The Institutional Tools of Integrated Landscape Management in Slovakia for Mitigation of Climate Change and Other Natural Disasters

Abstract

The most frequent natural disasters in Slovakia are related to climatic events, in particular to the sudden intensive rains, quick run-off and unbalanced water regime. They induce soil erosion and accumulation, flash floods, landslides, overwhelming waterlogging and also draught. Since these events have an impact throughout the whole landscape - the forest, agricultural and urban landscape, which are under the management of different sectors, the integration of the sectoral planning tools for the mitigation of their consequences is inevitable. Integration is a difficult process of dual character: it requires the development of landscape-ecological methods applicable to land management tools on one side and the creation of legal provisions ensuring the transfer of those scientific principles to legislation, on the other side. This paper deals with both sides of this process in Slovakia.