»All species, from bacteria to mammals, plants to insects, are pieces of the big puzzle of life. They are all connected and depend on each other. Yet one species, our species, is now responsible for the climate crisis and the nature crisis, causing massive biodiversity loss. By destroying Earth ecosystems, we humans are jeopardizing our food, our health, our economy and our own future.«
Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries
The Comissioner`s heartbreaking words are not an exaggeration, but our reality. If ever, now is the last chance for human to take action as one of the pieces in the biodiversity puzzle by his actions on planet Earth, rather than as a sublime force to which everything that grows and breathes is subordinated. If ever, now is the chance for mankind to act as one of the pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of biodiversity through his actions on planet Earth, rather than as some kind of sublime force to which everything that grows and breathes must be subordinated.
The slogan for 2021 is “We‘re part of the solution“. It encourages us to reflect on our actions, our habits and their impact on biodiversity and ecosystem, as despite all the technological advances we are still dependent on nature, healthy and living ecosystems that provide us with drinking water, food, medicines, clothing, fuel , energy and many other goods.
Biodiversity means everything that is alive, the diversity of life. It is unique and at the same time one of the most valuable properties of the planet, which we share with millions of other species. We are completely dependent on biodiversity, as it provides us with food, as well as with drinking water and clean air, because toxic substances, which are mainly released into the environment by the human species, accumulate in the bodies of all beings and are thus removed from the environment. So nature is a food factory and a treatment plant in one!
In addition, it calms and inspires us. Let’s take some time and indulge in it. Let’s watch it and listen to it. If we stop in the middle of the road to a popular hill for a little longer in the afternoon, the Earth will not stop spinning.
The best places to experience nature, where natural processes are more or less smooth, are natural parks or protected areas, as we have declared them as such precisely because the nature of these areas is an example to others. Most of the nature protected areas in our densely populated areas are far from the wilderness over which man would have no influence. On the contrary, the nature here is so well preserved because many generations of locals have lived in accordance with it and its cycles and managed it in a sustainable way. It would be appropriate to maintain such an attitude towards the nature also out of respect for our ancestors.
Of all the parks in Slovenia, our park manages by far the largest area of moist and wet meadows. We make an important contribution to the conservation of endangered species of meadows and wetlands. The renaturation of watercourses, which we carry out with the help of the LIFE financial mechanism, stands out on an international scale.