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 Prepared by the Speleological Association of Slovenia Recently, the Law on Cave Protection was passed by the Slovenian parliament, valid as of January 30th 2004. This text presents some of its most important aspects which cavers should be aware of if they plan a visit into the Slovenian caves. The Law is available on-line, unfortunately in Slovenian language only. The topic is especially important in the wake of Slovenia's admission in the European Union on May 1st this year. Any questions can be addressed to the contact person predsedstvo@jamarska-zveza.si . Feel free to reproduce this text on-line or in print, with a reference to the Speleological Association of Slovenia. When visiting caves in a foreign country, the UIS (International Speleological Union) guidelines apply. They are not legally bounding, however, they constitute a basic code of behaviour the cavers are asked to comply. They are called "UIS Code of Ethics for Cave Exploration and Science in Foreign Countries" and are available on-line. One of the code's main issues is the need to contact the national speleological organisation and possibly organise a joint expedition. In any case the local cavers will be familiar with restrictions, documents needed etc. See the list of Slovenian caving clubs. Although the May 1st admittance of Slovenia in the European Union is widely talked about, it does not bring much change to the cavers from other EU countries. The UIS code is still valid for them, and the Law on Cave Protection does not distinguish between the nationalities. The only major differences are the ones concerning cave management, concessions, public projects etc. Principle issues of the Law on Cave Protection All the caves in Slovenia are by definition protected and a series of general restrictions apply on all of them: it is not allowed to bring any artificial materials into the caves, or take anything out of the caves, certain activities are prohibited (building, digging, drilling), and common restrictions apply which are usually in force in protected areas. Exceptions to some of these rules are possible for research activities. The penalties for violation of rules of conduct are severe, from 400 EUR to 120,000 EUR, in extreme cases of total destruction of a cave up to 380,000 EUR. These penalties apply for individual offenders; penalties for societies are even higher (e. g. a tourist agency organising an unlawful trip into a cave). Although in principle visiting a cave is free for everyone, any work beyond walking is already regarded as "research", such as e. g. fixing a spit or cave survey. For research a permit is required, some kind of "cave driving licence", it is officially called "qualification for independent cave activity". This license proves that you are aware of cave protection, minimal-impact caving and safety procedures. If you are coming from a UIS member country, your national caving proof will suffice. You will only have to apply for an inscription into the Ministry's cavers database. After that you can research in any cave you like, with certain exceptions. Doing research activities in a cave without this permit is an offence (penalty 200 EUR - 1200 EUR). If your home country is not a UIS member, or you haven't got any caving proof at home, you will have to apply for a basic caving drill in Slovenia. In short, people with no caving skills, neither domestic nor foreign, are not allowed to do cave research. Cave tourist tracking or any similar activity for payment is regulated separately. In this case contact the company which organises it directly. The research conclusions have to be reported to the Karst Research Institute or the Speleological Association of Slovenia. This includes basic features on the cave, such as entrance coordinates, length, presence of living organisms etc. The detailed procedures of permit confirmation, research reporting etc. have not been adopted yet. They will be approved in the coming months. The cavers who wish to visit the caves in Slovenia are advised to ask local cavers or the above contact address about the current state of legal bounds. Useful links Speleological Association of Slovenia International Speleological Union Karst Research Institute Ministry of the Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy of the Republic of Slovenia |
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