Karmen Peternelj, Sanja Alaber, Miloš Bavec, Stefano Devoto, Stefano Furlani, Goran Glamuzina, Jernej Jež, Tvrtko Korbar, Maja Oven Stanič, Maria Luisa Perissinotto, Fabiana Pieri, Duška Rokavec, Ivan Stanič, Domen Zupančič
The fact that in Karst areas, where traditional construction has used stone as the basic material for centuries (e.g. stone for roofs, portals, paving, etc.), the primary autochthonous material – platy limestone – is being replaced with imported and/or even a completely different type stone or material (e.g. sheet metal roofs) is entirely unacceptable. The reason for these actions on the part of investors and construction companies is a simple one: in a larger part of the project area, with the exception of Croatia, there are no quarries where one can – legally and based on mining rights – exploit and extract platy limestone that has been traditionally used as a building material in Karst architecture in the past.
There has been a desire on the part of the project team and the broader public for expert groundwork and recommendations to be prepared for the potential future amendment of legislation in a way that would allow the legal acquisition of suitable building material, i.e. platy limestone, which would be used especially for the renovation of cultural heritage buildings. The fact is that it is impossible to ask building owners and future investors to use autochthonous building material for the conservation (restoration) or renovation of buildings, which may even be protected as cultural monuments of local or national importance, if that material cannot be obtained legally.
The question that arose when drafting the guidelines for legislative amendments is whether the extraction of platy limestone could be regulated within the scope of nature protection legislation. The case in question involves the extraction of small quantities of platy limestone for a particular purpose, i.e. the renovation, conservation or restoration of cultural heritage buildings.
As regards nature protection legislation, it should be mentioned that its main aim is to protect nature or contribute to nature preservation through legislative measures
As regards nature protection legislation, it should be mentioned that its main aim is to protect nature or contribute to nature preservation through legislative measures. Legal acts employ prescribed measures to protect valuable natural features, protected areas, Natura 2000 sites, ecologically important areas and protected mineral and fossil sites. As has been found within the scope of a comparative legal analysis of the valid nature protection legislation in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Italy (Appendix 5.1), platy limestone has none of the prescribed statuses, which is why nature protection legislation does not prescribe direct restrictions or prohibitions. According to the regulations in force, its extraction can be limited or even prohibited if it is located in an area under a special protection regime as the nature protection legislation in force may limit or prohibit, for example, interventions in nature, the commercial exploitation of natural resources, the excavation or removal of rock, minerals or fossils, even the exploration and removal of the research material from nature as well as visiting or viewing a particular area. The prescribed restrictions represent an obstacle to the extraction of platy limestone, and we should emphasise in this regard that the law prescribes restrictions or prohibitions on general measures, while detailed rules of conduct in an individual protected area are stipulated by the acts issued by the state or the local community.
Since platy limestone, like all natural stone, is classified as a mineral resource, the legal basis for its extraction is the mining legislation. Despite the above, nature protection legislation prevents the extraction of platy limestone in certain locations for various reasons, which it does through prescribed protection measures.
The Slovenian Nature Conservation Act allows the limitation or prohibition of certain activities in areas with valuable natural features, protected areas, Natura 2000 sites and ecologically important areas, which can represent an obstacle to the extraction of platy limestone. In areas with valuable natural features, the act prescribes the option of restrictions on activities or the use of a valuable natural feature, but only to the extent that is urgent for the preservation of the valuable natural feature, its protection or renovation. Activity or use of the valuable natural feature are limited by an act on protection or an act on temporary protection. If the restriction of the activity or use of the valuable natural feature is not prescribed by way of the act, the area with the valuable natural feature and its protection regime does not represent an obstacle to the extraction of platy limestone.
