Below, you can see the animation which thoroughly demontrates how the straightened watercourse Stržen is going to be formed back into its original meandres from century ago.
The Notranjska Park is planning to fill up the channel, which has been dug with the goal of cutting off the flow of water to the natural course of Stržen and restore the riverbed into its original double meander in two sections: in Ključi and in Beli Breg. Stržen watercourse will be extended by 1,5 km in the Ključi area (the LIFE Stržen Project) and by 2,1 km in the Beli Breg area (The Kras.Re.Vita Project).
The main scopes of renaturation:
- THE WATER: the riverbed will be given back its original course, it will be extended and the water will be enabled to remain in the area for longer periods of time.
- THE ECOSYSTEM PRESERVATION: the water level will become higher and the water will remain for longer periods of time, during dry season, this will increase the chances of survival of water-related organisms, such as crustaceans, fish, amphibians, birds, as well as aquatic and riparian plants;
- THE GREAT BITTERN BIRD: the quiet zone for this endangered species will be established in the vicinity of the restored meanders of Stržen in the area Ključi. Cerknica Lake is the only nesting area of the bittern in Slovenia, so it is imperative to improve the nesting conditions on the lake in order to conserve this species in our country.
- THE REINFORCED SELF-PURIFICATION OF WATER