Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

Internationally significant areas include two World Natural Heritage sites, 14 Ramsar sites, 4 UNESCO-MAB biosphere reserves and 41 Special Protection Areas for protection of birds as well as 642 sites for protection of habitats and species of plants and animals [ ] 203 Preserving natural heritage Slovakia signed the Convention on Bi- ological Diversity in 1993, the year of the country’s establishment,and biodi- versity protection has been recognized ever since as one of the five priorities of the state environmental policy. In 1998, a comprehensive National Biodiversity Strategy was established. However, implementation of the strategy has posed significant chal- lenges over the years. These include problems with land consolidation and unresolved problems with land owners/users; the need to learn how to communicate with stakeholders and how to design incentives for them; and abandonment resulting from structural changes in agriculture. Another issue was the introduction of very strict scientific criteria into the designation of the PA network , driven by Slovakia’s accession into the European Union (EU) in 2004. Slovakia had to solve difficulties with understanding of the Conven- tion on Biological Diversity (CBD) as well as with new EU legislation and its implementation into its existing nature protection system. In addition, the creation and transposition of the new elements brought new systematic approaches into nature and landscape protection. Despite these issues, the country achieved success with these goals but still faces challenges due to lack of time for consultations (es- pecially during the accession period into the EU) and ongoing problems with land consolidation. In 2004, Slovakia issued a national list of proposed sites for the Natura 2000 network. This was enlarged in 2012 and is currently undergoing further enlargement. The country also revised its national biodiversity strat- egy in 2012 to incorporate the Aichi Biodiversity Targets as well as its action plan for biodiversity protection till 2020. This action plan consists of 167 activities with different scales and timing for achievements, which will be fulfilled by the national nature pro- tection authorities and other relevant public or private stakeholders, as well as non-governmental organizations. Although the National Biodiversity Strategy has been harmonized with EU policies, Slovakia still keeps its special position of being a relatively small country in the heart of Europe with rich biological and landscape diversity. Its main priority is therefore still more to preserve natural heritage than to develop or restore nature. By 2018, Slovakia had made sig- nificant progress in establishing a complex common monitoring system of all the habitats and species includ- ed in the Natura 2000 network, to support its reporting duties and also for the purposes of the CBD. Slovakia Slovakia C onservation of biodiversity in–situ has a long tradition in Slovakia, with special attention paid to area based conservation. Today, more than 30 per cent of the country is conserved or specifically managed within one of the eight management categories of Protected Areas (PAs) recognized by the Nature and Landscape onservation Act. Internationally significant areas present in Slovakia include two World Natural Heritage Sites, 14 Ramsar sites, four UNESCO MAB Biosphere Reserves and 41 Special Protection Areas for protection of birds, as well as 642 Natura 2000 sites. Due to its geographical location, geomorphological and climate diversity, the country has the highest diversity of any Central and Eastern European country. Jaroslav Kostal