Natura 2000 in Slovenia

Nature in Slovenia is among the most luscious in European Union. Generations of Slovenians have managed to preserve our nature to such an extent that more than half of our territory are areas of special interest (56% - Natura 2000, protected areas, natural beauty, etc.) Natura 2000 sites cover about 37% of the county's territory.

More than a tenth of all Natura 2000 EU species can be found in Slovenia

More than 22,000 animal species and 3,500 plant species can be found in Slovenia, of those more than 2,000 species on the Red List are listed as endangered plant and animal species, and more than 800 animal species and more than 300 plant species are protected. Within the scope of Natura 2000, 205 animal species and 27 plant species are protected in Slovenia (Natura 2000 species), which adds up to slightly more than 10% of all Natura 2000 species and typical natural habitats (habitat types) of EU. The state of animal and plant species in Slovenia is comparable to that of European Union.  

Natura 2000 areas can be found in almost all Slovenian municipalities (in 204 municipalities of 212 municipalities)

In most of the municipalities (83), Natura 2000 covers between 5% and 30% of the territory and in 23 municipalities, it covers 80% of the territory or more.

Almost 6% of inhabitants of Slovenia or around 128,000 people live in Natura 2000 areas

70% of Natura 2000 areas is forest and a bit more than 20% is agricultural land. Nature protection measures in Natura 2000 forest lands were mostly carried out in state-owned forests. In private-owned forests, the said measures were initially introduced with the help of project funding. Since 2017, funds from the Forest Fund have been allocated for the application of measures to private forests.