Restoring wetlands and grasslands in Ljubljansko Barje

Exploring how wetland and grassland restoration interacts with land management, local livelihoods and the different benefits and costs experienced by stakeholders.

At a glance

Ljubljansko Barje, SloveniaLocation

SloveniaCountry / region

Freshwater / wetland and grasslandEcosystem

PlannedStatus

Nature park authorities, land managers, public authorities, local stakeholders, environmental organisations and researchersKey stakeholders

Drainage, agricultural intensification, urban expansion, biodiversity loss, carbon pressures and invasive speciesRestoration context

Understanding the benefits, costs and distributional implications of restoring wetland and grassland functionsNatuRISE focus

The context

What is happening here?

Ljubljansko Barje is a distinctive wetland and grassland landscape shaped by interactions between water management, agriculture, biodiversity and human settlement.

Drainage, agricultural intensification and urban expansion have changed the landscape and contributed to the degradation of wet meadows and wetland habitats. These changes can affect biodiversity, carbon storage and the wider range of ecosystem services provided by the area.

Restoration offers opportunities to recover ecological functions, but can also affect land management, local livelihoods and the interests of different groups.

Szerző: Ljubljansko Barje Krajinski Park

The restoration challenge

The challenge is to identify restoration approaches that improve wetland and grassland functions while taking account of land-use interests and the different benefits and costs experienced by stakeholders. NatuRISE will explore:

restoration of wet meadows and wetland habitats;
effects of drainage and agricultural intensification;
biodiversity and ecosystem-service recovery;
carbon-related benefits and trade-offs;
pressures from urban expansion;
invasive species;
implications for land managers and local communities.

The case study will particularly help investigate how restoration benefits and costs are distributed across places and groups.

Who is involved?

Nature park and public authorities
Provide local knowledge, policy and management perspectives and information relevant to restoration planning.

Land managers
Contribute practical experience of land management, restoration measures and implementation constraints.

Environmental organisations and civil society
Bring perspectives on biodiversity, conservation and societal values.

Researchers
Assess ecological, economic, spatial and social dimensions of restoration

What will NatuRISE explore?

The questions this case study will answer

What benefits could wetland and grassland restoration provide?
What costs or opportunity costs could arise for land managers?
How could restoration affect biodiversity, carbon and other ecosystem services?
Who benefits from restoration and who may face costs?
How could restoration outcomes vary across the landscape?
Which measures could provide the greatest overall benefits while remaining feasible?

How will we work together?

Stakeholder knowledge will be integrated throughout the case study through the Listen → Define → Assess → Test → Refine process.

Stakeholders will help identify relevant restoration options and evaluation criteria, review emerging assessments and explore how different options could work in the local context.

What will the case study contribute?

The Ljubljansko Barje case study will demonstrate how NatuRISE can combine spatial, ecological, economic and distributional perspectives to support restoration decisions in complex wetland and agricultural landscapes.

From case study to action

The NatuRISE case studies connect scientific evidence with real-world restoration decisions. Through collaboration with stakeholders, each case study will help test and refine methods for understanding the benefits, costs, trade-offs and distributional effects of nature restoration. As the project progresses, this page will evolve from a description of the context into a gateway to the evidence generated through the case study.