STAznanost

UNESCO establishes cross-border Julian Alps biosphere

Agadir, 5 July - Slovenia and Italy have succeeded with their joint bid with UNESCO for the establishment of a Transboundary Biosphere Reserve in the Julian Alps, bringing together two existing biospheres: the Slovenian Julian Alps Biosphere Reserve and the Italian Julian Prealps Biosphere Reserve.

Mojstrana A trail marker in the Vrata Valley below Mount Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak. Photo: Daniel Novakovič/STA

Mojstrana
A trail marker in the Vrata Valley below Mount Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak.
Photo: Daniel Novakovič/STA

Pokljuka The Pokljuka Plateau with Mount Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak, in the background. Photo: Anže Malovrh/STA

Pokljuka
The Pokljuka Plateau with Mount Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak, in the background.
Photo: Anže Malovrh/STA

The new biosphere was declared on Friday at a meeting of the international coordinating council of UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB) in Morocco.

The MAB coordinating council pointed to natural and cultural characteristics of the cross-border biosphere reserve and the efforts of the stakeholders on both sides of the border for a new, joint reserve.

The committee wants to encourage Slovenia and Italy to continue their efforts for an expansion that would also include the Dobratsch park in Austria.

The MAB programme includes 738 biosphere reserves across the world, but only 23 are cross-border reserves.

The biosphere reserve status was acquired by the Julian Alps on the Slovenian side of the border in 2003, while the Italian side attained it in 2019. They stretch across a total of 277,000 hectares.