Slovenia Projects in LIFE Programme Successful
Slovenia, which has been taking part in the LIFE project since 1993, has proved to be a good student according to the number of projects, Bruno Julien, the head of the LIFE unit at the European Commission Environment DG, told the press in Ljubljana on Tuesday.
Julien, who is wrapping up his two-day visit to Slovenia today, said Slovenia had had positive experience particularly in the LIFE - Nature programme, which supports the establishment of the European environment network Natura 2000.
A total of nine Slovenian LIFE-Nature projects were funded by the European Commission between 2001 and 2004 in the total value of EUR 6.8m.
Among them were the protection of an extensive peat bogs area, on the Pokljuka plateau in the Triglav National Park, and the conservation of habitats and species within the Secovlje salt pans on the Dragonja estuary at the southern end of the Slovenian coast.
The EU also funded a national corncrake action plan, a project aimed at the conservation of the otter (Lutra lutra) in the Goricko Nature park in north-eastern Slovenia, and a project that made a significant contribution to the establishment of the Natura 2000 network in Slovenia by producing a guidance document for the preparation of site management plans.
Only two Slovenian projects have been funded by the EU in the LIFE - Environment programme, receiving over EUR 500,000. One project focused on energy savings in the central heating sector and the other investigated an innovative methodology for the sustainable rehabilitation of a landfill site.
Environment Ministry State Secretary Mladen Berginc said that Slovenia could hardly provide as much funds for environment projects by itself as it received from the European Commission within the LIFE programme.
"We have become a member of the LIFE programme with high-quality projects and we will continue with active participation," Berginc stressed.
The ministry is now gathering projects to be funded by LIFE III in 2005. The ministry, which has set aside SIT 90m (EUR 375,000) for these projects, will cover up to 40 percent of the projects' value, while the Commission is to add between 25 and 75 percent.
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