POSEIDONE – Promotion of green and blue infrastructures dedicated to a new environment
Programme: Interreg Italija-Slovenija
Duration of the project: 1. 1. 2023 – 1. 1. 2026
Lead partner: VEGAL (GAL Venezia Orientale)
Website of the project: https://www.ita-slo.eu/sl/poseidone
Partners:
- Veneto Region
- Consortium for the Reclamation of the Eastern Veneto
- Consortium for the Coordination of Research Activities on the Lagoon of Venice System – CORILA
- Municipality of Staranzano – Organo Gestore Riserva Naturale Foce Isonzo
- WWF Italy
- Regional Development Centre Koper
- Public Institute of Landscape Park Strunjan
- Bird Watching and Bird Study Association of Slovenia – DOPPS (BirdLife Slovenia)
- Municipality of Ankaran
- The Sciene and Research Centre Koper – ZRS Koper
- Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry of Slovenia – Institute of Agriculture and Forestry Nova Gorica
In addition to the lead partner, there are 11 project partners and 7 associate partners involved in the project. The project aims to promote local development by supporting nature conservation and biodiversity, developing green and blue infrastructure in Natura 2000 sites, reducing tourism pressure on natural parks and areas of high natural value, and promoting biodiversity in agriculture to protect native species and disseminate knowledge. The project takes place in the North Adriatic area between Chioggia and the Slovenian-Croatian border. The project has a total budget of € 4.375.000,00, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the Interreg Italy – Slovenia programme of the European Union. The value of the project for the Strunjan Landscape Park is € 312,000.
Project starting point and objectives
The project is based on the policy of a greener, CO2-free Europe, which includes the protection and conservation of biodiversity and the creation of green and blue infrastructure to combat climate change. Biodiversity protection will also promote landscape diversity, including agricultural areas. The project’s objectives are mainly to improve biodiversity, create green and blue infrastructure, establish tools for sustainable tourism planning and protect the natural and cultural landscape. In addition, the project will promote better waste management through awareness-raising campaigns and clean-up actions.
The cross-border cooperation approach between the project partners provides an opportunity to meet and discuss common issues or themes, which will improve the efficiency and stability of the project results and allow the exchange of good practices between the partners.
Activities and role of the Strunjan Landscape Park in the POSEIDONE project
The POSEIDONE project comprises various activities related to both marine and terrestrial habitats. A number of activities will take place in the LPS on different topics, both in cooperation with partners and as independent activities in the park area.
In order to move towards more sustainable tourism, monitoring of anchored vessels in the park will be carried out. The goal is to quantify the pressure of anchoring on the seabed as a basis for further tourism planning within the marine environment. Additional visitor counters will be installed at important visitor hotspots to serve as a tool for assessing tourism pressure on the natural coastline of one of the most visited natural environments in the project area.
A major undertaking will be the renovation of the dry stone house called “kažeta”, which is a characteristic element of the cultural heritage of Slovenian Istria. Farmers used them to store their tools and crops, and shepherds used them to shelter from storms or summer showers. These stone houses, together with other dry-walled buildings and their surroundings, constitute green infrastructure, playing an important role of providing habitat for many species of flora and fauna, thus contributing to the preservation of biodiversity. In cooperation with the Slovenian Chamber of Agriculture and the Koper Scientific Research Centre, activities will be developed to promote the cultivation of indigenous crops and sustainable agriculture, relating to agricultural practices in the park.
As part of the transboundary assessment and monitoring of the conservation status of habitats and species, the status of several seabird species occurring in the project area will be monitored in synchrony with other natural environments. The results will serve as a basis for further planning of species monitoring strategies. Part of the cross-border cooperation will include education and scientific research on board the sailing vessel “Goletta Verde” or “Green Schooner”. As part of this activity, three summer schools will be organised where Slovenian and Italian students will learn about innovative technologies for marine and environmental monitoring.
Workshops will be organised for children from local schools, with the aim of bringing the diversity of the local coastal marine world and the threats it faces to life through hands-on activities. One of the current themes of the project is tackling pollution, which will include various clean-up campaigns to which public, local residents and divers will be invited.
Working together with other partners, we will exchange good practices and try to make the proposed measures more effective in the wider area of the North Adriatic.