KARST REGIONAL PARKS IN SLOVENIA AND THEIR ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
KRAŠKI PARKI V SLOVENIJI IN NJIHOVI EKOLOŠKI PROBLEMI
HABE FRANCE
Izvleček	UDK 551.44:502.5(497.12)
France Habe: Kraški parki v Sloveniji in njihovi ekološki problemi
Slovenski kras Je najbolj onesnažen del Dinarskega krasa. Vedno gostejša urbanizacija, naraščajoča industrija in nove ceste onesnažujejo kraško površje, podzemeljski svet in predvsem bogate kraške vode. V italijanski dobi in za nove Jugoslavije je tod na razdalji dobrih 50 km zraslo na desetine kasarn. Že pred četrt stoletja se je pojavila pobuda za ustanovitev kraških parkov (regijski park foas in Notranjski regijski park), ki naj bi preprečevala vedno hujše onesnaženje.
Ključne besede: varovanje okolja, kraški park, Slovenija, Kras, Notranjska
Abstract	UDC 551.44:502.5(497.12)
France Habe: Karst Regional Parks in Slovenia and Their Ecological Problems
The Slovene Karst is the most polluted part of the Dinaric Karst. Dense urbanization, augmented industry, and new roads pollute the karst surface and the underground world. Karst waters in particular are polluted. In the Italian period and in new Yugoslavia about ten barracks were built in the distance of a good 50 km. Before a quarter of a century ago an intitiative to establish karst parks arose in order to prevent the increasing pollution. (Kras Regional Park, and Notranjska Regional Park).
Key words: environment protection, karst park, Slovenia, Kras, Notranjska
Address - Naslov Dr. France Habe Vojkova 2 SI - 66230 Postojna Slovenia
One third of the Repubhc of Slovenia, being the westernmost part of Dinaric Mountains, belongs to karst. It includes more than 40% of the Slovene waters between the Soča and Kolpa rivers. Over the shortest part of this part of Kras from Ljubljana Moor to the Trieste Bay an important european road leads. More than ten millions of tourists once travelled towards the sea each year. Between the First and the Second World War the border between Italy and Yugoslavia passed here. This traffic zone is densely populated and along it, due to political conditions numerous barracks were built in the distance of 50 km; without water treatment plants they additionally pollute karst surface, and karst waters in particular. Adding industry, and transport of harmful and inflammable substances the karst, rich with water is additionally endangered.
The idea to protect this area goes back to the beginning of 1920 when the Natural History Museum in Ljubljana issued the first memorandum about the nature protection. Soon afterwards, in 1924 similar memorandum was issued regarding the protection of the Triglav National Park. Since then the idea to safeguard the nature was alive not only among the naturalists but among people too. From 1947 to 1968 by regulative acts about the nature safeguarding 31 regions and objects, covering 9152 ha (it means 0,45% of Slovenia) were protected. By the act about the Triglav National Park protection in 1981 the protected surface reached 93.960 ha or 4,62% of Slovenia (Skoberne 1989, 118).
The karst area where the European road to the sea coast leads is the most karstified, there the speleological objects are the most dense and water richness the most expressed, there are all the karst polj es, from Planinsko Polje, Cerkniško, and Loško Polje and world famous caves as are Postojnska Jama, Predjama, Planinska Jama. All this extreme variety of karst phenomena stimulated the Institute for Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Slovenia to foresee in 1966 already the foundation of two karst parks: Karst Regional Park and Notranjska Regional Park (Golob, 1966).
