Page 120 - 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. 120
challenges of tourism development in protected areas of croatia and slovenia
land along the watercourses in the hinterland will be transformed into
brackish marshes. During high tides, the sea will flood riverbeds further
upstream and cause the floodplains to become salinated. Water will also
spread upstream along the regulated watercourses, as the higher sea level
will obstruct river mouths and, during high tides, floodplains will consid-
erably expand. In areas characterised by coastal cliffs, within the protected
areas of Strunjan Landscape Park and Debeli Rtič Landscape Park, beaches
will be frequently or permanently flooded, and more intense abrasion pro-
cesses will take place.
Management of tourist activities on the Slovenian coast, associat-
ed with its protected areas, will have to consider the inevitable impacts
of the global climate change and introduce some long-term and sustaina-
ble solutions for anticipated problems. Construction of small retention ba-
sins in the catchments of the rivers might be a sustainable solution for pre-
venting flash flooding of the protected coastal wetlands during extreme
weather events, and to enhance the discharge of the rivers in periods of
rainfall shortage, preventing wetlands from becoming further salinated.
Furthermore, water retention basins could also be used for irrigation. It is
uncertain whether construction of higher coastal embankments is a sus-
tainable solution for prevention of sea flooding of the low-laying protected
areas. Preservation and maintenance of the very popular beaches under the
coastal cliffs of Strunjan Landscape Park and Debeli Rtič Landscape Park
would be a serious challenge, since the higher sea level would make it sig-
nificantly more exposed to the erosional activity of the sea and the extent
of the beaches would shrink.
Acknowledgment
The authors acknowledge the project Environmental effects and karst wa-
ter sources: impacts, vulnerability and adaptation of land use, no. J6-8266
which was financially supported by the Slovenian Research Agency.
References
Brečko Grubar, V., Kovačič, G., 2011: Odnos prebivalcev Mestne občine Koper
do Škocjanskega zatoka, in: Razvoj zavarovanih območij v Sloveniji,
Regionalni razvoj 3 (eds. Nared, J. et al.), Založba ZRC, Ljubljana, 63-70.
Brečko Grubar, V., Kovačič, G., 2014: Pomen obalnih mokrišč za prebivalce
slovenske Istre, Geografski vestnik 86 (2), 45-58, DOI: 10.3986/GV86203.
118
land along the watercourses in the hinterland will be transformed into
brackish marshes. During high tides, the sea will flood riverbeds further
upstream and cause the floodplains to become salinated. Water will also
spread upstream along the regulated watercourses, as the higher sea level
will obstruct river mouths and, during high tides, floodplains will consid-
erably expand. In areas characterised by coastal cliffs, within the protected
areas of Strunjan Landscape Park and Debeli Rtič Landscape Park, beaches
will be frequently or permanently flooded, and more intense abrasion pro-
cesses will take place.
Management of tourist activities on the Slovenian coast, associat-
ed with its protected areas, will have to consider the inevitable impacts
of the global climate change and introduce some long-term and sustaina-
ble solutions for anticipated problems. Construction of small retention ba-
sins in the catchments of the rivers might be a sustainable solution for pre-
venting flash flooding of the protected coastal wetlands during extreme
weather events, and to enhance the discharge of the rivers in periods of
rainfall shortage, preventing wetlands from becoming further salinated.
Furthermore, water retention basins could also be used for irrigation. It is
uncertain whether construction of higher coastal embankments is a sus-
tainable solution for prevention of sea flooding of the low-laying protected
areas. Preservation and maintenance of the very popular beaches under the
coastal cliffs of Strunjan Landscape Park and Debeli Rtič Landscape Park
would be a serious challenge, since the higher sea level would make it sig-
nificantly more exposed to the erosional activity of the sea and the extent
of the beaches would shrink.
Acknowledgment
The authors acknowledge the project Environmental effects and karst wa-
ter sources: impacts, vulnerability and adaptation of land use, no. J6-8266
which was financially supported by the Slovenian Research Agency.
References
Brečko Grubar, V., Kovačič, G., 2011: Odnos prebivalcev Mestne občine Koper
do Škocjanskega zatoka, in: Razvoj zavarovanih območij v Sloveniji,
Regionalni razvoj 3 (eds. Nared, J. et al.), Založba ZRC, Ljubljana, 63-70.
Brečko Grubar, V., Kovačič, G., 2014: Pomen obalnih mokrišč za prebivalce
slovenske Istre, Geografski vestnik 86 (2), 45-58, DOI: 10.3986/GV86203.
118
