The fourth Slovenian Communities of Practice (CoP) was held on 14 November 2026 at the Triglavska Roza Information Centre, Bled, and focused on biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem services.

Hosted by SELINA’s partners from The Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU), the gathering centred on two guiding questions: how national and local ecosystem service carbon sequestration (ES CS) assessments can best support decision-making, and what type of information practitioners require when planning measures for climate change adaptation. 

It brought together participants from a broad range of organisations, including public research institutions ZRC SAZU, the Forestry Institute of Slovenia (GIS), public protected areas Javni Zavod (JZ TNP), JS Kozjanski park and public services like Slovenia Forest Service (ZGS), ZGS OE Bled and others. 

The meeting opened with an introduction by Mateja Šmid Hribar (ZRC SAZU) and continued with a series of presentations that set the scene for joint reflection.

Daniela Ribeiro and Mateja Šmid Hribar (Geographical Museum GIAM, ZRC SAZU) presented their work on assessing carbon sequestration, followed by Anže Japelj and colleagues from the Forestry Institute of Slovenia (GIS), who shared insights into carbon sequestration in Jelovica and the development of the national forest account. 

The session concluded with a presentation by Andrej Breznikar and Matjaž Guček from the Slovenian Forest Service (ZGS), who introduced the ‘Good Practice/Seed of Change Forest Fund’.

During the discussions related to SELINA, updates were shared on the guidelines for Terms of Reference (ToR), the Framework for Integrated Ecosystem Assessments (FIEA), and the forthcoming Compendium of Guidance, presented by Mateja Šmid Hribar.

The meeting proved the value of the Slovenian Community of Practice, with participants keen to continue working with SELINA to turn ecosystem service assessments into practical support for decision-making in Slovenia and across Europe.