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Description
The civil initiative Guardians of Sora, composed mainly of residents of Škofja Loka and the area of the Sora River, opposes the proposed project of anti-flood protective measures prepared by the Municipality of Škofja Loka and wants to include them in the financing program through the Recovery and Resilience Plan through the Directorate of Waters of the Republic of Slovenia. Despite the fact that the NOO envisages support for projects that take into account the principles of best nature solutions, the proposal itself does not take this into account to a sufficient extent, which civil society opposed. The municipality of Škofja Loka is ready to take into account comments and solutions proposed by civil society, but only these must be based on suitable professional foundations (hydrological study, analysis of legal sources, analysis of the state of habitats and the impact of interventions on them). With the Varuhi Sore project, we will design and produce an expert study in the form of an alternative proposal for flood protection. The production of an alternative expert study is a large financial burden, so the ACF Quick Response instrument is the right one to provide part of the funds for the production of the necessary professional bases.
The target groups we want to influence are directly involved in the design of the final proposal:
- Members of the project group led by the municipal administration of Škofja Loka Municipality
- Competent services of the Water Directorate of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Space
- Institute for Fisheries
- Institute of Nature Protection
- Ministry of Finance, Office for Recovery and Resilience
-European Commission
An alternative proposal for anti-flood protection based on a hydrological study will be made by a team led by dr. Polona Pengal from the Revivio Institute. Project activities within the framework of the preparation of an alternative proposal will be led by the AAG Environmental Center team led by Tony Mlakar.
Summary of project results
The Guardians of the Sora civil initiative emerged as a spontaneous, civilian response to the planned project of Škofja Loka Municipality for the regulation and development of the banks at the confluence of the Poljanska and Selška Sora in Škofja Loka. The planned measures by the municipality to increase flood protection would lead to the degradation of existing river habitats and the natural appearance of the area, as well as a reduction in the river’s floodplain space. Therefore, alternative proposals for flood control measures based on nature-based solutions needed to be prepared, and an advocacy campaign executed.
To effectively advocate for the Guardians of the Sora initiative, we prepared two essential documents that could be used to argue for the use of different methods and interventions from those planned by the developer. One of these was the set of measures titled “Proposals for Flood Control Measures in the Area of the Two Arms of the Sora River,” based on natural effects. In addition to the set of measures, we conducted an advocacy campaign that included 5 joint coordinating meetings with all stakeholders of the project and participated in a public presentation of the engineering solutions.
Some of the solutions proposed by the Guardians of the Sora were included in the final flood control measures, but not all, so the satisfaction and final success of the campaign are shared.