Slovenian legislation prescribes certain restrictions or prohibitions in protected areas differently or in greater detail
Slovenian legislation prescribes certain restrictions or prohibitions in protected areas differently or in greater detail. The general rule is that interventions and activities in protected areas are to be carried out in accordance with the act on protection and the management plan, whereby the management plan should determine the protection regime, development orientations and other content stipulated in the act on protection in detail. Slovenian legislation differentiates between narrower and broader protected areas. In broader protected areas, the act prescribes the possibility of the act on protection limiting or prohibiting the following interventions or activities:
whereby the characteristics of the protected area and the purpose of protection need to be taken into account in all cases when issuing prohibitions or restrictions. The essential aspect is that it is impossible to prohibit or restrict the renovation of buildings by way of the act on protection pursuant to the existing legislation; this can only be done for the construction of new buildings. As regards the narrow protection areas, the act prescribes the rules of conduct for an individual type of the narrow protected area. The law thus prescribes a general rule for a natural monument area, i.e. that it is prohibited in the protected area to perform interventions in nature in a way that could cause a deterioration of the state of a valuable natural feature, change, damage or destroy a valuable natural feature, and modify the conditions or the state by modifying, damaging or destroying a valuable natural feature or impairing its aesthetic importance. The act on protection can specifically prohibit or restrict:
whereby it is prohibited in the protected area to carry out activities using means and in a manner that could cause significant changes to the biodiversity, structure and function of ecosystems, and to perform activities at times when the existence of flora and fauna is threatened, while the act on protection can serve to prohibit or restrict:
whereby the characteristics of the protected area and the purpose of protection need to be taken into account. This is an arrangement similar to the case of a natural monument with the difference being that the act on the protection of a natural reserve allows a restriction or prohibition on causing noise. The law thus prescribes a general rule for the area of an integral natural reserve, i.e. that it is prohibited in the protected area to perform interventions or perform activities that threaten the preservation of the protected area, the deliberate destruction of flora and fauna and the presence of people, however, with the exception of those carrying out supervision, while detailed rules can be laid down in the act on protection. Despite the prescribed rule, the extraction of platy limestone in the area of an integral natural reserve, i.e. in small quantities, is possible, which is why a legislative amendment or supplementation is not reasonable in this part.
The rules on conduct in Natura 2000 sites are prescribed in greater detail in the Natura 2000 site management programme. The case under consideration involves sites that are protected in accordance with the European legislation, which is why the eventual amendment of the legislation is unreasonable as European law must be observed. In order to perform interventions in Natura 2000 sites, an environmental impact assessment must be performed in accordance with the legislation, within the scope of which the competent authority must determine whether the extraction of platy limestone in small quantities could have a negative impact on the environment or a Natura 2000 site, which it would not on account of the small quantities extracted. In accordance with the legislation, the extraction of platy limestone is possible in ecologically important areas, as are all interventions and activities with the legislation only requiring the performance of interventions or activities to be planned to preserve the natural occurrence of habitat types and the habitats of plant and animal species, their quality and the connection between the habitats of populations to the greatest extent possible, as well as to enable re-connection if such were discontinued by the planned intervention or activity.
The preservation of authenticity and originality in a particular milieu characterised by the use of platy limestone in building construction is regulated by the European Landscape Convention
Like Slovenian legislation, the Croatian nature protection legislation prescribes a set of prohibitions or restrictions for protected areas; however, in a more general sense:
It is also important to mention that the Croatian Spatial Planning Act defines the protected coastal area, i.e. a belt of land and islands with a width of 1000 metres from the coastline. In this area, which is of special interest to the state, exploitation and surveying of mineral resources, which includes platy limestone, are prohibited. Despite this, the second paragraph of Article 48 of the abovementioned act expressly permits the exploitation of architectural-construction stone for the purpose of continued traditional activities on the islands of Brač and Korčula and the Pelješac peninsula, whereby this is permitted under the conditions stipulated by the Croatia Mining Act – exclusively based on a concession.
