Innovative communities for biodiversity conservation in Central Europe

In the second week of November, Slovenia hosted the first international meeting of partners participating in a European project for biodiversity conservation. The project is of great importance as it highlights the serious problem of biodiversity loss in Europe, where up to 200 species disappear from nature every day. To prevent this trend, which is the result of both irresponsible environmental practices and ecological and climate change, the EU is striving to develop a strategy that emphasizes the importance of sustainable approaches to the use of ecosystem services.

The working meeting, organized by Slovenian partners Idrijsko-Cerkljanska razvojna agencija and BSC Kranj, took the form of a combination of field activities—visiting examples of good practices—and guided discussions led by the lead partner.

One of the key objectives of the project is to involve local communities and key stakeholders responsible for environmental management. In this context, we visited the Klančar Farm, which is engaged in complementary activities – dairy farming and cheese making. Until a few months ago, the farm was run by Anita and Marjan Pivk, who have now handed over management to their son. During our visit, they shared the story of their farm. They presented the challenges they faced in the past and explained that the shift to milk processing was necessary to preserve the farm.

Their activity not only provides agricultural crops and products, but also contributes significantly to environmental conservation. By raising livestock that spends most of its time outdoors, weather permitting, they maintain pastures and prevent them from becoming overgrown. This prevents the degradation of meadows that would occur if agricultural activity were abandoned, while also contributing to the preservation of cultural landscape heritage.

We concluded our visit to the farm, located on the edge of the landscape park, with a tasting of dairy products and continued our journey to the heart of the Zgornja Idrijca Landscape Park. The park, which covers more than 4,000 hectares, boasts a high level of biodiversity, both in terms of ecosystems and plant and animal species. Preserving biodiversity, one of the key focuses of the project, can be achieved by highlighting its importance and developing sustainable tourism.

The working meeting ended with a delicious meal at the Pr’ Jureč tourist farm, which also served as an example of good practice. The owner also presented his ethnological collection, which he carefully keeps on the farm, to the visitors.

In addition to the field visit and presentation of good practices, a working meeting was held to review the content of the project in depth and plan the next steps. The lead partner and the leaders of the individual work packages presented the key aspects of the project, clarified certain ambiguities, and encouraged all participants to actively implement the tasks in accordance with the program plan.

The project is structured into three work packages: the first covers the assessment of habitats and ecosystem services, the second focuses on the implementation of a socio-economic analysis, and the third involves the design of a pilot study that envisages transnational measures to find solutions for biodiversity conservation.