Norway and Slovenia joining forces in beaver management
NB! Denne artikkelen ble publisert i 2016!
GoForMura continues with the project activities. Some of the actions are dedicated to beaver population and his habitat in the pilot area of Murska šuma and Gornja Bistrica forest.
Photo Slovenian Forestry Institute, Department of Forest and Landscape Planning and Monitoring.
Beaver in Slovenia were extinct due to hunting and loss of wetlands but in 1998 beaver found their way back to Slovenia from Croatia where they were reintroduced in 1996. The population is now expending. Being a NATURA 2000 species, beaver in Slovenia is also classified in the Red list as Ex/E – species once living in Slovenia but have become extinct and is today considered as endangered. Beaver’s presence has many positive effects on plant and animals communities. However, when entering in to the cultural landscape, he can became a nuisance beaver.
Norway has been dealing with beaver management over 150 years. Visit from a Norwegian expert on beavers Duncan Halley was an opportunity for Institute LUTRA and Slovenian Forestry Institute, to learn from mistakes and exchange knowledge on beavers with more experience countrie.
“An effective management solution will have to take in to consideration forest owners and nature preservation goals,” said Duncan Halley in one of the press releases for national daily news. This is also one of the main objectives of the project GoForMura funded by the EEA Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 (SI02) in Slovenia. When preparing the forest management plan, recommendations for maintaining and preserving beaver habitat will be synchronized with the goals of forest owners and general public. Their willingness in making tradeoffs is the way to reduce beaver-human conflicts and ensure beaver preservation for next generations to come.
Contact: Duncan Halley
More information at http://goformura.gozdis.si/news/