23. Models of Terraced Landscape Regeneration in the Case of Slovenia

Terraced landscapes in Slovenia are a feature that has only been partly inventoried and has not been properly recognized. However, it is possible to find many examples of terraced landscapes in the Register of Slovenian Cultural Heritage, which is a central repository of data on heritage maintained by the Slovenian Ministry of Culture. There are 220 immovable cultural heritage units registered as cultural landscapes. The register defines landscape heritage as a heritage site that is an open space with natural and artificial components in its structure, the development and use of which are chiefly determined by human processes and activities. All types of agricultural terraces can be found protected as cultural heritage areas. A comparison of terraced landscapes in Slovenia shows that terraces have been dramatically decreasing over the last decade. Models for renewing terraced landscape heritage in Slovenia have an agronomic basis. There is no model similar to terraced landscape management, and none of Slovenia’s terraced landscapes are protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This study presents new approaches to terraced landscape renewal based on strategic spatial planning, although the models are patterns whose idea can be understood but cannot be copied because the meaning of the context of individual examples varies. The main fear of people living in terraced landscapes, which are defined as cultural heritage sites, is that protective measures could pose many obstacles to their lives, work, and residence. Every regeneration of terraced landscapes must be based on the participation of the local community.