Slovenian Forestry Institute

The Slovenian Forestry Institute (SFI), established in 1947, is the leading forestry research institute of national importance in Slovenia, and conducts basic and applied research on forests and forest landscapes, forest ecosystems, wildlife ecology, hunting, forest management, and other uses of the renewable resources and services forests provide. The scientific knowledge from these fields helps further research on forest biodiversity and its management in relation to climate change. As part of its research programme and related studies, the Institute also provides forestry and environmental services in the public interest. Another of the Institute’s functions is to provide scientific knowledge on all aspects of sustainable development, with the purpose of increasing knowledge and awareness of the importance of forests within the environment and the importance of sustainable forest management. In short, the Institute is a scientific, professional, and cultural storehouse for Slovenia’s relationship with its forests and the resources and services they provide.

It develops the means to understand and quantify the structure and function of forests in Slovenia, aiming to extend the same principles in Southeastern Europe and at the global scale. The specific goals of SFI are to continue to improve traditional close-to-nature sustainable forest management and forest biodiversity; to promote ecosystem goods and services provided by Slovenia's forest resources; to foster public understanding of forestry and its importance in Slovenia; to maintain sustainable production capacity, ecosystem resilience to changes under stress and halt biological diversity loss – the key factors ensuring a healthy forest ecosystem; and to apply environmentally sound techniques and technologies in forestry, among all other environmental, natural and socio-economic goals. Its main approaches are in continuous support of scientific excellence, research infrastructure, scientific networking and education of all scientific, technical and support staff, supporting the visibility of forests, forestry and the SFI, the IP management strategy and acknowledging all contributions within SFI and in all collaboration within Slovenia, Europe and at a global scale. SFI is also the state authority for approval of forest basic material and certification of forest reproductive material, for prognostic-diagnostic services regarding forest pests and diseases, and for reporting on forests in LULUCF.

Public Forestry Service

The Slovenian Forestry Institute intensively monitors forests as part of the public forestry service. This includes surveying and recording forest degradation and damage, providing a diagnostic reporting service, developing an information system for research purposes, and monitoring forestry seeding and nursery activities.

The Institute is also committed to sustainable forest management and the conservation of its biological diversity, as well as to further development and organisation of the Slovenian forestry system and forestry policy.

Public Environmental Service

The Slovenian Forestry Institute’s public environmental service monitors emissions and sinks of greenhouse gases resulting from land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF). As a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Slovenia is required to submit an annual report on greenhouse gas emissions and sinks. Slovenia is also a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, which requires countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels (for Slovenia to 1986 levels). The Kyoto Protocol allows for flexibility in the manner of cutting emissions. Countries may, for example, partially offset their greenhouse gas emissions with their forests, which remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The Slovenian Forestry Institute collaborates with Slovenian forestry, timber, and nature conservation organisations, such as the Slovenia Forest Service, forestry commissions and others, as well as with other educational and research organisations both in Slovenia and abroad.

Vision

The Slovenian Forestry Institute is a public research institute of national importance, which bases its research on scientific excellence and professional competence. The research it conducts on forest biodiversity and its management in relation to climate change gives the Institute an important role in increasing knowledge and awareness of the importance of our forests and the way we interact with them. The Institute’s work reinforces its position in society. Highly regarded both at home and abroad, it is Slovenia’s principal treasury of knowledge, innovation, and creative ideas in researching forests, forest ecosystems, wildlife ecology, hunting, forest management, and the use of resources and services that forests provide.

Mission
The Slovenian Forestry Institute is the only public research institute of national importance which conducts basic and applied research on forests, forest landscapes, forest ecosystems, forestry, wildlife, and hunting in Slovenia. The Institute will continue to develop as a scientific, professional, and cultural storehouse for Slovenia’s relationship with its forests and the resources and services they provide.

Photo: B Rantaša