EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - UNESCO World Heritage

technological innovations with the use of E-learning (www.poznajachran.sk) that for instance
inform visitors on the formation of flysh or karst bedrock that in turn provides foothold for
primeval forests of the nominated properties. The Centre also provides a unique opportunity
for explaining the underlying natural history through a GPS-aided system coupled with
Pocket PCs, which itself is a major innovation usable for explaining the natural history of any
natural heritage, because it “shrinks” the time scale.
Fig. 5: GPS-aided dynamic visualisation
of the nominated properties’ natural history
Location-specific, GPS-controlled dynamic animations run on the
Pocket PCs that are distributed among the visitors prior to the tour. The
animations pre-installed on the hand-held devices help the visitors to
visualize the long-term ecological processes in the forest, as explained by the guides, such as
geological developments and primeval forests dynamics. Main accommodation and boarding
services are available in pensions in Nová Sedlica and Stakčín.
5.i Policies and programmes related to the presentation and promotion of the property
Information about the site is presented in various basic research and forestry publications
in Slovak and foreign scientific literature. However, presentation and promotion of the
nominated among the domestic and foreign population uses various channels, such as movies,
media coverage and a dedicated project “Green diplomacy”. The most successful among the
movies in terms of awards were the “Primeval forests of the Carpathians” (produced by the
Centre for Scientific Tourism in Slovakia at the Slovak Academy of Sciences), awarded prize
for the documentation of natural heritage at the international film festival Envirofilm 1999,
which was then aired on Slovak TV, further “Through the Carpathians” and others. These
movies were distributed in schools. Green diplomacy is a project that aims at rising the
awareness of primeval forests by promoting them through the visits of prominent persons,
such as ambassadors and personalities known from the public life. As an exampe, HRH The
Prince of Wales in his capacity as a nature enthusiast visited a primeval forest in Slovakia in
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