Press release of the National Parks of the Slovak Republic “Care for national parks must remain in the regions”, Gader, August 14, 2023
The directors of national parks welcome the possibility of buying land from the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic and appeal to owners who are considering selling their land in national parks to take advantage of this offer. Thanks to the ownership of the territory, national parks can fully take over the protection of the most precious natural sites in Slovakia. At the same time, national parks can become an important support point for the development of local economies and expand the interest of tourists in visiting the region. A total of €68 million from the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic is intended for the purchase of land in national parks from private owners.
Since April 1, 2022, when national parks began to operate with their own legal personality, they have been gradually taking over state land into their administration. This step has significantly expanded the possibilities of how to protect Slovakia’s natural heritage, and today there is an open call that also involves privately owned land in this process. The official web application ponukavykupupozemkov.sk help people prepare an offer of land for purchase by the state.
“A total of 68 million euros is the amount of funds that has never been released for the purchase of land in Slovak history. It is more than likely that such a situation will not happen again after the end of the recovery plan. It is a good opportunity for ordinary people to sell land if they want to do so,” said Eduard Apfel, director of the Veľká Fatra National Park Administration based in Martin, emphasizing that this is a chance to protect our precious natural heritage for future generations.
The management of the purchased land by the state will be given to the individual administrations of national parks, which guarantees that the care of the area will remain in the region. The director of the Slovak Karst National Park Administration, Milan Olekšák, plans to involve local residents in the care of non-forest land. “Nature protection is a priority of the national park and will continue to be followed by the current Forest Care Program. We count on the local population to work on agricultural land,” said Olekšák.
Legal entities can also offer their land in national parks. The director of the Malá Fatra National Park Administration, Gabriela Kalašová, focuses mainly on fair and transparent communication with owners. “We have the opportunity to reach an agreement in this form, whether with natural or legal persons, and therefore we are looking for a consensus. We want to ensure the protection of nature in the public interest on the one hand, and on the other hand, we assure the owners of the land that the purchase of the land is voluntary and they are the ones who propose the price at which they want to sell their land,” said Kalašová.
It is the ownership of land by the state that allows national park administrations to manage the most precious Slovak nature more effectively. Unified nature protection will be built on sustainable principles, clear development plans and without restrictions on owners who are determined to sell the land. “Thanks to ownership and agreements with the owners, we already have 54% of the territory in the Tatra National Park under the strictest protection regime. We can support soft tourism, meet the needs of visitors and at the same time fulfill our basic function – to protect the most valuable nature,” said Pavol Majko, director of the Tatra National Park Administration based in Tatranská Lomnica. At the same time, he pointed out that the principle of the currently ongoing purchase is based on the voluntariness of the owner to offer his land for purchase.
In addition to nature protection, well-functioning national parks are also becoming a pillar of sustainable economic development in the region. They directly support employment in the retail, hotel and gastronomic sectors. National parks successfully cooperate with local authorities through the National Parks Board, which is established by each national park. In addition to the national park councils, national park administrations also communicate about the possibility of buying land directly with mayors and citizens. “We have provided coordinators for the purchase of land in the administration, who answer citizens’ questions in connection with the purchase. Those interested can either call us on a dedicated number or they can arrange a personal consultation with the national park administration. Open communication works well for us and therefore we invite every owner who has land in the national park and is considering selling it to contact us,” emphasizes Vladimír Kĺč, director of the Pieniny National Park Administration.
Contacts for the purchase coordinators can be found on the official website of each national park administration and on the www.ponukavykupupozemkov.sk/sk/contacts website. In addition, owners who need more information on how to offer their land in the national park for purchase by the state can sign up for an online information seminar organized by the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic. The seminar will take place online on Tuesday, August 15, starting at 4:30 p.m. and you can sign up at this link.
Through the ponukavykupupozemkov.sk application, the owner can offer his land without filling out unnecessary forms. The application communicates with publicly available information from the Land Registry. For owners, it is enough to log in to the ponukavykupupozemkov.sk website and enter their personal data (name, surname, date of birth).
The sale itself is voluntary, it will take place only after the offer has been approved and the contract with the owner has been signed. During September 2023, the evaluation of bids will begin, which will last until the end of October. The decision will be made by a commission composed of representatives of the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic and the Value for Money Unit.
