Land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF)

The objective of the C8.1 activity is to establish a robust records monitoring system at the national level (the NG-1 in NG-2 measures) that will provide reliable data and ensure credible emission and sinks accounting at the international and European levels (the OG-1 measure). Within the activity, the following will be carried out: drawing up a design for carbon stocks monitoring at the national level for all land uses, proposing indicators of sustainable land use, developing an application for the visual interpretation of land use, evaluating simulation models of the development of carbon stocks for different pools (with an emphasis on above-ground biomass and soil), drawing up a plan for permanent research facilities for all land uses and establishing a centralised data base for the LULUCF sector. Key stakeholders will be involved in the system design. They will have the opportunity to suggest improvements at themed workshops. A description of the system, including the assessment of necessary capacities, costs, and responsible institutions will be integrated into the After-LIFE Plan and will be applied after the project is completed.

In order to achieve a balance of emissions and sinks (i.e. no debit rule) and compliance within the LULUCF sector for the 2021–2030 period as laid down by the new EU legislation for this sector, Regulation (EU) 2018/841, further integration of measures into sectoral policy (the NG-3 measure) and efficient implementation of measures in both forests and agricultural land will be important.

A strategic plan of key measures will be drawn up as part of the project. Three key measures will be demonstrated in the field:

• restoration of damaged forests in the Kočevje area (5ha),
• revitalisation and improved use of wetlands of the Ljubljana Marshes (4ha), and
• preservation of permanent grassland in the Goričko region (5 ha).

The strategic plan will include the setting of targets, key stakeholders, roles and responsibilities, an assessment of the past and current situation, an analysis of future prospects, a proposal for the new and/or further development of existing measures, a plan for the implementation of measures and a proposal for monitoring the effects and evaluating progress, including a review.

The objective of this activity is to improve the implementation of existing measures and propose new measures in the LULUCF area, which will also be important in the light of drafting the CAP strategic plan for the 2021–2027 period.

In order to ensure that the measures have a long-term and lasting impact, the capacities for their implementation need to be enforced (the NORG-2 measure). The project's professional and governance capacity building will be carried out within the C8.3 activity. It seems that the current professional and governance capacities do not suffice to optimally address the challenges that await Slovenia in the future in the field of climate change mitigation.

The objective of the activity is to improve the level of knowledge and governance capacities in the LULUCF area and to increase the accessibility and use of data relating to this area. Within the scope of this activity, an assessment of current professional and governance capacities in the LULUCF area will be made, a training course will be provided for training providers who will disseminate knowledge and train experts and decision-makers in the years to come by carrying out a programme of workshops and organising multi-day summer schools for Slovenian students and students from other EU countries.

During the course of the project, around 200 surveys will be conducted, seven training providers will be trained and 26 workshops and two summer schools will take place in which the transfer of knowledge to around 1000 participants and 50 students is expected.

Within the scope of this activity, an awareness-raising campaign on climate-friendly land use will be conducted at the national level. The campaign will include promotional activities via various communication channels, a production of a short educational video and expert lectures on sustainable land use at major events such as Forest Week, the AGRA International Fair of Agriculture and Food and the Nature and Health trade fair.

Fifteen science days for primary and secondary school students will be organised as well as a comic book contest on the topic of climate change mitigation. A special Interministerial Working Group and a LULUCF Partnership for Climate Change Mitigation will be established within this activity.

An action plan will be drawn up to ensure the increased transfer and repeatability of the activities project results. To this end, an international conference will be organised at the end of the project, where the main results and findings of project activities will be presented.