Strategy of the environmental Policy of the Slovak Republic until 2030 (Envirostrategy).

The basic vision of Envirostrategy 2030 is to achieve better environmental quality and sustainable circulation of the economy, which is based on rigorous protection of environmental compartments and using as little non-renewable natural resources and hazardous substances as possible, which will lead to an improvement in health of the population. Environmental protection and sustainable consumption will be part of the general awareness of citizens and policy makers. Through the prevention and adaptation to climate change, the consequences will be as subdued as possible in Slovakia. The biggest environmental challenges in Slovakia, and hence areas that will be prioritized within the environmental policy by 2030, are issues such as waste management, air quality and habitat and species conservation, especially in forest, meadow and wetland ecosystems.
Topics and sectors identified as strategic objectives and covered in this text are as follows: 1. Enough clean water for everyone (prevention of water pollution; increase in the proportion of treated waste water; elimination of adverse impacts on water courses; adjustment of sustainable water prices); 2. Effective protection of nature and landscape (stopping the loss of biodiversity; reform of the state nature conservation institutions; simplification of the system and the maintenance of non-interference in the area with the highest level of protection; evaluation and sustainable use of ecosystem services; development and implementation of an integrated concept or the protection of nature); 3. Sustainable land management (supporting more environmentally friendly practices in agriculture; protection and restoration of landscape elements on agricultural land; addressing the status of white areas; production of forest environmental services; sustainable timber harvesting; maintaining the prohibition of the logging in the area with the highest level of protection and near rivers; effective control of timber harvesting); 5. The rational use of the rock environment (strengthening of a transparent geological survey; effective monitoring and minimization of geological hazards and risks; minimization of the impact from mineral extraction on the environment; remediation of the most risky areas); 6. Climate change preventions and reduction of its impacts (continuation of greenhouse gas emission allowance trading; implementation of sustainable solutions in transportation; development of green infrastructure; development and implementation of adaptation strategies at the level of local authorities; prevention and mitigation of the climate change impacts by protecting ecosystems and their services); 7. Protection against floods consequences (intensification of the use of green measures; completing the necessary infrastructure; prevention of damage by addressing the causes of flooding; refusal of constructions in flood risk areas); 8. Solution to droughts and water scarcities (landscape intervention planning with regard to the protection against water scarcity; improvement in the area of water re-use; water retention in the landscape); 9. Clean air (consideration of the introduction of a scheme for emission allowance trading for air pollutants; the implementation of the Best Available Techniques for small installations; promotion of more efficient combustion equipment and heating systems; gradual reduction of the coal-fired electricity production; increasing the low-emission transport); 10. Towards the circular economy (support of the circular economy; gradual increase of fees for waste landfill; introduction of incentive for waste collection depending on the actual quantity of waste; increase in the prevention of illegal dumping of solid waste based on the “polluter pays“ principle; prevention of the production of biodegradable and food waste); 11. Economic and clean energy (improving energy efficiency; developing renewable and environmentally friendly energy sources; removal of environmentally harmful subsidies and regulations; improvement of the public awareness of the energy and energy projects); 12. Economic instruments for a better environment (consideration of the environmental tax reform; improvement of the control and the reassessment of pollution penalties); 13. Environmental education and learning for people of all ages (improvement of environmental education in formal education; heading towards the responsible production, consumption and nature conservation through informal learning; improvement of environmental awareness through cultural and natural heritage and tourism); 14. Better data for better decision making (improvement in the range and quality of data collection; use of data and analysis for the development of measures).