Karst Regional Park should include the region from the state border with Italy, Sežana up to Divača, Kozina and Socerb. The nucleus and the future administrative centre of this park would be at Škocjanske Jame that are the only Euroepan cave, listed in the UNESCO World Heritage since 1986. Severe regime within a Karst Park would be implemented on floristically rich mountain, called Vremščica and on stud Lipica also. More than 500 caves are
known within this Karst Park; each tenth cave is polluted and together with industry at Ilirska Bistrica the only karst river of this Park, is additionally polluted. According to Osimo agreement Yugoslavia had to provide that the Timavo springs in Trieste Bay would become more clean. In such a way the karst area on our and on the other side of the border is connected; this is why the members of the International Foundation for Karst Protection in Triest passed to the Italian Parliament a suggestion to found an international karst park; this would enable the Italian side to intervene on the Slovene karst landscape which is contaminated by the construction of the research scientific centre Synchrotron near Bazovica close to the border. By such an agreement the natural equilibrium would be endagered in this delicate karst landscape even more than it is today (Rojšek, 1987).
In the area of Notranjska karst poljes the foundation of Notranjska Regional Park was foreseen. According to proposal of R. Golob it would cover about 200 km^ and include not only the karst poljes but also a part of Pivka basin with Postojnska Jama and Predjama (Berce-Bratko, 1994). Now is being prepared also the foundation of a regional karst park for the area of the Kolpa river, a border river between Slovenia and Croatia and landscape parks Kolpa (Bela Krajina) and Trnovski gozd.
The Slovene government only now started to solve the problems of these two parks. Because of extremely complicated problems of protection the foundation of a project group was submitted, to introduce the proposal which should be taken in account of long-term plan of Republic of Slovenia.
The aim of my paper is to give the initiative for the foundation of protected karst parks in the other republics of Yugoslavia where the areas of important karst phenomena should be protected against pollution by regulative laws.
REFERENCES
Berce-Bratko, B., 1994: UNESCO Biosphere reserve: Notranjski kras as a strategy for conservation and development. Acta carsologica, XXIII, 13-33, Ljubljana
Golob, R., 1966: Predlog za zavarovanje slovenskega krasa. Varstvo narave, 529-538, Ljubljana
Golob, R., 1966/67: Zavarovanje slovenskega krasa. Proteus 29, 9-10, 271-272, Ljubljana
Rojšek, D., 1987: Natural heritage of the classical karst. Karst and man, 255-265, Ljubljana
Habe, F., 1990: Problematika kraških parkov. Lipov list 12, 344-345, Ljubljana Skoberne, P., 1989: Varstvo naravne dediščine Slovenije. Slovenija 88, 118-121, Ljubljana
KRAŠKI PARKI V SLOVENIJI IN NJIHOVI EKOLOŠKI
PROBLEMI
Povzetek
Od vsega Dinarskega krasa je najbolj onesnažen Slovenski kras med Ljubljanskim barjem in Tržaškim zalivom, preko katerega poteka evropska pot na morje. Vedno gostejša urbanizacija, naraščajoča nečista industrija in vedno nove prometne poti leto za letom onesnažujejo kraško površje, podzemeljski svet in predvsem bogate kraške vode, ki pogojujejo življenje na krasu. Redek je primer na svetu, da bi na razdalji dobrih 50 km zraslo v italijanski dobi in za nove Jugoslavije desetine kasarn, ki bi morale čuvati kras pa ga temeljito onesnažujejo. Zaradi tega je že pred četrt stoletja zrasla pobuda za ustanovitev kraških parkov, ki naj bi z zaščitno regulative preprečevali vedno hujše onesnaževanje. Tako sta že takrat bila predlagana na Divaško-Sežanskem krasu do italijanske meje Kraški regijski park s centrom pri Škocjanskih jamah, ki so že v seznamu naravne dediščine UNESCO (1986) in Notranjski regijski park v območju notranjskih kraških polj, s centrom pri Postojnski jami. Zaradi zelo zapletenih problemov zavarovanja je predlagana ustanovitev projektne skupine za pripravo predloga, ki bo v dolgoročnem planu Republike Slovenije predvideval za razglasitev. Obenem avtor predlaga ustanovitev regijskih kraških parkov v ostalih republikah nekdanje Jugoslavije, kjer bi na območjih številnih važnih kraških pojavov zavarovali kras pred onesnaženjem z regulativnimi zakoni.