Like the Croatian legislation, Bosnian nature protection legislation does not prescribe a detailed set of prohibitions or restrictions on interventions or activities, but rather just a general rule that only interventions or activities that do not damage a protected area or do not impair the properties that lead to an area being protected are allowed in protected areas and other protected valuable natural features. In view of the above, we can conclude that an amendment to Bosnian legislation is not urgently required as the extraction of platy limestone in small quantities cannot cause a deterioration of properties that lead to an area being protected, while an arrangement for exceptions could be proposed for the Croatian legislation as evident from the preceding paragraph. A more general arrangement is contained in Italian legislation as areas with valuable natural features that are protected by law prohibit their owners or holders from destroying them or from making any changes that impair the state of the valuable natural feature. Italian legislation prescribes no further restrictions or prohibitions in regard to valuable natural features. The same prohibitions or restrictions apply to protected areas as well. It can be concluded from the above that the general prohibitions or restrictions prescribed by the legislation in force do not represent an obstacle to the extraction of platy limestone in small quantities.
The preservation of authenticity and originality in a particular milieu characterised by the use of platy limestone in building construction is regulated by the European Landscape Convention. The convention was adopted by all four countries participating in the RoofOfRock project to achieve greater uniformity in the protection and realisation of the ideals and principles that represent their common heritage and for the objective to be achieved mainly through agreements in economic and social areas.
The cultural landscape contributes to the formation of local cultures and is the fundamental element of European natural and cultural heritage. It also contributes to prosperity and the strengthening of Europe's recognition. An important element of the cultural landscape in participating countries includes platy limestone as the characteristic building material that is present in local construction and thus forms a part of the common identity of all countries.
Over the course of the project, all aspects and characteristics of the Karst cultural landscape related to platy limestone have been identified, i.e. from its extraction (sites, extraction method, specific geological features, etc.) to its use that is demonstrated in today's cultural heritage.
It would therefore be necessary to allow the use of locally available material, maintenance and replacement with the same material for the preservation of immovable cultural heritage in accordance with the provisions of the European Landscape Convention, as well as other international guidelines and conventions (Nara Document on Authenticity, UNESCO conventions and guidelines, etc.). Only in this way can the local identity be preserved, e.g. construction that has been characteristic of individual areas for centuries. By allowing the extraction of local materials in an area, all aspects of this characteristic Karst cultural landscape will be expressed, preserved and revived – in all areas of cultural landscapes in participating countries.
The proposal for reopening existing quarries is based on the European Landscape Convention, as well as on the national legislation of individual participating countries.
In all of these countries, the cultural landscape is defined as an area that is protected on account of its valuable cultural and natural features by prescribing specific regimes
In all of these countries, the cultural landscape is defined as an area that is protected on account of its valuable cultural and natural features by prescribing specific regimes. Recording in the cultural heritage register or the record on the state level that is kept by all countries involved in the project is performed by a prescribed procedure that is characteristic of an individual country's law. By recording a particular area or site in the cultural heritage register in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the local register in Italy as a Karst cultural landscape, a major stride would be made towards the improved legal extraction of platy limestone and its direct use in the renovation of cultural heritage buildings.
In Slovenia, the procedure is provided for by the Cultural Heritage Protection Act and the Rules on the cultural heritage register. The procedure for the proclamation of a cultural landscape as a monument of national importance, monument of local importance or registered heritage is as follows:
In Croatia, the procedure for the protection of the cultural landscape is identical to that in Slovenia. The petition for recording in the register can be issued by anyone, whereby the petition and the relevant documentation are prepared by the relevant expert institution, i.e. the Conservation Department, which is a body affiliated to the Croatian Ministry of Culture. The register is kept by the ministry competent for culture. The mentioned procedure is laid down by the Act on the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Goods (Zakon o zaštiti i očuvanju kulturnih dobara) and the Rules on the Establishment, Contents and Keeping of the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Pravilnik o obliku, sadržaju in načinu vodenja Registra kulturnih dobara Republike Hrvatske). In Italy, the procedure is laid down by the Cultural and Landscape Code, Decree 42 from 2004. The cultural landscape is placed on a level footing with other cultural heritage in Italy and has a separate act regulating it. The petition for the proclamation of a cultural landscape site (or the reopening of a quarry/open pit within a cultural landscape site for the purpose of cultural heritage building renovation) can also be issued by anyone, though an expert (architect) is required for the preparation of the relevant documentation. The petition and the entire documentation are submitted to the regional office that is competent for cultural heritage, which in turn decides on whether to proclaim a site as part of the cultural landscape.
