NRP possesses more than 800 plots of land, which are scattered throughout the intermittent lake area. In the scope of the project LIFE TRŠCA, we will purchase and exchange another 100 ha of land. The amount of plots we deal with and the data we collect is so large that data management has become a serious bottleneck. Project partners NRP, ZRSVN, and DOPPS, will therefore develop and establish an online GIS database, that will serve to manage all the information necessary to master and control the land management. In the scope of task T.3.1, two trips abroad are foreseen to visit organizations that use similar GIS database systems and exchange knowledge with them.
The new database module will be an integral part of the national Nature Conservation Atlas and available to all Slovenian nature parks and organizations involved in nature conservation-oriented land management in Slovenia.
Status: Task is in progress
Results:
In January 2024, we started developing the concept of the database. In April 2024, we held the first meeting with Slovenian nature parks, which expressed an interest in using the database. During the meeting, we presented the basis for the development of the database, the planned implementation of the action and the detailed database concept. We also gained insight into the existing land-related and land management data available in the parks and identified their needs and requirements. In April 2024, we visited Őrség National Park in Hungary, where the park staff presented their databases and provided recommendations on key aspects to consider when developing our own system. Following the visit to Ham Wall Nature Reserve, managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) under Action T.4.1, the participants were particularly impressed by their Merlin database, which they use to manage the planning and implementation of management plans. We therefore proposed organising a broader online meeting with RSPB's IT specialist and other staff members. This enabled a wider group of experts to receive in-depth training on the RSPB system, rather than limiting the transfer of knowledge to only a few participants. We also met with the LIFE NarcIS project team to discuss possibilities for cooperation. An agreement was reached whereby the NarcIS project team took over the programming and development of the database. As a result, the land database developed within LIFE TRŠCA will become part of the already established NarcIS database system. A number of working meetings were held to further develop and refine the land registry component of the database. This component was presented to the Slovenian nature parks at a second workshop in August 2024. With their assistance, we subsequently started testing the system through the entry of data.
According to the original plans, the GIS database was expected to be completed by June 2025. However, the time required to develop the information model was underestimated, mainly due to the more complex set of input information than initially anticipated. The process of meetings and discussions required to define the system requirements and data structures therefore took considerably longer than expected. In addition, coordinating meetings proved particularly challenging due to the busy schedules of the stakeholders involved, further extending the timeframe. As a result, completion of the work was delayed beyond the originally planned timeframe. Despite the delay, sufficient time remains within the project for thorough testing and training of the relevant stakeholders. These activities will ensure that the system is fully functional, user-friendly and aligned with nature conservation needs. The land database was made available for broader use and testing at the end of June 2026. The database will continue to be updated based on feedback and comments received from users.
NRP has already entered all land parcels managed by the park into the database.
An application for recording field events has also been developed, called Terenska beležnica (Field Notebook). This application is also being continuously updated based on suggestions and feedback from users, including feedback received from other Slovenian nature parks. The Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning has also expressed interest in the application, recognising its potential for use in nature conservation surveillance. The application was presented to the Ministry during a workshop on the development and content of a unified application for recording nature conservation surveillance activities, including its integration with the NarcIS system. The workshop was held at the premises of the Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO) on 12 March 2026 as part of Action C.6 of the LIFE-IP NATURA.SI project.
Results:
There are several 100 ha of land in the intermittent Lake Cerknica area with unclear ownership. There are several reasons for this: firstly, the inheritance procedures after the death of the landowner were not executed; secondly, the inheritance of land according to the principle of shares; and thirdly, the process of transferring lands from the former communal property in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to the agrarian community was not carried out. The consequence of the unclear ownership situation is that NRP often cannot acquire land for nature conservation-oriented management. As a result, these plots of land are now abandoned and overgrown by copse, or even worse – they are illegally occupied by third parties. We will therefore review the ownership of all land plots in the project area and engage a lawyer, who will provide us with a legal opinion on how the various types of existing ownership relationships can be clarified.
