On June 7-8, 2023, Mrs. Małgorzata Golińska, Secretary of State, Chief Conservator of Nature, headed the delegation of Polish companies participating in the “GreenEvo – Green Technology Accelerator” program to Slovenia.

On June 7, a bilateral meeting was held with Mr. Darij Krajčič, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, during which the current challenges faced by forestry were discussed. The topics of adaptation of forests to climate change, fires, including prevention and rapid response systems, water retention, threats from harmful insects, as well as the coexistence of humans and large predators were discussed. The Slovenian side also shared the opinion of the Polish side regarding issue of leaving the competence of forest management to the Member States.

In the second part of the day, the Deputy Minister met with Mr. Uroš Brežan, Minister of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning in the Government of Slovenia. The conversation concerned the problems with water availability and the consequences of droughts – in particular fires and damage to agriculture. Both the Polish and Slovenian sides emphasized the role of spatial planning and urban greening, which are of great importance in the efforts to adapt to climate change and counteract the effects of drought.

On June 8, Mrs. Małgorzata Golińska, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Climate and Environment, together with Mr. Uroš Brežan, Minister of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning, officially opened the International Water Forum in Bled. It is an initiative that connects the administration, non-governmental organizations, public institutions and private companies that set ecological trends in creating a sustainable water circulation system. Entrepreneurs from the GreenEvo – Green Technology Accelerator program took part in the event, including discussion panels on innovative solutions in the field of water quality monitoring and water and sewage management. PROTE –Technologies for our Environment was awarded the European Water Award for their water biomonitoring technology using freshwater mussels.

Ms. Małgorzata Golińska, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Climate and Environment, and Mr. Krzysztof Olendzki, Polish Ambassador to Slovenia, during a meeting with the organizer of the Bled Water Forum, Mr. Marco Gajić, also received a proposal to include Poland as an official partner of this initiative. The above will contribute to strengthening cooperation for the rational management of water resources. Currently, the partner status is held by: the Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning of Slovenia, the Ministry of the Environment of Slovakia, the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Croatia and the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Tourism of Austria.

The economic mission was organized by the Ministry of Climate and Environment, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Ljubljana.