The Triglav National Park and Soline Company, which runs the Sečovlje Salt Flats Regional Park, have been granted over 1.2 million euros at the tender of the EGP Financial Mechanism for the programme period 2014–2019. The tender was open to all operators of protected natural habitats in Slovenia who have managed to decrease the number of people who visit their parks using motorised vehicles.

The Sečovlje Regional Park as the main partner has invested and will continue to invest funds in infrastructure as well as for purchasing electric vehicles. Its project partner, Strunjan Regional Park, will purchase bicycles to contribute to "implementing systems that would enable the accessibility of natural and cultural heritage also for future generations", points out Marko Starman, who runs the Strunjan park.

Andrej Sovinc from the Sečovlje Salt Flats Regional Park explains: "The prime purpose of the Cars Out project is to bring an environmentally sustainable project to the protected areas – which are of utmost importance for the conservation of nature – by giving the option for the park to be visited in a way that brings no interference, neither to the nature nor to the visitors. This would prove that we can live on this planet in a more environmentally friendly way than we do today."

Let's hope other Slovenian parks will follow the good example set at the Sečovlje salt plats.

Maja Kirar, Radio Slovenija;
translated by K. Z.