FORESTS IN SLOVENIA,    FORESTS IN EUROPE

For a relatively small area, Slovenia offers a unique mosaic of biological, geographical and cultural diversity, with dozens of major natural assets and items of significant European cultural heritage. Around 12.6 % of Slovenia’s territory is cover by protected natural areas,
36 % of the territory is protected under Natura 2000, and almost 15,000 aspects of the country’s nature have been awarded the status “valuable natural feature”.
Slovenia’s protected natural areas are divided into different categories according to the international IUCN categorization. The basic division is into large and small protected areas. Larger areas are those generally referred to as “nature parks”. The following protected areas exist in Slovenia:
Large protected areas or nature parks:
• 1 national park (IUCN: II/V)
• 3 regional parks (IUCN: V/II)
• 44 landscape parks (IUCN: V)
Small protected areas:
• 52 nature reserves (IUCN: IV and I)
• 1217 natural monuments (IUCN: III)