Projects / Programmes
Defining ecological corridors on the Slovenia national level as a support to spatial planning, nature and other resources' management
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.08.00 |
Social sciences |
Urbanism |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| T260 |
Technological sciences |
Physical planning |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.07 |
Social Sciences |
Social and economic geography |
Ecological corridor, ecological connectivity, green infrastructure, spatial planning, landscape management, nature protection, landscape planning
Researchers (7)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
Ecological connectivity is increasingly used in contemporary approaches to nature conservation. It seeks to preserve and connect habitats and create favourable living conditions for species. Especially within European spatial context, predominantly characterized by intensively cultivated and urbanized landscape, this approach is a move forward from designating isolated spatial reserves of pristine “nature”. Additionally, ecological connectivity is a fundamental part of green infrastructure (GI from hereon). EU strategy on green infrastructure defines it as a tool for creating nature-based solutions which provide ecological, social and economic benefits. GI helps us understand the advantages offered by nature to human society which in turn encourages investments in nature-based solutions to preserve and improve them. GI is thus not only a network of well-preserved natural areas but should be understood as an approach to planning of such a network to secure environmental, social and economic functions.
Ecological connectivity is a prerequisite for a well-functioning green infrastructure. It is an indicator of how well the ecological network functions on various scales. It describes the structural and functional connectivity between core areas/habitats and possibilities to migrate from one core area to another.
We note that a lot of research on ecological connectivity, green infrastructure and other related concept has already been carried out, providing abundant data about properties and needs of various species on different scales. Despite this, there is a gap between these rich findings and their interpretation for spatial planning purposes. The main aim of this project is to bridge this gap through synthesizing existing dispersed knowledge and test it’s usability for spatial planning and nature protection.
Within the project “Defining ecological corridors on the Slovenia national level as a support to spatial planning, nature and other resources' management” we aim to:
1) define theoretical and methodological concept of ecological connectivity based on scientific and professional literature review;
2) create a systematic review of existing studies on ecological connectivity on various scales (from international, strategic to local, implementation level), evaluate the state of ecological connectivity in Slovenia, and usability of existing studies for spatial planning and territorial management;
3) bring together existing databases and create a unified map of areas, important for ecological connectivity on strategic national level;
4) evaluate how effectively principles of ecological connectivity are considered in preparation of guidelines and expertizes of different sectors and how accessible are data and information required in spatial planning;
5) based on previous point, evaluate how effectively principles of ecological connectivity are considered in spatial plans;
6) prepare guidelines to improve accessibility and use of existing studies and expert analysis and suggest refinements if found necessary;
7) test all of the findings on a test area on different scales and with participation of various stakeholders (spatial planning, nature conservation, forestry, agriculture, water management).
The key emphasis of this project are:
1) Demonstration of the importance of spatial planning on different levels for establishing and maintaining ecological corridors and connectivity.
2) Finding out where and how multifunctionally these areas and corridors are and where a restriction in use to prevent conflicts should be exercised.
3) Identifying (planning) instruments to implement ecological connectivity, especially how ecological corridors can be addressed in regional and local plans, environmental impact assessments and sectoral guidelines.
Research team consists of multidisciplinary experts covering the fields of: spatial planning, strategic assessments, environmental
Significance for science
Ecological connectivity is among the key topics addressed by international scientific and professional community dealing with nature conservation as well as spatial planning and management. While its origins are grounded in nature conservation, experts increasingly call for the concept to be integrated in the system of spatial planning, as it offers an arena in which different developmental and conservational interests are confronted with the aim of finding as many synergies as possible. Much like numerous related, overlapping (contemporary) concepts (e.g. green infrastructure, landscape connectivity, ecosystem services, ecological planning), ecological connectivity draws from various disciplines. This research will define theoretical and methodological framework of ecological connectivity, relations to similar concepts and lay the groundwork for continued research in the field. Clearly defining terms, concepts and relations among them, paired with integration into spatial planning will also provide important inputs both for nature protection as well as spatial planning disciplines, as they will acquire new instruments for their work and will be able to communicate and participate more effectively. Defining ecological corridors will provide thus far missing expertize to use in strategic spatial planning in Slovenia, which will critically advance nature protection and decrease the number of conflicts between wildlife and humans.
Significance for the country
Contemporary nature protection places more and more emphasis on providing ecological connectivity by protecting and creating appropriate environments and connections between them and is not based soley on creating nature reserves aymore. Ecological connectivity as a part of green infrastrucutre is nowadays offered as an alternative to grey infrastructure as it provides various benefits to environment, society and economy, mainly by a rich array of ecosystem services.
Project will provide guidelines to more effectively include elements of ecological connectivity into spatial plans on various levels and managements plans of individual sectors. We will connect and interpret existing studies with the aim to make them ready-made for implementation. Integrating the neccessery knowledge and relevant stakeholders in the process of spatial planning and management will ensure that expertizes are adequately considered on strategic level and prevented developments on the implementation level, which in turn will decrese amount of damage caused in the environment. Additionally, defined ecological corridors, guidelines and principles on how to address them will make spatial planning and nature conservation efforts more efficient.
