This year's Forest Week slogan is Forests for Tomorrow – let's preserve them. In the past our forest were affected by a number of natural disasters.

The priority is their preservation, as in the last year one third of the cutting can be attributed to sanitary felling of damaged and diseased trees. Due to infestation with spruce bark beetle from last year until now more than two million and a half cube metres of wood have been marked for cutting.

A number of natural disasters, sleet damage, snow damage, bark beetles, diseases, aggressive spreading of invasive non-native plants, extensive erosion processes regularly occur in the Slovenian forests, and are a severe test of stability and vitality of the ecosystem.

The director of the national Forest Service Damjan Oražem warns of the new challenges the Slovenian forest is facing, and the owners of the forests are raising their voices as well.

Therefore Oražem hopes that our society will act maturely, and sensibly. For this week more than 60 events have been scheduled, and the week-long campaign Spring under Mt. Triglav, coinciding also with the 40th anniversary of the European hiking trail, will start with the opening event in Mojstrana.