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Launch of LIFE SySTEMIC and LIFE WolfAlpsEU projects at the Slovenia Forest Service
In November 2019, two new projects of the European Financial Mechanism LIFE were launched, in which the Slovenia Forest Service (ZGS) is a partner. The five-year LIFE SySTEMIC and LIFE WolfAlps EU projects will contribute to forest adaptation to climate change and co-existence with the wolf in the Alps. By participating in European implementation projects, SFS strengthens capacities in professional fields and ensures development of the profession.
LIFE SySTEMIC Project (LIFE18 ENV / IT / 000124)
Climate change, air pollution, unsustainable forest management practices, invasive alien species, urbanization and forest fragmentation reduce biodiversity and threaten the adaptive potential and sustainability of EU forests. These factors can also negatively affect the genetic diversity of tree species, which will play a key role in adapting forests to climate change.
The aim of the LIFE SySTEMiC project is to develop and implement methods and models to increase the stability and connectivity of forests in a changing climate. The main purpose of the project is to use a combination of advanced landscape genomics, applied genetics, modeling and forestry measures to develop an innovative model of genetic, biodiversity and forestry systems - the GenBioSilvi model. The project will enable the use of new and adapted forest management methods for sustainable forest management and conservation of forest genetic resources. An assessment of the natural regeneration capacity of forests within different forest management systems will be prepared, taking into account the impacts of climate change. The Slovenian Forest Service will contibute to the project, led by the University of Florence (Italy) in Italy.
LIFE WolfAlps EU Project (LIFE18 NAT / IT / 000972)
Following the success of the European LIFE WolfAlps project, which closed in May 2018 and received the Best LIFE Project Award in May 2019, the European Commission has approved and endorsed financial support for the project entitled "Performing coordinated activities to improve coexistence with wolves in the Alps" .
The project, aimed at improving the coexistence of humans and wolves at European and Pan-Alpine levels, began in the autumn of 2019 and will last for five years. The natural return of the wolf has been detected in several European highlands over the last 30 years. Today, the abundance and spatial distribution of the wolf population in the western Alps (in Italy, France and Slovenia) is increasing. The cross-border wolf population covered by the project extends across several countries (France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia), and its successful management requires international coordination. The project involves 19 partner and 100 affiliated organizations, led by the Italian National Park of the Maritime Alps (Parco Naturale Alpi Marittime), and two of the 19 project partners are from Slovenia (University of Ljubljana and the Slovenia Forest Service).
Photo: Press conference and contract signing
