Bela krajina

Sustainability and Slovenian Karst Landscapes: Evaluation of a Low Karst Plain

“…With the first approach we assessed the degree of human disturbance, based on an environmental index specific to karst areas, i.e., Karst Disturbance Index [24]. The index was assessed for the whole region as well as for its three municipalities:Črnomelj, Metlika and Semič (Figure 1).…”

“…If the credibility rating is below 0.1, it indicates a high level of confidence, while values above 0.4 indicate that more research is needed before the application of the index is plausible for the selected study region [11]. The original index was adapted to fit the data and characteristics of the study region [24], therefore some indicators were not included as they were found to be irrelevant to the study region, while others were included instead. This process also took into account the availability of data and the indicators were discussed among karst experts to validate their use.…”

“…With the second approach we analysed the sustainable development with a quantitative assessment by using sustainable development indicators [24]. We used a combined set of indicators, mainly from Ravbar [25] and Vintar Mally [26], consisting in a balanced way of the three main dimensions of sustainable development: environmental, economic and social.…”

“…We calculated the mean value of the indicators ordered by theme and then by sustainable development domain. Finally, we calculated the final sum of the scores to give an indication of sustainable development for each municipality [24]. If the sum value of the municipality was lower than the average in the region, a minus (-) was assigned; if the value was equal or not significantly different from the average for the region, an equal (=) was assigned; and if the value was higher than the average for the region, a plus (+) was assigned.…”

“…Since the opportunities for people to find jobs locally in non-agricultural activities were also modest, a large number of people have emigrated to other Slovenian regions or abroad. As a result of such out-migration, the region is today grappling with significant social and economic challenges [24].…”