Evaluation of ecosystem services as prerequisite for sustainable development »the cases of Lovrenško barje meres and Škocjan caves«
Perception of nature as a source of material goods requisite for the prosperity and progress of societies has become a matter of course through development of civilisations. Evaluation of ecosystem is a process of identification, quantification and monetarisation of relations in an environment – nature, from which individuals, groups or society directly or indirectly create products or services or its existence itself means to them a condition with its certain market price.
Abstract
In the light of global development, Slovenia is facing the same challenges as all other countries, the greatest being how to increase human wellbeing and at the same time preserve its origin. This is essentially the question of sustainable development. And yet Slovenia, at the cross-roads of Europe’s East and West, richly covered with forests and boasting plenitude of water supply, diverse and fertile landscapes, mild climate and diverse natural assets, is struggling to identify and implement its custom development policy. Learning from good practices abroad and following the local and international expert recommendations in the field of Ecosystem Evaluation, we focused on the two concrete cases: the Forest Reserve of Lovrenško Barje Meres and the Škocjan Caves Regional Park. The article will show that both cases can be described as good practices, mainly because th process of evaluation did not rely only on »ex-cathedra« approach, but had a strong emphasis on stakeholder participation throughout the whole process. The article will also show possibilities of how the Ecosystem Evaluation and further on implementation into regional and national strategies can represent a major contribution to Slovenian sustainable development policies and to the realisation of the EU 2020 strategy. Facing these challenges and acknowledging the potential of natural assets in Slovenia, this article will present two cases of ecosystem evaluation in two separate parts of Slovenia, with diverse possibilities for development. Its purpose is to support the thesis that professional implementation of Ecosystem Services Evaluation can become an important part of the regional and national Sustainable Development Policies.
Izvleček
V luči globalnega razvoja se Slovenija sooča z enakimi izzivi kot druge države, med katerimi je zagotovo največji, kako povečati blaginjo ljudi in hkrati ohraniti njihov »izvor«. To pa je pravzaprav vprašanje trajnostnega razvoja. Slovenija leži na križišču med vzhodno in zahodno Evropo; ponaša se z izjemnim bogastvom gozdov, voda in drugih naravnih dobrin, rodovitno pokrajino in blago klimo. A kljub temu se še vedno trudi z oblikovanjem in izvajanjem dane razvojne politike. Po zgledu dobrih praks iz tujine in upoštevajoč priporočila lokalnih in mednarodnih strokovnjakov s področja vrednotenja ekosistemov, smo se osredotočili na dva konkretna primera: Gozdni rezervat Lovrenško barje in Regijski park Škocjanske jame. V članku bomo pokazali, da lahko oba primera opredelimo kot dobri praksi, in sicer predvsem zato, ker proces vrednotenja ni potekal le »ex cathedra«, temveč smo velik poudarek dali sodelovanju zainteresiranimi deležniki. Poleg tega v članku osvetljujemo možnosti, kako lahko vrednotenje ekosistemov in nadalje vključevanja le-tega v regionalne in nacionalne strategije pomembno prispeva k politikam trajnostnega razvoja v Sloveniji in k uresničevanju strategije EU 2020. Soočeni s temi izzivi in zavedajoč se potenciala naravnih dobrin v Sloveniji v članku predstavljamo dva primera ekonomskega vrednotenja ekosistemskih storitev, z dveh ločenih koncev Slovenije z različnimi možnostmi za razvoj. Namen članka je podpreti tezo, da lahko strokovno izvajanje vrednotenja ekosistemskih storitev postane pomemben del regionalnih in nacionalnih politik trajnostnega razvoja.
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- Peatlands green
- 2012 - still ongoing