COMDEKS

The SGP Slovakia Country Programme has recently released ‘Community Development in Harmony with Nature’, a new video produced by SGP Slovakia with COMDEKS funding that documents the landscape approach piloted by COMDEKS, and highlights supported initiatives that have successfully strengthened community development and landscape resilience in Slovakia. The COMDEKS Programme in Slovakia has supported  seven community initiatives located in the north-eastern part of the Východoslovenská nížina Lowland, in the Latorica river basin. The video summarizes synergies among COMDEKS supported grants.

Through this video, local communities and experts share various initiatives undertaken in order to increase community resilience in the target landscape, such as a return to traditional practices like bee keeping and sheep farming. These projects aim to improve community development and resilience as they target social, economic, agricultural and ecological aspects.  As shown in the video, activities undertaken enhanced livelihoods, through the development of small-scale production activities using local resources. Farmers’ markets were established to create a market for locally grown food and water fowl were bred at newly set up ecological farms.  Based on the process of cleaning water, done naturally by plants in wetlands, a root water treatment plant was set up in order to improve ecosystem services through water management and landscape regeneration.

Reflecting on the success of a community-based project that aimed at the protection of bird nesting grounds, the video demonstrates ways in which farming can be managed such that practices are conducive to the protection of birds.  Through the set up of eco farms where cattle were introduced, thousands of protected migratory water birds started to nest in the area, attracting a number of visitors, photographers and birdwatchers.

COMDEKS projects in Slovakia have contributed to the restoration and revitalization of natural forests and grasslands, along with the production of traditional products and services, in harmony with local resources and conditions.

The English subtitled version of the video is available at the following link.