NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE Ďumbier – the genesis of its origin in the context of the development of institutionalized nature protection

 

Peter URBAN¹ & Leonard AMBRÓZ²

 

¹ Katedra biológie a ekológie Fakulty prírodných vied UMB, Tajovského 40, SK-974 01 Banská Bystrica; email: Peter.Urban@umb.sk; urbanlutra@gmail.com

² Slovenské múzeum ochrany prírody a jaskyniarstva, Školská 4, SK-031 01 Liptovský Mikuláš, e-mail: leonard.ambroz@smopaj.sk

 

Abstract

 

Protected areas are a mainstay of biodiversity conservation, while also contributing to people’s livelihoods, particularly at the local level. The aim of this study is to summarize the genesis of activities leading to the establishment of the current National Nature Reserve Ďumbier, which is one of the most valuable and the largest small-size protected areas not only in the Národný park Nízke Tatry national park (central Slovakia) but also in the whole Slovakia.

Ďumbier (2,043.4 m above sea level) is the highest peak of the Nízke Tatry (Low Tatras) Mts., the largest high mountain range of the Western Carpathians and the second highest mountain range in Slovakia. Nízke Tatry Mts. has an area of about 1,250 km², a length of 80 km and a width of 15-25 kilometers.

The first proposal for the creation of a large nature reserve in the central part of the Nízke Tatry was prepared in 1920 by entomologist Jan Roubal (1880 – 1971). August Bayer (1882 – 1942) presented the proposal to protect the whole area of Nízke Tatry and Slovenský raj (Slovak Paradise), in a total area of 1,800 km². He recommended the preparation of a protecting regime similar to the Yellostowne National Park in the USA.

Instead of a complex nature and landscape protection for Nízke Tatry Mts. in a form of extensive protected area in their central part only partial protected reserves were established thanks to activities of Ján Volko-Starohorský (1880 – 1977) in the Svätojánska dolina valley (1928) and Demänovská dolina valley (1929). Both reserves were constituted in the frame of land reform carried out by State Land Office in Prague.

In 1955 the first law No 1/1955 on state nature protection in Slovakia was adopted and approved by the Slovak National Council. The law also established categories of protected areas, including a state nature reserve and a national park.

In the 1970s and 1980s, new proposals of the State Nature Reserves Demänovská dolina valley, Jánska dolina valley and Ďumbier were prepared. Subsequently, the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Socialist Republic established them after recalling resolutions of the State Land Office about announcement of the Demänovská dolina valley and Svätojánska dolina valley of 1929 which lacked proper documentation.

Štefan Mihálik from the Slovak Institute of Monument and Nature Protection in Bratislava prepared the proposal of the State Nature Reserve Ďumbier. This State Nature Reserve was established on the regulation of Ministry of Culture of the SSR No. 2769/1973-OP of 24 April 1973. The change of the category of this protected area from state nature reserve to national nature reserve (NNR) was made by the Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic no. 287/1994 Coll. on nature and landscape protection.  Its area is 2,043.76 ha and it is protected under the 5th conservation degree. Buffer zone was not separately established, but is the 100 m wide territory outside the borders of the protected area under the 3rd conservation degree.

The belts of forest, dwarf pine stands, grassy uplands, stone formations, flora and fauna and the overall nature of landscape are protected in the following vallyes Bystrá, Ludárová and Štiavnica, and the glacial kettle of Ďumbier for research, educational excursions and tourism.

NNR Ďumbier is registered in the State Inventory of Specially Protected Parts of Nature and Landscape under No. M/246.

The Národný park Nízke Tatry national park (abbr. NAPANT) was established in 1978. The area of the national park is 72,842 ha and the buffer zone takes 110,162 ha. NNR Ďumbier is situated in the central part of this national park and it is a part of the Special Protection Areas Nízke Tatry and Special Areas of Coservation Ďumbierske Tatry (Natura 2000 network).  

 

Key words: central Slovakia, Nízke Tatry Mts., state nature reserve, national nature reserve, national park, management categories