Municipalities in the Julian Alps are announcing a drastic increase in fines for wild camping.
Mayors of municipalities in Upper Carniola and the Soča Valley decided at today's meeting in Žirovnica that municipalities will introduce a uniform fine of 500 euros for unauthorized camping before the start of this year's summer season. Municipal councils will still need to discuss and decide on this.
In Upper Carniola municipalities, they have been warning for years that fines for unauthorized camping are too low, usually even lower than the cost of camping in an organized camp. The fine was just over 80 euros, or 40 euros if paid within eight days, and under the proposed amendment to the public order and peace act, 100 or 50 euros.
The legal amendment, which took effect at the end of January, introduced a different solution, namely the state left the authority to act in the area of unauthorized camping to local communities and removed the police's powers to impose sanctions, said Žirovnica mayor Leopold Pogačar.
Therefore, mayors of Upper Carniola municipalities, together with colleagues from the Soča Valley, decided at today's expanded coordination that in the Julian Alps biosphere area, the municipalities themselves will ensure order and peace in this area with a uniform fine. The fine must be high enough to deter violators from unauthorized camping, the mayors are convinced.
Uniform fine of 500 euros
In accordance with today's agreement, 11 mayors will propose to municipal councils to adopt amendments to municipal ordinances with a uniform fine for wild camping of 500 euros, which amounts to 250 euros if paid within eight days.
"If the fine were lower than the price of overnighting in an organized camp, it would not achieve its preventive purpose. Therefore, we decided on such a fine and I believe that the municipal councils will approve it," said Pogačar, who expects it to happen before this summer season.
As the mayors pointed out, unauthorized camping in tourist areas is a major problem, as people overnight without permission even on private land and near natural assets. Such camping brings disturbance among locals, noise, environmental pollution with garbage and feces, and also means lost revenue for organized camps and motorhome rest areas.
"So that the penalty is effective and achieves its purpose"
Kobarid mayor Marko Matajurc warned that tourists also camp by rivers, on access paths, even in the hills. "They choose the most beautiful pieces of nature for their vacation," he emphasized, adding that they choose wild camping despite sufficient space in organized camps.
Since police officers will no longer be able to monitor this area, this means a greater burden on inter-municipal inspectorates and warden services, which already face a shortage of workforce. Therefore, as the mayors assessed, it is even more important that the fine is effective and achieves its purpose.
Bled mayor Anton Mežan believes that the response to the high uniform fines will be so great that there will be considerably fewer violations in the future. "We know that some have literally mocked it so far and preferred to pay the fine rather than stay in a camp," highlighted Mežan.
The Bled mayor strives for the state to grant more powers to inter-municipal wardens and inspectors also in other tourism-related areas, including compliance with rules by tourist accommodation providers, as municipal services can respond faster and more effectively than state inspectorates.
At the same time as transferring obligations, appropriate conditions must also be ensured for this, so that inter-municipal inspectorates and warden services are not understaffed. As Matajurc pointed out, it is a demanding profession that needs to be appropriately valued in public administration and the warden service allocated higher pay grades with additional tasks.
Source:
https://n1info.si/novice/slovenija/obcine-v-julijskih-alpah-napovedujejo-drasticno-zvisanje-kazni-za-kampiranje-na-crno/