Type of the project: NGO BLOCK GRANT in the framework of Slovenian-Swiss cooperation programme to reduce economic and social disparities within the enlarged European Union.

General and specific objectives

Slovenian traffic network has been growing rapidly in the last two decades. The major share goes on the account of road infrastructure, while the growing rate of railway infrastructure is lower. The traffic network occupies great areas of land, causes habitat fragmentation and contributes greatly to mortality of wildlife. A physical barrier caused by ever growing road and railway network leads to increase in vehicle numbers, as well as growing vehicle velocities, together contribute to even worse traffic security and is at the same time a great threat to biotic diversity. Threats to biotic diversity rise out of human perception of nature, his attitude towards the latter and predominant behaviour patterns. All this also reflects in human attitude toward the traffic and traffic network construction. In order to bring the problematic to the people, we need higher awareness, motivation and better education. Project proposal will significantly contribute to higher public awareness about the threats traffic and its infrastructure pose to biotic diversity of Slovenia.

Slovenian drivers and young (future) drivers, that receive their education in driving schools, are the targeting group which we have focused on. We will also focus on driving instructors that act as promoters and multipliers of project message to new drivers. We wish to raise the environmental awareness among them, stressing the importance of safe driving for lives of animals as well as for people (11.3 % of road accidents on regional roads are caused by animal collision). We will cooperate with important organizations that can contribute a great share to improvement of recent situation in the field of traffic issue. Those organizations are Veterinarian and Hygienic Service, Council for Prevention and Education in Road Traffic, Slovenian Railways, hunting families and Slovenian Hunting Association, Biotechnical Faculty, DARS (Slovenian Highways), schools etc. We wish the traffic issue to enter into consciousness of every driver. In order to achieve that, we will launch preventive action in public media (radio news), deliver promoting material (leaflets with car stickers, traffic jackets, posters, web page) and educate (website, workshops).

Target groups

Target groups are young drivers, driving instructors and other drivers. We will try to reach as many as possible with help of hunters and local hunting organisations. On the other hand, we will also address decision makers in the field of traffic and encourage them to take these issues into account seriously in the future.

Main activities

We will raise consciousness among drivers on importance of biodiversity and traffic as a threat to wildlife. We will prepare different promotion materials, based on expert study results and organize lectures for participants in traffic. Leaflets with important information on how to avoid traffic accidents with wildlife and what to do in the case of such accident will be prepared. All important telephone numbers and addresses will be published. We will also stress the importance of wildlife and present endangered and protected animal species. Expert study Traffic and animals will analyze the situation in the field of this problematic and produce practical guidelines as well as mitigation measures for wildlife conservation. We will need to keep records for major road casualty causes on selected road segments, to study specifics of particular species, to define critical year periods, and to present some good practices of solving wildlife migrations over the traffic barriers etc. The purpose of the study is not only widening of knowledge about this issue and guideline preparation, but also an understandable presentation of the topic, guidelines and measures to all stakeholders, who plan the traffic infrastructure. The promoting material and the expert wildlife road casualty study results will be in long terms accessible to broad public and will contribute to the benefit of people and biotic diversity in Slovenia. According to further trends of development in the country we expect the situation to become more problematic than it is today; therefore, it is important to act on time. We will organize a radio aid for drivers (Traffic info), that will warn them about actual situation about wildlife on the roads even while driving.

All activities and materials made in the project will be available for performing also for our Swiss partner, Pro Lutra.

Expected results

• Expert study on Traffic and Wildlife issues in Slovenia
• Leaflet for drivers with sticker for the back of the car (warning other drivers about wildlife on roads)
• Signal traffic jackets equipped with warning signs with different animals (road wildlife biodiversity)
• Traffic messages for radio (warning drivers of most common animals on roads in specific time of the year)
• Info posters about the project workshops for drive instructors
• Handbook for planners, builders and other decision makers in the field of road and railway infrastructure
• Press conference
• Project web page with interactive form for animal accidents reports
• Promotion of the project in media