Bled hosted a celebratory symposium marking the 100th anniversary of the signing of the agreement establishing the Alpine Conservation Park, the ancestor of the Triglav National Park.
The festive symposium, organised by the Triglav National Park Public Institute (TNP) at the Triglavska roža Bled Information Centre, was the main event with expert content in this jubilee year for the Triglav National Park and for Slovenian nature conservation as a whole. Its aim was to highlight historical events, the importance of the park in the Slovenian and International context and the cooperation of various institutions and activities in the protected area.
Among the invited speakers were two colleagues and lecturers of the Faculty of Environmental Protection, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Irena Mrak and Senior Lecturer Dr. Peter Skoberne.
Dr. Peter Skoberne, the greatest expert on the history of the creation of the national park, biologist, conservationist, lecturer, publicist, photographer and former acting director of the TNP, presented in his introductory lecture the developments from the establishment of the Alpine Conservation Park to the first Triglav National Park in 1961. “National parks are the best preserved, most diverse and most beautiful parts of a country. They are symbols of nature conservation, sometimes in combination with the protection of cultural heritage. At their core, they are designed to ensure that nature functions smoothly within their boundaries. They are also meant for people to appreciate and study nature and its processes,” he said.
Geographer, mountaineer and lecturer Dr Irena Mrak spoke about mountaineering in a time of dynamic environmental and social change. She noted that people are becoming increasingly aware of the health benefits of outdoor exercise. The increase in mountains visits is partly due to an ever growing amount of spare time, but also to a desire to prove oneself, with social networks playing a major role. “Protected areas such as the Triglav National Park are all the more attractive because of their status, and that makes them even crowded,” she notes.
More information: HERE
Foto: TNP