There are three levels of protection regimes in the area of the Nature Park. The first refers to the settlements within the park and its area of influence. All interventions that could endanger drinking water and the environment are prohibited here.

The general protection regime that applies to the entire park area (except for villages within the park) is slightly stricter and prohibits activities that would have a negative impact on the state of plant and animal species; it is not permitted to alter the typical landscape diversity; to cultivate genetically modified organisms; change watercourses and other wetlands in any way; pour digestate from biogas plants; fill macadam paths and car tracks with unnatural materials; build new transit infrastructures or build facilities for the use of renewable energy sources outside the areas of building land, etc. (Ordinance on the establishment of the Seasonal Lakes of Pivka Nature Park).

The protection regime in the protection area of the lakes is the strictest – in addition to the above-mentioned prohibitions, no new hydromelioration may be carried out; carry out certain agromeliorations; intensify existing agricultural cultivation; excavate land, as this would damage living communities on extensive meadows; vegetation may not be removed by mulching, except in exceptional cases but only between 30 September and 1 March; plant protection products must not be used for soil improvement; inhabit invasive alien species; build new roads, attach different bodies to trees; build any new facilities; take off and land with motor planes, paragliders, kites, hot air balloons; launch models of aircraft, vessels and similar devices; to drive motor vehicles, except for the purposes of agricultural, forestry and hunting activities; camping, tenting, campfires and arranging picnic areas and facilities for exercise or recreation; to carry out mass events except for the purpose of raising awareness.
The municipal police service and the competent inspectors will monitor the Ordinance’s implementation in accordance with the regulations. Nature conservation rangers and trained volunteer rangers will provide direct supervision in the park, primarily by pointing out inappropriate behaviour.

The Ordinance on the Seasonal Lakes of Pivka Nature Park is published in its entirety on the website of the Municipality of Pivka and in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia

Interim management guidelines for the Seasonal Lakes of Pivka Nature Park

Establishment of the Seasonal Lakes of Pivka Nature Park

In January 2012, the Pivka Municipality began the process of conservating the Pivka intermittent lakes area. The activities and process of establishing the park were sparked by the long-term boiling of water in the Pivka basin at the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012, when several cases of spilled digestate from biogas plants were discovered.

The municipal administration of the Municipality of Pivka has decided to proceed with the conservation slowly and with the participation of the general public. During the park’s creation, they met with a variety of people, including experts from various professional organisations, such as the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, the Institute of Conservation, the Institute for Karst Research, the Agricultural Advisory Service, Slovenian Environment Agency, Ministry of Defence, Slovenian Forest Service, hunters, watermen and citizens of the Municipality of Pivka. A series of lectures titled Pivka lakes Connected was prepared for citizens in collaboration with the Drobnovratnik Association. All lectures have been recorded and are available on the website www.pivskajezera.si.

At the December 2013 session, municipal councillors passed the Ordinance on first reading. The Ordinance was made public during a public hearing that took place from January 7 to March 10, 2014. The public hearing of the Ordinance was held on February 5, 2014. The amended public Ordinance was approved by the municipal councillors in the second reading.
The described process of creating a Nature Park is an example of good practice in involving all interested parties, which resulted in the successful creation of a Nature Park by the local community. The state’s nature conservation services were also in favour of the Nature Park’s establishment.

History of protection of Pivka intermittent lakes

The first proposal for legally organised protection of some lakes was made in 1969. At the time, the Institute for the Protection of Monuments – Nova Gorica conducted an inventory and evaluation of the notable and most famous natural phenomena in the Postojna municipality. The task was an expert basis for the preparation of a proposal for conservation in accordance with the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Sights Act (Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Sights Act, 1958, Official Gazette of the People’s Republic of Slovenia, 22) and the Urban Planning Act (Urban Planning Act, 1967, Official Gazette of the SRS, 16).

