On the Sunny Side of the Alps: Slovenian Mountains and Their Perspectives - Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions: Southeastern Europe - page 196

Also the Dinaric region reflects mountain characteristics - especially by level of
surface inclination and average height above the sea level. The Alps and Dinaric
mountains both together represent 70.2% of the Slovenian territory, which gives the
impression that Slovenia is a mountainous country. Owing to environmental char-
acteristics, most of Slovenia is mountainous but in the mind of the Slovenians real
mountains are only the Alps with peaks over forest line and their valleys.
There are some facts, which reflect Slovenian relation to the mountains. The
highest Slovenian peak Triglav has the central position in the state emblem. There
are over 60,000 members of Alpine Association of Slovenia in more than 200 moun-
tain clubs throughout Slovenia. Tourist slogan in the late 1980s and early 1990s,
when patriotism was at the highest, was “On the sunny side of the Alps”. Article 71
of the Slovenian Constitution defines that the state cares about economical, cultural
and social development of mountain regions (but there is no criteria what mountain
regions are). Most of the Slovenian rivers have nival-fluvial regime. Slovenia has
two small glaciers of which Ledenik pod Skuto is the most south-eastern glacier in
the Alps. Their extent is measured in hectares but there are much larger areas which
used to be covered with glaciers and therefore have typical glacial geomorphology.

Slovenia Alpine region Alps and Dinaric mountains

Area (km 2 ) 20,272 8,541 (42.1%) 14,247 (70.2%)

Population - Census 2002 (in thousand) 1,966 924 (47.0%) 1,232 (63.7%)

Average elevation (m) 557 732 672

Average inclination ( o )

14.1 19.6 16.6

Source: Geographical Institute Anton Melik, Slovenia

16.1.1 Definition of the Mountain Areas in Slovenia

Most of Slovenia is mountainous but generally only the Alps are considered as the
real mountains. And criteria for the mountain areas are stricter in Slovenian national
legislation. The mountain area defined in this chapter covers a larger part of the
Slovenian territory than the mountain area defined by the Ministry of Agriculture.
There is no administrative map defining mountain areas in Slovenia. The only
official definition of mountain areas was prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Food in 2000 (Decree on criteria for determination of areas with lim-
ited conditions for agricultural activity). Mountain areas are defined as areas above
700 m or areas with a slope over 20% or areas above 500 m and a slope of at least
15%. This definition is important for the implementation of the stimulation measures
for countryside areas.
In Slovenia no administrative regionalisation has been done yet. Statistical units
are basic level for regional development policy. But among 12 statistical units there
is no special “mountain” unit. New regions proposal is based mostly on economic
and historical differentiation, which again does not separately define mountain