A public opinion poll on forests conducted in 1999 showed that the majority of those questioned believed that in Slovenia we have just the right amount of forest cover. A number of those surveyed felt that we have insufficient forest, and there were just a few saying we had too much forest. The poll also showed that Slovenians frequently visit forests. The Forest Act provides that alongside the owners, other persons also have free access to and movement in forests for beekeeping, hunting, and recreational gathering of fruit, herbs, fungi and wild animals. The possible forest activities enumerated and provided by law for all inhabitants do not, of course, include the right to obtain wood, which pertains exclusively to the owner of the forest. But the openness of forests is not unlimited, and it must be in accordance with regulations so that no damage is done in the forest and private property is not impacted. If in view of the public interest a forest in private ownership is declared a special purpose forest or a protected forest, for which reason the owner's right to exploit the forest is limited, the owner then has the right to compensation, tax relief, or may request that the declarant (local community or the Republic of Slovenia) purchase such forest.
In addition to the possibilities for movement and activity in forests, all inhabitants of Slovenia derive general benefit from all the ecological functions and indirectly also from the social functions of forests, since for all of us they raise the quality of the environment and the conditions in which we live. In Slovenia there are 51 towns and cities with the status of urban settlement according to the decision of the Slovenian National Assembly of 29 February 2000. The surface area of forests in the zone half an hour's walk from the centre of town for all urban settlements in Slovenia is 78,833.32 hectares, representing 7% of the area of all the country's forests.
According to data from the Forest Service of Slovenia for 2003, the country's forests contain more than 80 interpretive, nature and tourist trails with a total length of nearly 400 km. European footpaths E6 and E7, with a combined length of around 1,000 km, run chiefly through forests.
The importance of all the functions of forests, and especially their ecological and social functions, would no doubt be only fully appreciated when there were no more forests around us.
Tone Lesnik, Forest Service of Slovenia, Večna Pot 2, Ljubljana