Town of Zvolen in Central Slovakia was a place where the Workshop on Alpine Rivers was organised on 3rd and 4th of September, 2014. The Workshop was part of the Natura 2000 new biogeographic process undertaken by EU member states. It was also an activity of the Carpathian Wetland Initiative in relation to the rivers in the Carpathian mountain range. Over 40 experts on nature protection and water management altogether from eight countries participated, including a representative of the European Commission and Ramsar Convention Secretariat. Organisation of this workshop was agreed on the Natura 2000 seminar in Graz (November 2013) where EU member states suggested to organize regular working meetings on issues which crucially influence favourable conservation status of alpine water habitats of community interest and connected species.
First day of the workshop was spent outdoors on two parallel excursions (to the River Hron and River Slatina and surrounding protected areas). The second day was divided in three blocks, each followed by a discussion. Within the first block there was a presentation on EU legal and strategic framework in nature and water protection, including reporting and interpretation guidance (a document on water energy use and Natura 2000 is currently under preparation), a presentation on activities of the Carpathian Wetland Initiative and on strategic tools for sustainable use of water energy.
The second block has brought case studies on application of the environmental assessment for river continuum while the third block was aimed at revitalization of the rivers.
More information
- Program [DOCX, 996 KB]
- Workshop programme [DOCX, 997 KB]
- List of participants [DOCX, 786 KB]
- Presentations [ZIP, 18.4 MB]
- Information on new biogeographic process