Scientists submit proposals for revisions of the zoning of four national parks in accordance with the law and the Restoration Plan
At the end of last week, a team of scientists and experts from the Slovak Academy of Sciences (Institute of Geography SAS, Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre SAS, Institute of Landscape Ecology SAS, Institute of Forest Ecology SAS, Institute of Zoology SAS) and the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Comenius University in Bratislava submitted to the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic a scientific proposal for revision of the zoning of four national parks: Tatra National Park, Low Tatras National Park, Malá Fatra National Park and Poloniny National Park. The revision was created because the zoning originally proposed by the Ministry of the Environment was not technically defensible – it contained systemic legislative shortcomings, technical inconsistencies, and errors that would not stand up before national or European courts and could jeopardise the disbursement of hundreds of millions of euros from the Recovery Plan. Paradoxically, reducing the level of protection in the originally proposed zones C2 and D, due to inconsistencies with European legislation, would not simplify the development of the investor’s plans but would rather complicate and thwart them.
The revised zoning replaces the problematic D zones with the predictable framework of zone C with the 3rd level of protection. The binding opinion of the nature protection authority is automatic, the rules are transparent and known in advance. Regular and necessary activities – including ski slope management, forestry or recreational use – are clearly defined.
“The original proposal included areas in Zone D that simply do not belong there according to the law: old forests, valuable habitats of European importance, water resources. The degree of protection of each area must be based on what is actually there – the value of the habitat, ecological connectivity with surrounding areas and legislative obligations. Not on who requested it,” says Jozef Šibík from the Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre SAS.
The proposed revisions are neither an ideal conservation model nor a concession to interest groups. They are something that has been missing for a long time: a legally sustainable and professionally defensible framework that will stand up to national and European courts and whose rules apply equally to everyone – state and public administration entities, local governments, entrepreneurs, residents and the public. If
there is political will, this revision can end years of legal uncertainty, clear the way for the sustainable development of regions, and ensure the fulfilment of the milestone of the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic, which conditions the disbursement of hundreds of millions of euros to Slovakia.
The Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic receives a complete and immediately usable basis: not only an expert report with methodology, but also technically prepared GIS data layers for each of the national parks, where each change in the classification of an area is supported by specific arguments - legislative reasons, biotic values and ecosystem services of the territory. The Ministry can work with them immediately. Any administrative fine-tuning of details will not take long precisely because the expert and analytical work was carried out consistently in advance. The team of scientists delivers not only an expert opinion, but a ready-made working tool.
“The problem with the original D zones was systemic: their allocation was not subject to any expert methodology, and therefore they emerged as random islands that, instead of disrupting the integrity of the territory, disrupted this integrity. The revision solves this problem by moving to zone C with clearly defined rules applicable to everyone. In practice, this means legal certainty for ski slope operators: instead of negotiating exceptions every year, there is a decree instrument that fully covers their operation and allows normal functioning in coexistence with nature protection,” adds Jozef Šibík.
This is the second part of the expert review in a short period of time. Before Easter, the same team submitted the first part to the Ministry – the methodology for identifying and incorporating old forests into zones A and B, which the European Commission explicitly required as a condition for fulfilling the milestone of the Restoration Plan. Old forests are irreplaceable habitats of rare and endangered species, including the capercaillie – an umbrella species, whose insufficient protection led to the Slovak Republic losing a case at the European Court of Justice in 2022. The revision methodology is based on natural science and ecosozological criteria: the role of old forests in regulating water resources, soil quality, resilience to climate extremes and supporting natural processes. The zoning of the national park is defined by the Nature and Landscape Protection Act, not the Forest Act. Its adoption and consistent application are the most reliable ways to conclude more than twenty years of discussion: not by concessions to individual interests, but by a clear professional framework that applies equally to everyone and that will stand up to national and European courts.
Link to a comparison of both proposals – from scientists and experts vs from the Ministry