In the five years of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Slovenia has shown through various legal bases and adopted strategies that it is ready to enter a decade of concrete measures that will make a key contribution to more effective achievement of the sustainable development goals. Even though it has achieved some set goals (early), it still records a gap between the set indicator values until 2030 and the actual situation in several areas. Systematic and effective implementation of the Slovenian Development Strategy 2030 is crucial for the development of Slovenia.
The preparation of the Second Voluntary National Review of the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals identified some key challenges for the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Slovenia. One of these challenges is the inability or limited extent of collecting statistical data disaggregated by personal circumstances and ethnicity.
The Second Voluntary National Review of the Implementation of the SDGs identifies demographic change as the first priority cross-sector field. Ageing of the population and the needs of the older and younger population play a key role in addressing the individual areas pertaining to the social dimension of the 2030 Agenda. One of the key challenges is setting up an effective long-term care system. Youth as well as the older population believe that it is crucial to address the housing-related issues by dealing with the lack of available
housing for youth and housing adapted to the older population. The stakeholders especially emphasised the relevance of intergenerational dialogue. In the field of social services, which also includes health and education, Slovenia should, in the continuation of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, pay more attention to the development and promotion of information technologies and digitalisation. At the same time, computer literacy and the strengthening of competencies for the use of newly developed services for all users are essential.
At the intersection of the economic and environmental dimensions of the 2030 Agenda, Slovenia has designed a second priority area, namely the transition to a low-carbon and circular economy and society. In addition to raising awareness of all aspects of the transition and the comprehensive approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the use of renewable energy sources and the development of sustainable mobility play a vital role in attaining the set goal.
As the Second Voluntary National Review of the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals was prepared in an inclusive manner, involving all Slovenian development regions and local stakeholders through regional consultations, the process also revealed challenges at the regional level. The common sentiment among local stakeholders in most regions was that there unfortunately exits excessive centralisation of the state – the centralisation of state institutions as well as decision-making processes. Local stakeholders
largely wished for more integration and cooperation in deciding on matters that directly affect their local environments. The development of Slovenia also needs to take into account the diversity of the individual regions, which is currently not entirely possible at the level of statistical data collection, since statistical data for several indicators are not collected separately by development region.
Source: Gouvernement of Slovenia