were ...carried out on two groups of people in the European Union: Committed Actors for Nature (CANs, n = 25) versus Committed Actors for Society (CASs, n = 15). Results demonstrated that Significance Quest (SQ) motivates each group to be strongly committed to their chosen action and the main difference between them being in their ideology (pro-social vs. pro-environmental). In Study 2 (N = 131), the relationship between SQ and intention to enact difficult pro-environmental behaviors was assessed. Results suggested that the higher the SQ, the higher the tendency to enact difficult pro-environmental behaviors, but not average or easy ones. Moreover, the higher the pro-environmental ideology, the stronger the indirect effect of SQ on difficult behavior through willingness to sacrifice.
This paper uses findings from sustainability studies to present the development of environmental urban geography in Slovenia in recent decades. Modern European cities, of which Ljubljana is no ...exception, depart significantly from sustainable development concepts. Compared to other similar cities, Ljubljana has an effective green space system, which its residents also perceive as offering a better-quality living environment. The major, poorly addressed problems are primarily inherited issues, such as gravel pits, illegal dumping sites, and unregulated gardens in suburbanized water protection areas on which residents depend. These, however, show a large gap between claimed and actual environmental awareness.
Green areas and especially their distribution and composition are the key factor that makes urban people’s lives more comfortable and healthier. Even though Ljubljana residents also have many other ...green areas at their disposal in their immediate vicinity, the area of Rožnik Hill and Tivoli Park as an urban forest with dispersed park features continues to be the most popular recreational destination, with roughly 1,750,000 visits per year. In 1984 it was designated a protected landscape area through an ordinance. In the past decades, a number of conflicts have arisen in this area between various stakeholders, such as landowners, park users, and specialist services, which is why these types of areas require careful and prudent management.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Bojan Erhartič had a strong impact on Slovenian geography because he placed it on the map of countries where geographers deal with geomorphological ...heritage. He began his research path into the world of natural heritage with the study of geography. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, he turned his attention to studying geodiversity, and this led him to issues concerning the evaluation of geomorphological heritage, especially in mountainous areas. Erhartič was among the first in Slovenian geography to deal with the aesthetic evaluation of geomorphological heritage. His interest in the “beauty of nature” stemmed from many years of planned work in (geographical) photography. The Anton Melik Geographical Institute of the Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts holds approximately 218,000 of his “geographical” photos, which he took during his many travels in more than forty countries on five continents.
Modern lifestyles demand the exploitation of natural resources, which results in a significantly deteriorated living environment. The goal of this study was to determine and evaluate people’s ...relationship to the environment and their willingness to take action themselves to protect it. The majority of people (or more than half, in this case) support environmental protection in principle, especially in word only, because this is also socially desirable. However, when they must address limitations that would interfere with their lives by limiting activities or increasing costs, their enthusiasm abates quickly. Twenty percent of people can be defined as being in favor of environmental protection and regarding it as a value. Education level plays a very important role in people’s behavior towards environmental issues. This study was carried out in Ljubljana by surveying 408 people.
Landscape interpretation is one of the best-suited and established forms of informing and raising the awareness of visitors and local residents. The literature contains only rare examples of useful ...methodology that could help managers with the initial steps of interpretation. A methodological basis for landscape interpretation is presented, using the case of the Ljubljana Marsh. The form consisting of eight thematic categories is a useful tool for identifying suitable topics and selecting the right interpretation tools. Using this form, managers will reach their final interpretation goal more easily: to make people recognize the landscape and protect it against inappropriate changes.
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