A good knowledge of the natural and cultural heritage of karst is a precondition for the rational planning of life on it. We try to organize the knowledge to make it as useful as possible for ...planners. We are involved in individual projects related to the regional planning, water supply systems, the construction of transportation infrastructure, the closure of landfills in karst areas, the collection of data on karst caves and their protection, karst ecology and determining the extent of human influence on the karst underground. A new book series Karstology and development challenges on karst was designed to present the results of completed and new projects to a broader public.The first book with the subtitle Water contains selected directly applicable research studies on karst waters, their characteristics, endangerment, and protection. It is composed of ten chapters, which can be grouped into three main themes. In the introduction the importance, characteristics and vulnerability of karst aquifers are presented,then various case studies of pollution and endangerment are described (traffic, landfills, military objects, flooding), and at the end some guidelines for the protection of karst water sources are summarized. The book is a bilingual publication in Slovene and English. It is aimed at a broad circle of users, researchers, students and planners.
The second book in the new collection Karstology in Development Challenges in the Karst brings together the findings obtained in planning and construction of motorways in the Karst. More than 350 new ...caves were opened up in the final wave of construction. This was followed by studies on arranging karstic features for tourism and their management. We also selected studies on karstic ecology, in which we made use of biological and microbiological research. At the end there is a summary of everything we need to take into account in planning different encroachments in karstic areas.
The book includes water protection areas near the pumping stations of drinkable water on Ljubljansko polje, consequently in the City municipality of Ljubljana and in the water protection area of the ...water plant Brest in the neighbouring municipality of Ig. The area of Ljubljansko barje was also included in the study.Water wells have, besides the basic function of preserving water, also an aesthetic and symbolic meaning. Many fountains in public and private use are true works of art, but that wasn't the main interest of our study. We concentrated mostly on private water wells and bores, which are not registered and therefore not supervised.
Studies to date on illegal waste dumps in the Ljubljana Plain (Ljubljansko polje), the Iška Alluvial Fan (Iški vršaj), and areas with local water sources in the City of Ljubljana have demonstrated ...that there are great amounts of waste in areas of importance to the Slovenian capital’s water supply. In particular, illegal dumps located in areas where groundwater flows towards pumping stations and where the Sava and Iška rivers flow into the groundwater present a considerable threat to drinking water quality. In addition, shallow groundwater levels and gravel pits increase the vulnerability of the environment even more.
V knjigi, ki prinaša celovito predstavitev naših visokogorskih jezer, oceno njihovega ekološkega stanja in razlago dogajanj v njih skozi zgodovino, so zbrani rezultati več kot desetletnih raziskav 18 ...avtorjev. V delu je podan geografski opis in nastanek visokogorskih jezer, hidrološke povezave med njimi ter fizikalne in kemijske lastnosti jezerske vode. Opisano je življenje v njih in spremembe, ki so jih jezera doživela v zadnjih stoletjih, opozorjeno pa je tudi na problem onesnaževanja visokogorja.
Ljubljansko polje is a juncture of numerous human activities. The source of drinking water for about 300,000 residents, it holds one of the most important bodies of groundwater in the country. ...Unfortunately, the influences of urbanization, agriculture and industry that threaten and burden it are reflected in the quality and quantity of the groundwater.
The modern way of life requires the exploitation of natural resources, which leads to a significant deterioration of the environment and can even endanger human health.The basic hypothesis is that ...the population of Slovenia in general is still too inadequately informed and insufficiently environmentally educated and aware about water as a natural resource to have the motivation and capability to actively participate in the protection of water as a natural resource.Most people support environmental protection in principle, especially declaratively, since this is a socially approved action. However, when faced with restrictions that would interfere with their way of life by limiting their activities or increasing their expenses, their enthusiasm decreases rapidly. And the closer we get to actions we could define as “environmentally active,” the fewer people are actually prepared to protect the environment. Possibly a fifth of the population can be defined as people who favour environmental protection and consider it a value for which they themselves are willing to do something.The survey showed that level of education is very significant relative to people’s response to environmental problems and that the more educated are more environmentally friendly.
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