Nature

Plants, animals and their habitats

The Sečovlje Salt Pans are a habitat area for rare, threatened and endangered species of flora and fauna, where a typical salt pans ecosystem has been created by long-term human activity.

The salt pans are important areas from the point of view of nature conservation. They are unique wetlands with a rich biodiversity and it is no coincidence that many of them are also included in the NATURA 2000 network Mediterranean salt pans are areas that are under water for most of the year due to salt production, which is invaluable compared to other Mediterranean habitats in hot and dry summers. Salt production activities in both industrial and traditional salt pans provide stable living conditions for salt-loving plants and animals in the water, on land and in the air. The fact that the Mediterranean salt pans are regularly visited by over 100 different species of birds belonging to 18 families also shows that they are an invaluable habitat for them. Around half a million birds regularly winter or fly in the Mediterranean. More than half of these birds occur in salt marshes. In accordance with the Council Directive on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (Habitats Directive), the area of the Sečovlje Salt Pans with the St. Jernej Channel (SI3000240) has also been designated as a Special Protection Area (pSCI) since 2004.