photo: © Popp & Hackner/WWF-A Rooftop of Central Europe Slovakia Slovakia is sometimes called the The country is also remarkable for 48,845 km2 (somewhat rooftop of Central Europe. The Car- the more than seventy fragments of Area: larger than Denmark or Switzer- pathian Mountains arch across natural and virgin forests totalling most of the country before plunging 18,000-20,000 ha in area, including land). south through Ukraine into Romania. remnants of the beech forests that Terrain: hills to the east, rugged They divide the region into main water- once stretched across some 80 % of mountains in the central and sheds, with water flowing through the European continent. The forests northern parts (Carpathian moun- Poland to the Baltic Sea in the north, provide homes to a rich diversity tain range), and lowlands in the or via tributaries to the Danube and of flora and fauna, including an south (Pannonian basin). on to the Black Sea in the south. estimated 700 bears, 500 lynx and Elevation extremes: lowest 400 wolves – a significant portion of The Carpathians reach their peak in point: Bodrog River 94 m | high- the European populations of these the northern part of the country in est point: Gerlach Peak 2,655 m large carnivores. the rugged High Tatras Mountains (High Tatras Mountains). (Vysoké Tatry) along the Polish border, Land use: 49 % agricultural land, and decline in altitude across central Wallachian shepherds 41 % forests including temporary Slovakia, through the Low Tatras About half of Slovakia’s territory is non-forested sites, 2 % water, (Nízké Tatry) and Fatras (Velká a Malá used for agriculture, including arable 5 % built area and 3 % other uses Fatra) mountains before reaching the land, grasslands and pastures. Arable (1998 est.). Pannonian basin in the south along land (15,090 km2) prevails in the the Hungarian border. The mountain lowlands, located especially in the Protected areas: 9 National range includes the rolling patchwork southern part of the country, where Parks, 14 Protected Landscape landscape of the White Carpathians intensive agricultural practices have Areas; and ca. 1,000 Protected (Biele Karpaty) along the Czech border sharply reduced biological diversity. Sites, Nature Reserves and to the west, the Slovak Paradise In other areas, particularly in the Natural Monuments (together (Slovenský raj) in the central part of the mountainous regions in the central with buffer zones, ca. 23 % of the country, and the East Carpathians and northern parts of the country, country’s territory). (Východné Karpaty) to the east. centuries old forms of land use have Population: 5,414,937 (July contributed to the development of 2001 est.). Virgin forests species-rich habitats, including the Bratislava (450,000 typical patchwork landscape result- Capital: Thanks to its geographical position inhabitants). ing from strip farming that is found in as well as diversified relief, Slovakia many parts of the country. is home to a rich diversity of flora and fauna – one of the highest in Europe. Forests are one of Slovakia’s greatest treasures, covering 40.6 % (19,990 km2) of the country’s territory. Almost half of these (40-45 %) are semi-natural forests which regenerate themselves naturally and where the composition of species is very similar to that in natural forests. photo: © WWF-Canon/M. Dépraz The Morava-Dyje floodplain, a valuable wetland area bordering the Czech Republic and Austria, was protected throughout the Cold War within the folds of the Iron Curtain. Since 1989, however, and especially with the approaching accession of Slo- vakia and the Czech Republic to the European Union, the officially photo: © V. Stanová/Daphne designated Ramsar wetland area is at the center of one of the most dynamically developing areas The mountain meadows that char- ally being affected by development, on the European continent. Vari- acterise the Pieniny in the eastern including large infrastructure projects ous infrastructure and economic Carpathians were originally created for transportation and water manage- development projects, including by Wallachian shepherds and their ment, urban development, as well as bridges, ports, powerlines, and sheep as they gradually migrated west unsustainable agricultural and for- industry parks, are already threat- across the Carpathian Mountains estry practices. ening this unique area. from present-day Romania to what The Communist era saw a considera- today is the eastern part of the Czech ble expansion in international tourism, Republic. Many of these valuable eco- largely based on arrivals from other systems are increasingly threatened For further information Socialist countries on subsidised by increasing disruption of traditional State holidays. When the Communist contact: land use practices. system collapsed, this market disap- peared and a sharp decline in tourism Daphne Institute Paper parks occured. A few hotspots such as the of Applied Ecology Slovakia has a well-developed Tatras Mountains or Slovak Para- Hanulova 5/d, system of nature protection, includ- dise have continued to attract tourists. 844 40 Bratislava, Slovakia In addition to permitting economic ing 9 National Parks, 14 Protected Tel: 00421 2 654 121 33 Landscape Areas, and more than development, sustainable tourism in 1000 Protected Sites, Nature these areas and others can help sup- [email protected] Reserves and Nature Monuments port management of protected areas. www.daphne.sk that, together with buffer zones, cover Degradation of the natural environ- WWF Danube-Carpathian some 23 % of the country’s territory. ment has already led to the extinction Programme There are also significant restrictions of some plant and animal species on land use around designated water in Slovakia, while many others have Mariahilfer Str. 88a/III/9, A-1070 protection areas. become vulnerable or endangered. Of Vienna, Austria the total 3124 species of higher plants, Unfortunately, the well-developed Tel: 0043 1 52 45 470 system is less developed in practice. 1135 are listed in the national Red List [email protected] Ambiguous and even conflicting of Ferns and Flowering Plants. Simi- www.panda.org/dcp legislation as well as the low priority larly, the diversity of animal species is and limited resources that are given declining. Of a total of 555 vertebrate to nature conservation significantly species, 244 are endangered, includ- Useful links: water down formal protection. This is ing 35 species of fish and lampreys, one area where accession to the EU all species of amphibians and reptiles, Ministry of Environment of can be expected to bring significant 114 birds and 55 mammals. This sad the Slovak Republic tally is nevertheless relatively good in improvements, turning the present, www.lifeenv.gov.sk largely “paper parks” into real pre- comparison with most western Euro- pean countries. serves. State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic Threatened paradise www.sopsr.sk Intensive agriculture and inappropri- ate forestry practices have signifi- Slovak Environmental Agency cantly intensified the pressure on the www.sazp.sk natural environment and exploitation of natural resources. The original Information System on Envi- structure of the landscape is gradu- ronment www.iszp.sk / 2003 with support | Produced Ministryand Water the Austrian from Federal Environment [email protected] Forests, of Agriculture, Beckmann, 2003. Layout: Author: Andreas.