After two years, the proposal was adopted as the Ordinance on the Nature Conservation Monument for the Municipality of Postojna (Ordinance on the Nature Conservation Monument for the area of the Municipality of Postojna, 1971, Primorske novice news, Official announcements, 7). It provided for the protection of lakes on the basis of two value levels, namely:

  • Nationally significant inanimate natural monuments of the II. class (Palško jezero Lake, Petelinjsko jezero Lake). The protection regime prohibited any form of injury or endangerment.
  • Locally significant inanimate natural monuments of the III. class (intermittent karst lakes in the headwaters of the Pivka: Veliko and Malo Drskovško jezero Lakes, Veliko and Malo Zagorsko jezero Lakes, Parsko jezero Lake, Kalsko jezero Lake and Baško jezero Lake)..

Interventions were permitted under the protection regime with the consent of the competent nature conservation service (Ordinance on the nature protection monument order for the area of the Municipality of Postojna, 1971, Primorske novice news, Official announcements, 7).

Despite the legal regulation and the conservation regime imposed by it, some parts of the lakes were still used for military training. Military training, especially on Palško jezero Lake and Petelinjsko jezero Lake, caused new injuries and pollution.

LIn 1984, the Assembly of the Cultural Community of the Municipality of Postojna in accordance with the Natural and Cultural Heritage Act (Natural and Cultural Heritage Act, 1981, Official Gazette of the SRS, 1) adopted the Ordinance on the Proclamation of Cultural and Historical Monuments and Natural Sights in the Municipality of Postojna (Ordinance on the Proclamation of Cultural and Historical Monuments and Natural Sights in the Municipality of Postojna, 1984, Official announcements, 29).

The Ordinance, for which the Institute for the Conservation of Natural and Cultural Heritage Nova Gorica prepared the professional basis, is still in effect today.

Palško jezero Lake, Petelinjsko jezero Lake, Veliko and Malo Drskovško jezero Lakes have been declared natural monuments.

The conservation regime determines the preservation of the natural state and prohibits pollution.

The conservation regime, which was conducted mainly in the area of Petelinjsko jezero Lake and Palško jezero Lake, continued to be disregarded. Only the changes caused by the abandonment of farming are visible in the Veliko and Malo Drskovško jezero Lake, which means the cessation of regular mowing at the bottom and the overgrowth of the slopes.

Other lakes were designated as natural heritage under the law, with protection based on guidelines rather than prohibitions. Based on new findings, the inventory of the natural heritage of the municipalities of Postojna and Pivka meant the extension of protection to thirteen lakes (Cernatič-Gregorič and Gorkič, 2005).

Prior to the establishment of the Nature Park, the Pivka intermittent lakes were protected under the Nature Conservation Act (ZON, Ur.l.RS 96/2004), which establishes the system of protection of natural values and measures for biodiversity conservation in order to contribute to nature conservation. The Pivka intermittent lakes have a special legal status based on nature conservation regulations and are protected areas (ZON, Ur.l.RS 96/2004). Four lakes (Palško jezero Lake, Petelinjsko jezero Lake, Veliko and Malo Drskovško jezero Lake) are protected as natural monuments on the basis of the old legislation from 1984.

Veliko Zagorsko jezero Lake, Malo Zagorsko jezero Lake and Parsko jezero Lake have been proposed as natural monuments, but all other lakes are not adequately protected.

Nature Park Team

Jana Gržinič

Director of the Pivka Tourism Public Institute

Erika Kovačič

Ecomuseum of the Seasonal Lakes of Pivka, visitors, work with local inhabitants

Tadej Kogovšek

Nature conservation content, agricultural policy, measures on agricultural land)

Nina Doles

biological contents, overgrowth shrinkage, management of agricultural areas, agriculture policy, coordinator of the LIFE Varna paša project

Eva Šabec Korbar

nature conservation measures – bats, amphibians, communication activities, guiding activities, arrangement of paths

Andrej Godina

Tourist guide