Biodiversity protection on the example of protected areas in the Ľubietová catastral area

 

Peter Urban

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

 

Abstract

Biodiversity (the variety of all life on Earth) plays a key role in the functioning of ecosystems and the provision of ecosystem services which are essential for human life. Protected areas are a key strategy for nature conserving and halting the loss of biodiversity. The main objective of this article is to draw attention to the importance of protected areas for biodiversity in forested, agricultural and montanistic (mining) landscapes in the territory of the Ľubietová municipality (central Slovakia). The cadastral area of Ľubietová (6,103.72 ha) represents an interesting landscape of the Central Carpathians core mountain in Slovakia. The uniqueness and diversity landscape components combined with rich and long-term human activity (mining, lumbering, woodcuttes, livestock production – sheep and cattle breeding) are typical for the environmental history.

On the territory of the Ľubietová municipality there are several localities from national network of protected areas: national nature reserve Ľubietovský Vepor, national reserve Periská, nature monument Veporské skalky and the eastern part is located in the Poľana Protected Landscape area (PLA). From the Natura 2000 sites are in this area two sites of community importance, Ľubietovské dúbravy (SKUEV0859), Poľana (SKCHVÚ022) and the bird protected area (special protection area) Poľana (SKCHVU022). The area in the eastern part of the cadastral territory of the Ľubietová, identical to the PLA, is part of the Poľana Biosphere reserve Poľana (UNESCO Man and the Biosphere programme).

Cooperation with all stakeholders and promotion of the territory is important for the biodiversity protection and the development of ecotourism. Collaboration with Banská Bystrica Geopark is necessary. This geopark includes number of geological, montanistic and the related ecological phenomena and historical monuments of Banská Bystrica and its surroundings, with two key geomontanic areas: Staré hory-Špania Dolina and Ľubietová-Poniky Geo-montanic area. It is necessary to expand this geopark to the entire Poľana PLA.

 

Key words: environmental crisis, nature protection, central Slovakia, Poľana, PLA, Biosphere reserve, Global geopark