The INFO DAY for the "Presentation of the call for funding for preventive measures for a safe Karst" was held by the Municipality of Sežana and the Municipality of Komen on Thursday 09 January 2025. The aim of the call was to present concrete proposals for the implementation of preventive fire-fighting measures in the territory of both municipalities. The amount of funding available for the implementation of the measures this time is €195,000. This will be followed by a call for the Italian side of the Karst, where a further €100,000 will be available. The funding is from the Interreg Italy-Slovenia programme.
On the basis of the Situation Analysis and the Action Plan on Preventive Measures for a Safe Karst, three measures have been highlighted for which the available money can be spent, namely:
1. Establishing grazing on land around villages in the Karst in cooperation with herbivore breeders.
2. Establishing a buffer zone 50 m from the nearest building in settlements by removing combustible material, felling or deforestation.
3. preventive forest management in areas further than 50 m from settlements.
The call was open until 20 January 2025 and was open mainly to herbivore breeders already grazing animals and to private individuals, local and agrarian communities. The proposals will be evaluated by an expert committee in accordance with the published criteria, after which the municipalities will select contractors to carry out preventive fire-fighting measures to reduce the risk of fires spreading to settlements in the Karst region.
Unfortunately, given the large number of proposals, it will not be possible to implement individual measures within the available resources. However, it is very encouraging to note the large number of proposals received and the great interest shown by citizens in increasing the fire safety of villages, in particular through the measure to expand grazing areas. At the same time, the increase in the number of areas and animals will also increase the number of excellent local products from the Karst region, which will enrich the offer.