The project group proposes that the area to be protected as a cultural landscape site should be determined first. Areas that would be reasonable to protect as cultural landscape sites are those where proposed potential locations for the future exploitation of platy limestone are located and which have in their vicinity cultural heritage buildings where the obtained building material would be used directly. A petition would be prepared for these areas to be recorded in the cultural heritage register according to the abovementioned procedure that is laid down by the valid legislation of an individual country and the adopted European or international conventions. The petition would be submitted to the competent unit of the relevant service tasked with cultural heritage protection in the region or country, or to the competent ministries (depending on the competences and the organisation of the service in an individual country). The petition should stress the importance of the revitalisation of these quarries for the preservation of cultural heritage in the area, its authenticity and integrity. The permitted excavation of limited amounts of platy limestone should be defined, whereby the stone would be used only for the purpose of preserving cultural heritage (its authenticity and integrity), and the historical importance and sustainable use of selected quarries/sites with platy limestone should be described.
The proclamation of an individual area as a protected cultural landscape site would serve as the basis for the issue of a relevant conservation plan or a plan for the management of a particular area, which should prescribe the use of the material for construction (cultural heritage buildings would be the priority) so as to ensure originality and authenticity and the preservation of local jobs.
The recommendations proposed are:
Conditions for the architectural planning and execution of construction are defined in regulatory provisions of spatial planning acts, whereby they depend on the requirements for monument protection in protected cultural heritage sites, certain buildings and cultural landscape areas. The objectives and principles of spatial management and regulation are usually provided in statutory documents of the relevant administrative level (region, municipality, etc.). Considering that originality and authenticity are not distinct spatial planning values but rather the assumed and recognised values of heritage protection (monuments and cultural landscapes), the competent management level must take suitable steps to require and ensure the use of local material for specified, legally definable purposes.
The requirement for the use of a specific building material that is not laid down according to the established/required procedures, i.e. the recording of a monument in the protected heritage register, the proclamation of a site as a cultural landscape site, etc., may represent interference with the free market and the priority treatment of a particular construction product, which is impermissible.
Regions and municipalities should initiate procedures for the re-instatement of abandoned quarries and other extraction sites in municipal and regional spatial plans and should designate the relevant land use for them, as well as determine the spatial planning conditions for the exploitation of mineral resources.
It would be reasonable to define the possibility of reopening abandoned extraction sites, quarries or pits for the exploitation of platy limestone for the domestic market in national regulations. This would promote the use of an authentic and original material in the immediate surroundings and only for the desired purpose.
Because the extraction of minerals is an activity associated with a particular place, which it also strongly affects, the planning of the use of minerals is always associated with land use allocation planning.
According to the Mining Act, natural stone is not classified as a mineral resource deserving special treatment in Slovenia, as is the case with energy resources that are defined as resources of strategic importance. The Mining Act nevertheless stipulates that the national mining strategy may define the exploitation of certain types of mineral resources that are the only source or that are not widespread in terms of quality or are required for the realisation of public interests laid down by another act as strategically important for the economic and social development of the Republic of Slovenia. Unique mineral resources that are important for the country or region primarily include unique (autochthonous) natural materials that are a part of the national identity or the cultural and natural heritage and landscape. Despite this wording, natural stone is either treated in context with all other mineral resources or no exceptions apply to it.
