improving the marine environment and reducing by-catches. In aquaculture and processing, investments in improving water quality and resource utilisation and innovations (e.g. RAS, the introduction of new mollusc species, algae farming, better use of water through ventilation, solutions to reduce processing waste, the development of environment-friendly packaging) will contribute to efforts to adapt to climate change. The EMFAF will also contribute to increasing the environmental performance of fisheries (selectivity, temporary suspension of fishing activities, implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy and GFCM recommendations for achieving MSY), aquaculture and processing sectors to manage risks and respond to adverse events. We will invest CF and ERDF resources in the construction of environmental infrastructure, in particular to achieve compliance with the requirements of European legislation in the priority areas set out in the current Operational Programme for the Drainage and Treatment of Urban Waste Water. Only investments in equipping agglomerations with a total load equal to or greater than 2,000 p.e. will be supported. For drinking water supply, the basis for the prioritisation of investments will be set out in the Operational Programme for Drinking Water Supply. Funding will be reserved for supply systems that serve more than 10,000 inhabitants. For biodiversity conservation, we will focus ERDF funding, as a matter of priority, on those Natura 2000 sites that will be defined in the Natura 2000 Management Programme 2022–2028. We will support activities to improve the conservation status of habitats and habitat types in Natura 2000 areas that do not have a favourable conservation status, provide high-quality interpretative services in those parts of nature laid out for public visits, and improve the status of natural values. The implementation of these measures will also significantly contribute to the achievement of several objectives of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 , to the implementation of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and the Birds Directive (2009/147/EC) and to compliance with the legally binding EU targets for restoring degraded ecosystems. We will also invest in green infrastructure in the urban environment, addressing improvements to the quality and usability of existing and the creation of new green infrastructure, and improve the ambient air pollution information and alert system for citizens by expanding the existing national monitoring network to areas not yet covered by measuring stations, thereby enabling adequate policy planning and making data available to the public. Complementary to these investments, EMFAF resources will focus on achieving maximum sustainable yield (MSY) as a key objective of the Common Fisheries Policy and the GFCM recommendations for the conservation of marine biological resources and the marine environment, on modernising the fishing sector through more selective fishing gear, on temporarily suspending fishing activities, and on implementing other obligations under the Common Fisheries Policy. Achieving good environmental status of the sea and inland waters is crucial for Slovenia. An important part of the EMFAF is the conservation of marine biodiversity in line with the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, in particular by improving the management of protected areas and contributing to the creation of new protected areas in line with the Biodiversity Strategy 2030 Action Plan. We will also invest in the digitalisation of controls and investments to improve traceability and enforcement in fisheries, and in measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. In addition to data collection under the Common Fisheries Policy (data on the fishing of commercial species and other data), the EMFAF will also contribute to increasing scientific knowledge about marine resources and the environment in order to fill the data gaps95 and thereby enable effective management decisions to be taken. This will involve, in particular,