Attitudes of farmers towards nature conservation in selected areas of dry grasslands in Eastern Slovenia

Gorjanci, Haloze, Kum and Pohorje are four Slovenian areas in which the Natura 2000 network seeks to preserve important European habitat types of grasslands along with their species. This article presents a survey of attitudes towards nature conservation and Natura 2000 sites among farmers who in the period 2015–2020 actively participated in a LIFE project aimed at the management and conservation of dry grasslands. Compared to other residents of Slovenia, the farmers participating in the project are more aware of Natura 2000 sites and have a more positive attitude towards them. As a result of the project, a significant share of farmers changed their views on the importance of preserving species-rich grasslands (58%) and on agricultural practices carried out in them (43%).