Wetland restoration in the Zahorie lowland, Slovakia

NWRM

Application scale

Field Scale

Installation date

2008-12

Performance timescale

1 - 4 years

Area subject to Land use change or Management/Practice change (ha)

165

Public consultation

Design contractual arrangement

No data

Design consultation activity

Activity stage	Key issues	Name	Comments
		Training courses	with 26 and 19 participants
		Study visits	four study visits with around a dozen participants each were organised for project personnel, as well as five additional short study visits with just two or three key personnel at a time
		Informative deliverables	information in various printed and electronic formats as well as erecting information posts and engaging actively with the media to build public support for the protection of the sites
		Public events and meetings

Design land use change

Land use change type
Natural grasslands

Design authority

Authority type	Role	Name
National water authority	Implementation	State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic
National water authority	Implementation	Slovak Water Management Enterprise, Department Bratislava
NGO	Implementation	BROZ- Regional Association for Nature Conservation and Sustainable Development
Local water authority	Implementation	SNC- Administration of Zahorie PLA

Key lessons

A successful project is an integrated project. Public awareness campaigns on the importance of wetlands and restoration and conservation is a key factor in order to keep good results.

Success factor(s)

No data

Financing

No data

Barrier

Barrier type	Barrier role	Comments
Legal obligations / restrictions		At the same time, further threats to the vulnerable habitats from policies in areas of forestry, hunting and tourism are increasing.

Driver

No data

Financing share type	Share	Comments
European funds	50
Private funds	50

Policy description

During the preceding two decades, the total wetland area in Slovakia had declined dramatically and the vast majority of remaining natural and semi-natural wetlands were seriously threatened by human activities. The main cause of the decline were changes in the natural water regime, brought about by extensive drainage, peat extraction and land-reclamation schemes - mostly to provide more agricultural land, but also as part of intensification of forest management.
The changes had led to a decline in habitats and species associated with the wetlands and a reduction of the retention capacity of the areas concerned. Many species that were once common - such as amphibians or storks - had become rare, some of them even locally extinct. One of the most valuable remaining wetlands is located in the Zahorie Lowland, which is also one of the most important regions in Slovakia for biodiversity in general.

Policy target

Target purpose
Improved Biodiversity

Policy pressure

No data

Policy area

No data

Policy impact

No data

Policy wider plan

No data

Policy requirement directive

No data

National Id

Slovakia_03

Site name

Borska nižina lowland

Summary

WETREST Project, in Zahorie Lowland (western Slovakia), takes actions focusing restoration activities and increasing awareness about wetlands conservation and restoration. The project is funded by the LIFE program in coordination with the Ministry of Environment.

NUTS Code

Západné Slovensko

RBD code

SK40000

Transboundary

Data provider

REC

Longitude

17.0018

Latitude

48.5028

EEA core metadata

Contents

There are currently no items in this folder.