Nature conservation and spatial planning in Slovenia: continuity in transition

The 1986 National Spatial Plan (NSP) sought to establish a large number of protected areas for nature conservation in Slovenia. This paper investigates why protected areas policy has failed to formally institutionalise most of these proposed protected areas, and why, despite this, the NSP has continued to act as the key framework underpinning present day decision-making in the development of protected areas. Slovenia was a pioneer of nature protection policy but this was marginalised during the early years of transition with little support other than from officials in the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning (MESP). The persistence of the NSP shows a degree of legitimacy of the pre-transition legislation in this field, a feature that distinguishes Slovenia from most other CEECs. The case also illustrates the problems of implementing a popular participatory approach to nature protection.