
16 Jun ON INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY WE PARTICIPATED IN THE FESTIVAL RAZNOŽIVO
On the occasion of the International Day of Biological Diversity, which took place on 22 May, the Centre for Cartography of Fauna and Flora (CKFF) took part in the first-ever festival called Raznoživo in the centre of Ljubljana. This year’s event was organized by the Municipality of Ljubljana under the theme From agreement to action: Building back biodiversity through inclusive conservation. The slogan is based on the agreement of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference on COP 15 in Montreal (2022), which agreed to protect 30% of the planet by 2030. The slogan calls for a focus on implementing this agreement. At the festival, 15 organizations presented their activities related to biodiversity conservation and were attended by more than 500 people.
At the CKFF stand, we presented the project LIFE AMPHICON, whose main objective is amphibian conservation and habitat restoration. We also presented project activities and interesting facts from the world of amphibians. Many people were attracted to the stand by the real-size models of amphibians, for which the vast majority of visitors were convinced that they were live animals. Visitors were able to get a closer look at models of the common toad (Bufo bufo), the European tree frog (Hyla arborea), the common frog (Rana temporaria), the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra), and two LIFE AMPHICON target species – the yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata) and the Italian crested newt (Triturus carnifex). They were also able to use the Identification key of Slovenian amphibians to help them with the determination of each species. The youngest visitors were excited about stickers and an origami quiz about amphibians, which they folded right at the stand or at home, while adults liked educational materials about amphibians.
Visitors of the Raznoživo festival were kindly invited to contribute to a better knowledge of amphibian distribution in their water, terrestrial habitats, or roadkill hotspots by submitting their observations of amphibians to the Coordination Centre for Amphibians in Slovenia. There are 20 species of amphibians in Slovenia, which currently represent 0,064% of the known native species. On a daily basis, you can check how many species live in Slovenia on the public counter set up on the Bioportal website.
Photo: T. Smolej and Branka Trčak (MOL)