National ecological network in Croatia Andreja Markovinović Ministry of Culture Department for Nature Protection Unit for Ecological Network

The Ministry of Culture, Directorate for Nature Protection is responsible for implementation of the Nature Protection Act (OG 70/05, 139/08) (NPA). According to the article 58. of NPA,The Government has designated, at the proposal of the Ministry of Culture, the ecological network (EN) with the system of ecologically important areas and ecological corridors - Regulation on proclamation of the ecological network (OG 109/07). With this Regulation, Croatia provides an alignment with european legislative, especially, Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (Habitat Directive) and Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds (Birds Directive), on grounds of which EU ecological network Natura 2000 is defined.

The National ecological network is composed of sites important for conservation of species and habitat types on the national and international level, including potential NATURA 2000 sites. All national parks and nature parks, including majority of special reserves, present and suggested by spatial plans are included in ecological network area. Ecological network area enclose majority of natural corridors like waterflows, forest corridors, swamp areas as a birds removal route station and other landscape elements, which provide wild species movement. Connecting to ecological network area two corridors are sorted out: Corridor Palagruža-Lastovo-Pelješac provides birds removal route across the Adriatic sea and Corridor which covers coastal area till 50 meters in depth, important for sea turtles migrations.

current institutional framework: At the state level central state institution responsible for administrative affaires in the field of nature protection reponsible for expertise work responsible for management of protected areas – Croatia (8 national parks and 11 nature parks) At the county level for administrative affaires at county level responsible for management of ecological network area in the county(20). Ministry of Culture State institute for nature protection PIs for management of national parks and nature parks CPIs for management of protected natural values County offices

Proclaimed ecological network covers 47% of the land territory39 % of the national sea Regulation on proclamation of the ecological network includes 1550 ecological network areas including sea caverns and speleological objects according to the NPA.

cca 1500 areas + 40 SPA 2 corridors land / km 2 % sea / km 2 % total / km 2 NEN , , ,26 Total RH

According to Ordinance on nature impact assessment (OG 89/07), the Nature Impact Assessment is mandatory for a planned project which individually, or in combination with other projects, may have a significant impact on the ecological network. For a planned project which may have a significant impact on the ecological network, and for which environmental impact assessment is mandatory in accordance with a special regulation, nature impact assessment is part of the environmental impact assessment. Any natural resource management and use plan in water management, forestry and hunting, freshwater and sea fisheries, mining, agriculture, energy, transport, telecommunications, tourism, sport and recreation, etc., has to be assessed. the Assessment procedure consists of three stages: (I) Screening, (II) Main Assessment with other feasible options, (III) Establishment of overriding public interest and compensation terms Expert operations of the Assessment procedure are performed by the State Institute for Nature Protection based on the information submitted by the Holder to the Ministry or competent state administration office in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance.

Nature impact assessment for projects since proclamation of the Regulation on proclamation of the ecological network and the Ordinance of nature impact assessment 2008 (June - December) 2009 (January - April) Number of NIA requests in total8838 Project types – decision – not obliged to carry out the main assessment 18 (20,4 %)4 (10,5 %) Trade centers, business buildings, inside building area Exploatation fields 17 (19,3%) 2 (5,3%) Farms 8 (9%)4 (10,5 %) Wind power plants5 (5,7%) 1 (2,6%) Waste disposals sanations 4 (4,5%) 2 (5,3%) Gas pipelines 4 (4,5%) Waste water treatment systems 3 (3,4%) 3 (7,9%) Golf sites3 (3,4%)

2008 (June - December) Number of NIA - obliged to carry out the main assessment 9 requests for technical servicing of watercourses

For designation of Natura 2000, Croatia will nominate areas important for conservation more than 250 species and 70 habitat types, which were set out by State Institute for nature protection Public consultations are in progress Proposal of Natura 2000 will be proclaimed by the Croatian Government by Regulation on proclamation of Natura 2000

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Croatian Ministry of Culture transboundary ongoing projects Petra Mihalić Ministry of Culture Department for Nature Protection Unit for protected areas of local importance

MedPAN South project Component 1 - pilot projects  Croatia, Turkey, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria connected with management planning development in protected marine areas Component 2 - regional activities  Regional strengthening capacity programme for managers of protected marine areas, experts and relevant institutions (managing, monitoring and evaluation, financing)  Communnication activities in cooperation with MedPAN Secretary Goals: Ensure financial and technical assistance to the South-East Mediterranean countries in implementation of new marine protected areas and management improving of existing ones Expand MedPAN network on South- East Mediterranean areas Duration: 4 years

Neretva and Trebišnjica management project Goals: Improving flows to protect coastal and marine habitats by establishing joint integrated management of this transboundary watershed Point source nutrient pollution reduction and reversing coastal aquifer salinization Component 1  Improved transboundary (Croatia nad Bosnia and Herzegovina) water resource management Component 2  Improved management and use of wetlands ecosystems and biodiversity Component 3  High-priority investments for water pollution control Component 4  Public participation and management of project implementation

Biosphere Reserve Mura-Drava-Danube Croatian-Hungarian Cooperation between Ministries responsible for nature conservation Goals: Ensure proper management of the core zone in biosphere reserve Encourages development of mutual relations between parks and institution in the region with proposals for new projects that could be applied for financing Since March 2008 Croatian and Hungarian Ministries responsible for nature conservation works on preparation of Croatian-Hungarian Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Mura-Drava-Danube Nomination file has been finished in October 2008 previous to the nomination, Regional park Mura-Drava on Croatian side has to be proclaimed

Una Regional park - preventive protection According to the article 26. of NPA (OG 70/05, 139/08) the area for which the Institute for Nature protection has ascertained by an expert statement of reasons as having characteristics of a protected area and/or a procedure of placing thereof under protection has been launched, shall be designated to be under preventive protection by passing the decision of preventive protection. The decision on preventive protection shall be passed by the Ministry. At the moment this procedure is in stagnation because of unsolved property relationships.

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