Status: Task is in progress
In January 2024, legal assistance was selected. In July 2024, the lawyer prepared the final document, Protocols for the Purchase of Land with Ambiguous Legal Status. The Deliverable was uploaded to the F&T Portal on time (4 October 2024). In October 2024, NRP provided the lawyer with the final list of all unknown and deceased landowners at Lake Cerknica. In December 2024, the Municipality of Cerknica, NRP and the law firm coordinated and finalised the powers of attorney required for all legal proceedings related to this task. In January 2025, letters were prepared for four living landowners regarding the purchase of 14 parcels with a total area of 14.09 ha. The deaths of two additional landowners were also officially established.
The lawyer carried out the court proceedings in accordance with the previously prepared protocol for the purchase of land owned by a landowner residing abroad and for the acquisition of land with no known owner, as planned. With the completion of these procedures, the task was successfully concluded.
Results:
This task will concentrate on land exchanges. Land plots possessed by the NRP and suitable for annual mowing will be exchanged with privately owned areas of marsh vegetation where annual land use is not desirable and even leads to the degradation of the ecosystem in some places. We will also conduct land plot exchanges to round off the properties thus making them easier to manage.
Status: Not due yet
At the initiative of a local landowner, the first tripartite land exchange agreement was concluded in March 2024. Following an expert nature conservation assessment, Notranjska Park exchanged 3.746 ha of land under its management for 3.691 ha of land owned by the farmer. In 2025, further land exchanges covering 6.88 ha were completed. In total, 10.57 ha of land was exchanged.
Land exchanges must only be carried out following careful consideration and an expert nature conservation assessment. Parcels of high conservation value for other species must not be exchanged, including species not directly targeted by the LIFE TRŠCA project but addressed through other conservation projects. It is also necessary to ensure that proposed exchanges do not result in excessive differences in the value or size of the land involved. Consequently, negotiations on the suitability of proposed exchanges can be a lengthy process.
Results:
The purchase of land in the scope of this task will be focused primarily on the most sensitive land in terms of marshland biodiversity conservation. NRP will acquire 10 ha of vital and potentially vital reed beds and 40 ha of tall sedge communities and mixed communities of reeds and sedges. On the purchased and exchanged land, we will establish important microhabitats – patches of open water, which are feeding areas for the Ferruginous duck and Red-necked grebe. Such patches of open water surrounded by reeds, which provide cover from predators and other disturbances, promise suitable breeding habitats also for other reedbed bird species.
Status: Task is in progress
In 2024, NRP purchased a total of 10.68 ha of land from 10 different landowners.
In 2025, NRP purchased a total of 7.66 ha of land from 7 different landowners.
In 2026, the purchase price was increased in response to rising real estate prices, and a public call for the purchase of land of high nature conservation value was published as part of the LIFE TRŠCA project.
NRP mapped the existing lake openings at Lake Cerknica. A 50-metre buffer zone was also delineated around each lake opening. In the future, land purchases will also focus on these areas. We also prepared a proposal for potential microhabitats at Lake Cerknica. In 2024, three water openings in different vegetation conditions were already created, each covering approximately 540 m², as part of mowing activities on the test plots. In 2025, three microhabitats were created in the Levišča area. Their condition is being monitored during the breeding season using different monitoring methods to assess the impact of the newly created water openings on bird breeding. A front-mounted and side-mounted mower was purchased for the creation and maintenance of microhabitats. In addition, an amphibious harvester, to be purchased under Task T.4.1, will be used to create and maintain water openings under wet conditions.
Results:
Public Call - The Purchase of Conservation-Important Land in the LIFE TRŠCA project in 2026
The implementation of extensive nature conservation projects exceeds the financial capacity of the local community, therefore Notranjska Park regularly applies for projects with the possibility of co-financing by the European Union.
The implementation of large-scale conservation projects exceeds the financial capabilities of the local community, therefore Notranjska Park regularly applies for projects with the possibility of co-financing from the European Union.