In municipal spatial plans, mining site areas are defined with a detailed land use allocation as "areas of the aboveground extraction of mineral resources"
In municipal spatial plans, mining site areas are defined with a detailed land use allocation as "areas of the aboveground extraction of mineral resources". It would therefore be necessary to define in these documents the areas for the extraction of natural stone as potential areas for the exploitation of mineral resources. Abandoned quarries should, upon the amendment and/or supplementation of regulations governing mining, also be designated as potential exploitation sites for the extraction of natural stone for the renovation of buildings recorded in the register of cultural heritage of national or local importance. Platy limestones are a raw material that is incomparably less widespread in the broader project area than the limestones that are used as engineered stone. Natural features or geological conditions should be the primary concern, and only in the subsequent steps should other spatial planning interests (e.g. traffic infrastructure) be considered in the designated areas where platy limestone occurs in confirmed quantities and quality.
In Slovenia and Italy, there are no mining extraction sites to legally extract platy limestone, even though potential sites exist and have been recorded. In Croatia, there are a few legal quarries extracting platy limestone, however a lot of it remains in situ and on the surface as stone gathering is prohibited by modern legislation in the entire project area.
We should touch upon the new regulations in force regulating the collection of waste building material, where it would be reasonable to lay down the option of collecting and sorting natural stone in predetermined landfills, as well as the regimes applying to the use of such material.
We propose that the national regulations prescribe the possibility of re-using natural stone as a building material, mainly for protected buildings and in proclaimed cultural landscapes where authenticity and originality are the primary objectives. The above applies mainly in areas where the exploitation of natural stone in the (currently) abandoned extraction sites is prohibited.
alternative legal possibilities for the use of this material in construction (e.g. re-use) should be established
Considering the current conditions relating to the legal status of platy limestone as a building material, which is not recognised in any country as a standardised construction product that could be placed directly on the construction products market, alternative legal possibilities for the use of this material in construction (e.g. re-use) should be established. Since platy limestone does not have a CE certificate, the use of this material should be permitted based on the so-called national technical approval. It is important for a product or material to have a CE certificate because it can only be marketed throughout the EU based on this certificate. The procedure for acquiring the certificate is complex and lengthy. Because platy limestone is neither of sufficient quality nor a desired material for manufacturers to initiate procedures for the acquisition of the CE certificate, we propose the use of the national technical approval. In this case, the material should be available at controlled "construction waste" landfills.
the biggest problem in the entire project area is the accessibility of autochthonous building material, i.e. platy limestone
We can conclude based on the studied aspects that the biggest problem in the entire project area is the accessibility of autochthonous building material, i.e. platy limestone. The main obstacle is the extremely strict mining legislation that equalises large commercial quarries extracting large quantities of construction stone annually with small local autochthonous stone quarries or open pits. In addition (or better yet primarily) to the determination and protection of selected areas as cultural landscape sites, we therefore propose an amendment or supplementation of the mining legislation by again including in the Slovenian Mining Act the wording on the one-off extraction of natural stone that was until recently included in Article 91 of the former mining act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 61/2010). By introducing this article again, it would be possible to perform the one-off extraction of natural stone in a particular volume for the purpose of the renovation of educational, sacral and other cultural heritage buildings within a proposed cultural landscape site, i.e. buildings that could not be renovated without such autochthonous materials.
Article 91 of the Mining Act that is to be reinstated according to our proposal was worded as follows:
(exceptions and special features for the reconstruction or renovation of built structures)
(1) The minister responsible for mining may, at the proposal of the investor intending to reconstruct a particular structure or carry out maintenance thereon in accordance with the regulations governing the construction of structures, decide that natural stone in the maximum amount of 1000 m3 be extracted for such works in a particular open pit.
(2) The decision referred to in the preceding paragraph is adopted by the minister responsible for mining by way of a decision, against which no appeal is allowed and which is to be served on the investor.
(3) The holder of the mining right shall not pay a mining concession fee for extracting from an open pit the quantity of natural stone extracted pursuant to the decision referred to in the preceding paragraph, while the costs incurred in the extraction shall be borne by the investor.
It would be reasonable to amend the mining legislation in the other three countries in the same or similar manner. This would enable the extraction of platy limestone in a legal way, which would first and foremost contribute to the possibilities for the preservation of autochthonous Karst architecture for future generations.
