World Earth Day in Slovenia is taking place alongside the adoption of Slovenia’s most important strategic document on decarbonisation, i.e. the Resolution on Slovenia's Long-Term Climate Strategy until 2050. It is an important step towards restoring the Earth, which is the theme of this year's World Earth Day. The Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning has been implementing a series of measures to keep the balance between the preservation of the environment and modern development. This day is intended for all of us to become aware that we can make an important contribution to a more environmentally and climate-friendly planet.

World Earth Day invites us to make efforts every day towards sustainable development, a healthy environment and lifestyle, and a more environmentally and climate-friendly planet. The destruction and rapid decline of plant and animal populations around the world are direct consequences of human actions, including climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, illegal trade in protected species and poaching, pollution and inappropriate use of chemicals in agriculture.

Therefore, let us safeguard the protected areas that we have in Slovenia! Compared to other countries, Slovenia is one of the countries with the largest share of protected areas.

56% of Slovenia comprises areas protected by nature conservation regulations (Natura 2000, protected areas, natural values). In Slovenia, there are 355 Natura 2000 sites that cover 37.5% of the country’s land, which is the most in the European Union, followed by Croatia and Bulgaria. The EU average is 18%.

Forests cover 58.2% of our homeland. In terms of forest cover, we rank third in the European Union, behind Sweden and Finland. In Slovenia, we also have one national park, 3 regional parks, 46 landscape parks, one integral nature reserve, 56 nature reserves and 1161 natural monuments. 13.31% of the land area in Slovenia is protected. Slovenia is also a water-rich country, with 630 square kilometres of water land and a total length of watercourses 49,100 kilometres.

Slovenia was rated the world's first green country by National Geographic, and among 180 countries, Slovenia also ranks fifth on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), calculated by Yale University in the United States. On the scale, whose rankings were presented at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Slovenia is placed fifth following Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark.