Picture: Visit and excursion of Slovak experts in Spessart, Germany.
Natura 2000 is a network of nature-protected areas in the territory of the European Union aiming at the conservation of the natural heritage with overall European importance.
In 2002, The Slovak legislation was fully in compliance with the Habitats Directive and Birds Directive, however the implementation of relevant management measures in protected sites required adequate institutional, technical and professional strengthening – as well as awareness raising on the importance of Natura 2000.
The project implementation of the Habitats and Birds Directive in the Slovak Republic was targeted to support the establishment of the Natura 2000 network in Slovakia. Project partners were the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany and the State Nature Conservancy (SNC) of the Slovak Republic.
Project activities focused on areas such as:
- Informing the public on Natura 2000 establishment – preparing a comprehensive communications campaign;
- Developing management plans involving all stakeholders for 10 Natura 2000 sites
- Training of staff from protected areas, regional and district offices, farmers and foresters in the field of site management, environmental impact assessment, monitoring and reporting process, IT skills, and communication with stakeholders.
All planned activities were completed and project targets were achieved. The project created a solid basis for the further implementation of the Habitats Directive and Birds Directive in Slovakia as regards to local management of Natura 2000 sites as well as reporting obligations.
Moreover, the project provided many opportunities for direct contacts and cooperation between Slovak and German experts. More than 30 German experts from various public institutions and private companies such as University of Applied Sciences Weihenstephan, Federal Office of Nature Protection, National park Harz, the Bavarian Institute for Forest, Agency for Environmental Protection of Saxony-Anhalt, etc. shared their experience and knowledge during two years of the project implementation with the SNC staff and other project participants.
It was an interesting experience for Slovak experts to realise that even if the project focused mainly on the transfer of knowledge from Germany to Slovakia, the German experts often claimed they obtain new information from Slovak colleagues as well. German experts highly appreciated the conservation biodiversity status and the contribution and enthusiasm of the Slovak experts in the nature protection.
Twinning partners from the project area Malé Karpaty have their look back after 20 years since the project completion:
“We – experts from Bavaria – were very warmly welcomed by our Slovak colleagues. This project implemented in the Malé Karpaty Mts. enabled us to discover treasures of this area. I was impressed by the biodiversity rate and species abundance of local habitats. Using our new 15 metres long tree top piper we got views which were hidden for us before,“ said Volker Zahner, University of Applied Sciences Weihenstephan, short-term expert for the Natura 2000 site in Malé Karpaty region.
„I recall with a pleasure this Twinning project. The knowledge and experience exchange with the experts from Germany brought me new information and enriched my skills,” remembers Peter Puchala, director of the Administration of Protected landscape area Malé Karpaty.
Finally yet importantly, it is to be highlighted, that the friendly atmosphere and cooperation between experts has continued also after the project end and brought some further projects and initiatives in the field of nature protection.
Project title: Implementation of the Habitats and Birds Directive in the Slovak Republic
Project ID: SK 02 IB EN 03, 2003-2005