Ivana Plavac , Biljana Ivičić State Institute for Nature Protection Croatia 6th - 8th October 2010 Eurosite Workshop

1. NATURA 2000 in Croatia – towards implementation and management Ivana Plavac, Biljana IvičićState Institute for Nature Protection Croatia 6th - 8th October 2010 Eurosite Workshop Natura 2000 Site Managers: their key role, profile and importance for Europe¹s nature

2. Outline of the presentation • Preparation of the NATURA 2000 proposal • PHARE 2005 project - Implementation of the NATURA 2000 and the consultation process • Management of the National Ecological Network and main issues • Nature Impact Assessement

3. NATURA 2000 proposal preparation • responsibility of the State Institute for Nature Protection (SINP) as a central institution for expertise work of nature conservation in Croatia • prepared through several phases, based on the best available scientific data and expert knowledge. • the first phase comprised collecting and processing of relevant data from scientific institutions, individual experts and NGOs in the scope of several international projects • the second phase involved coordination of the new field researches financed through the state budget • the third phase, which is now finished encompassed the consultation process with all relevant stakeholder groupsin the scope of PHARE 2005 project "Implementation of NATURA 2000 in Croatia", .

4. Emerald network project – I and II phase • 2001-2003, 2006 - Council of Europe, EEA • The results of this project: • Expert Committee for Species and Habitats has been established • compilation of lists of species and habitat types by biogeographic region • creation of GIS distribution maps of species and habitats • determination of the status of distribution data for Emerald/NATURA 2000 species and habitats in Croatia; • collection of scientific data for the purpose of draft recommendations for the amendment of Resolution nos. 4 and 6 of the Bern Convention and the corresponding EU Directives;

5. Emerald network project – I and II phase • drafting of the list of ASCI sites of the Emerald Network (potential NATURA 2000 sites)—earmarking more than 90% of the area of the future final proposal; • compilation of the Emerald database for proposed ASCI sites (potential NATURA 2000 sites); • definition of digital borders in GIS for all processed ASCI sites; • creation of a web based application • with an overview of the map of the ASCI • areas and accompanying data from the • Emerald database.

6. LIFE III CRO-NEN Building-up the National Ecological Network as a Part of the Pan-European Ecological Network & NATURA 2000 Network • 2003-2005 • 535.850 €; 70% (375.000 €) EC • Maintasks: • training of nature protection authoritiesrelated to EU legislation, NATURA 2000 commitments and building up of ecological network • building up the National Ecological Networkwhichwillinclude species and habitat types threatened or rare on national level; partsofthe CRO-NEN to be proposed as potential sites of NATURA 2000 • developmentof the network of people involved in data gathering

7. LIFE III CRO-NEN Building-up the National Ecological Network as a Part of the Pan-European Ecological Network & NATURA 2000 Network • 2005-2006. revisionofthe CRO-NEN based on thenewlygatheredscientific data • 2007. Regulation on theproclamationofEcologicalNetwork(NN 109/2007) - proclaims the ecological network of the Republic of Croatia withthe system of ecologically important areas and ecological corridors with conservationobjectives and guidelines for conservation measures which are aimed at maintaining orestablishing a favourable status of threatened and rare habitat types and/or wild taxa.

8. LIFE III CRO-NEN Building-up the National Ecological Network as a Part of the Pan-European Ecological Network & NATURA 2000 Network • 2005-2006. revisionofthe CRO-NEN based on thenewlygathered data • 2007. Regulation on theproclamationofEcologicalNetwork(NN 109/2007) - proclaims the ecological network of the Republic of Croatia withthe system of ecologically important areas and ecological corridors with conservationobjectives and guidelines for conservation measures which are aimed at maintaining orestablishing a favourable status of threatened and rare habitat types and/or wild taxa. Target feature Guidelines for conservation measures Indicated Potential NATURA 2000 sites

9. LIFE III CRO-NEN Building-up the National Ecological Network as a Part of the Pan-European Ecological Network & NATURA 2000 Network www.cro-nen.hr/nem

10. II. Phase – Coordination of the new field researches financed through the state budget • 2006. – 2010. systematicfield data gathering, mobilisationofthescientific, expertandnongovernmentalsector • researches are specificallydirected for completionofthe NATURA 2000 database

11. Biodiversity od theRepublicof Croatia • Relatively small area • 4 biogeographic regions • Intheprocessofnegotiation Croatia requested to omitPanonnianregionbecause it doesnotbelong to it neither in terms of vegetation, floral elementsnor climatic conditions, with the exception of a very small area at the easternmost part of the country – propositionhasalreadybeenacceptedbythe Bern ConventionStandingCommittee, waiting for the EC to accept

12. Biodiversity od theRepublicof Croatia • Significant contribution to European Natura 2000 network • 223 species (birds: 87 BD I + 53 reg. migratory; other species: 136 HD II) and 72 habitat types (HD I)

13. Amendments of Annexes I and II of the Habitats Directive • Directives do notinclude some specificsofCroatianbiodiversitysoin the negotiation process with EU Croatia proposes additional species and habitat types to beaddedtotheannexesofthe HD • Mostly related to carst and Mediterranean region

14. Potential SPAs • Proposal prepared by Ornithological Institute of the Academy of Sciences • BirdLife International criteria • 38 internationally important areas (SPA)

15. SelectionofpotentialSCIs NATURA 2000 habitatsin Croatia are widelydistributed SelectionofpSCI - integrationof data aboutspeciesandhabitatdistribution

16. SelectionofpotentialSCIs • Interpretation manual for determination of terrestrial habitats according to the Habitats Directive • NATURA 2000 habitattypeshavebeenrecodedintothe National classificationofhabitats

17. MapofpotentialSCIs • