Slovakia will apply for the UNESCO Beech Forests Coordination Office

Slovakia will apply for the establishment of a permanent coordinating body for the UNESCO World Natural Heritage site Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe. The draft candidacy was approved by the government on Monday. The Ministry of Environment declared that it is ready for the project. The ministry added that the site has had a common management system since 2010. The Joint Management Committee is currently supported by a coordinating office, which is based in Brussels, Belgium, until June 2024. Discussions are currently underway as to which country will take over these tasks. According to the ministry, the natural genetic bank of the beech forest, and the various species of flora and fauna, is invaluable in the forests. The area is currently the largest serial site inscribed on the World Natural Heritage List, with 94 components in 18 countries. "Slovakia may be a small country, but it has unique natural riches hidden in nine national parks, 14 protected areas, four of which are under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme. Slovakia and Ukraine were founding members of the Carpathian Beech Forests, an important UNESCO site, in 2007," emphasised Ján Budaj (OĽANO), the head of the Environment Ministry. He recalled that five components of this site are in Slovakia, namely Havešová, Rožok, Stužica - Bukovské vrchy, Vihorlat and Udava.