Page 106 - Koderman, Miha, and Vuk Tvrtko Opačić. Eds. 2020. Challenges of tourism development in protected areas of Croatia and Slovenia. Koper, Zagreb: University of Primorska Press, Croatian Geographical Society
P. 106
challenges of tourism development in protected areas of croatia and slovenia
Introduction
Slovenia’s part of the coastal strip of the Gulf of Trieste lies between Zaliv
svetega Jerneja (St. Bartholomew’s Bay) at the border with Italy and the
Dragonja River at the border with Croatia, and is approximately 48 km
long (Kolega, 2015). Around two-thirds of the strip consists of a high, abra-
sion coast with active and fossil cliffs of different heights. The lower allu-
vial parts of the Slovenian coast, which were shaped by fluvial sediments
that the Rižana, Badaševica, Dragonja, and Drnica rivers washed into
the sea over time, were transformed into saltworks during Roman times.
Following the gradual cessation of salt-extraction at the end of the 19th cen-
tury and the beginning of the 20th century, these areas were retransformed
into salty or brackish coastal wetlands.
A large part of the salt-extraction areas in the immediate vicinity
of the towns of Koper, Izola, and Portorož has been hydrologically im-
proved, drained, and converted into agricultural land; more recently, it
has also been largely built-up. The expansion of the Port of Koper, dat-
ing back to the 1950s, created another coastal wetland – Škocjanski za-
tok. In the past, the port areas were progressively expanded from Koper
across Škocjanski zaliv (Škocjan Bay), and gradually a “barrier of land”
was formed, turning the bay into a closed lagoon (Fig. 1), where materials
from the deepening of the port basins, as well as waste and wastewater,
were deposited. Thanks to DOPPS-Birdlife Slovenia, the area has avoided
complete degradation from drainage and dumping (Mozetič and Šalaja,
2002). During the 1990s, the areas of the Sečovlje Saltpans, the Strunjan
Saltpans, and Škocjanski zatok were declared protected areas, followed by
the Debeli Rtič area in 2018.
Each year, these four coastal Slovenian municipalities are visited by
more than 700,000 tourists, who generate more than two million overnight
stays. The majority of the guests and overnight stays are concentrated along
the narrow coastal strip, i.e. in coastal towns, with roughly two-thirds of all
overnight stays being recorded in the three summer months. From June to
the end of August 2019, the settlements Portorož and Piran alone recorded
more than half a million overnight stays, while Koper had around 160,000
and Izola around 11,000. By the end of 2019, 71 cruise ships had stopped in
Koper, with more than 110,000 passengers aboard (Regional Obala, 2019b).
In addition to local beaches and swimming spots, tourists visit points of in-
terest in the close vicinity, including the large-scale protected areas that are
the subject of this chapter. Thus, the maintenance of existing conditions,
104
Introduction
Slovenia’s part of the coastal strip of the Gulf of Trieste lies between Zaliv
svetega Jerneja (St. Bartholomew’s Bay) at the border with Italy and the
Dragonja River at the border with Croatia, and is approximately 48 km
long (Kolega, 2015). Around two-thirds of the strip consists of a high, abra-
sion coast with active and fossil cliffs of different heights. The lower allu-
vial parts of the Slovenian coast, which were shaped by fluvial sediments
that the Rižana, Badaševica, Dragonja, and Drnica rivers washed into
the sea over time, were transformed into saltworks during Roman times.
Following the gradual cessation of salt-extraction at the end of the 19th cen-
tury and the beginning of the 20th century, these areas were retransformed
into salty or brackish coastal wetlands.
A large part of the salt-extraction areas in the immediate vicinity
of the towns of Koper, Izola, and Portorož has been hydrologically im-
proved, drained, and converted into agricultural land; more recently, it
has also been largely built-up. The expansion of the Port of Koper, dat-
ing back to the 1950s, created another coastal wetland – Škocjanski za-
tok. In the past, the port areas were progressively expanded from Koper
across Škocjanski zaliv (Škocjan Bay), and gradually a “barrier of land”
was formed, turning the bay into a closed lagoon (Fig. 1), where materials
from the deepening of the port basins, as well as waste and wastewater,
were deposited. Thanks to DOPPS-Birdlife Slovenia, the area has avoided
complete degradation from drainage and dumping (Mozetič and Šalaja,
2002). During the 1990s, the areas of the Sečovlje Saltpans, the Strunjan
Saltpans, and Škocjanski zatok were declared protected areas, followed by
the Debeli Rtič area in 2018.
Each year, these four coastal Slovenian municipalities are visited by
more than 700,000 tourists, who generate more than two million overnight
stays. The majority of the guests and overnight stays are concentrated along
the narrow coastal strip, i.e. in coastal towns, with roughly two-thirds of all
overnight stays being recorded in the three summer months. From June to
the end of August 2019, the settlements Portorož and Piran alone recorded
more than half a million overnight stays, while Koper had around 160,000
and Izola around 11,000. By the end of 2019, 71 cruise ships had stopped in
Koper, with more than 110,000 passengers aboard (Regional Obala, 2019b).
In addition to local beaches and swimming spots, tourists visit points of in-
terest in the close vicinity, including the large-scale protected areas that are
the subject of this chapter. Thus, the maintenance of existing conditions,
104
