On 9 to 11 September 2024, a delegation from Lao and Viet Nam visited Slovenia’s Triglav National Park and Škocjan caves World Heritage Site. The delegation represented Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and World Heritage Site in Viet Nam, Him Nam No National Park in Lao, and provinces involved in the preparation of the World Heritage nomination for the extension of the Vietnamese World Heritage Site to include Him Nam No as a transboundary property. The two protected areas and provinces are already engaged in transboundary cooperation and are committed to its strengthening in the future.

Triglav National Park and the Italian Prealpi Giulie Nature Park have a long and successful history of cooperation ever since the establishment of Prealpi Giulie in 1996. The two parks form part of the Julian Alps ecoregion where they share, among other issues, a common action plan, a transboundary vision, a joint sustainable tourism strategy, and as of 2024, a UNESCO designation as a transboundary Biosphere Reserve. Triglav’s Information Officer, Marko Pretner, and Prealpi Giulie’s Director, Stefano Santi, presented the transboundary Julian Alps in Trenta, gaining a lot of interest from the Asian delegation.

In Škocjan caves, Borut Perić, Head of Professional Services, welcomed the delegation and guided the guests throughout the caves of outstanding features. From the international designation perspective, Škocjan caves are not only a World Heritage Site, but also a Biosphere Reserve and a Ramsar site. The site compares with the extensive karst cave system in Lao and Viet Nam.

Additionally, the delegates participated at the international workshop hosted by Triglav National Park in Bled, where they discussed the future joint action plan. Representatives of UNESCO, IUCN, Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group of IUCN WCPA, and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe World Heritage Site provided presentations on various aspects of transboundary conservation, governance and World Heritage obligations, as well as initiatives in Asia.    

The study visit was organised by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, led by Carolin Frisch, Advisor. GIZ collaborated with Peter Shadie, Consultant, and Maja Vasilijević, Senior Advisor in IUCN WCPA Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group in the organisation and implementation of the study tour.