Paper short abstract:

The paper focuses on the role of the administrations of the Trilateral park Raab-Goričko-Örseg, especially of Goričko Nature Park, in the heritagization of the Slovenian-Hungarian-Austrian borderlands that is based mostly on the nature protection and biodiversity.

Paper long abstract:

The borderlands of today's Slovenia had been exposed to changing border regimes that have

determined not only the everyday life of local communities but also cross-border cooperation

in many different ways. Often marginalized communities far from the states' centres - both on the Slovenian and Hungarian side of the border - have adapted to these new circumstances in different ways. Well preserved landscape with high level of biodiversity has provided opportunities for various cross-border initiatives and cooperation. One of them, the Trilateral park Raab-Goričko-Örseg as a part of European Green Belt Initiative is cooperation structure connecting natural parks in the borders of Slovenia, Hungary and Austria. Despite the very slow progress of a more institutionalised cooperation - park still does not function as an

entity - the Park authorities are the main partners involved in cross-border projects that join together formerly separated peripheral areas.

This cooperation will be examined as a practice model because of the initiatives launched in

the frame of sustainable development activities that were consistent with the natural capacity

of the cross-border landscape. How these opportunities to mutually exploit the territorial

capital are being exercised? How the implementations of different joint projects affect

people's lives? Does the cooperation inside the frame of the Trilateral park lead to a transborder

region? The aim of the paper is therefore to investigate the role of the administrations of the

three parks, especially of Goričko Nature Park, in the heritagization of the borderlands based

on the nature protection.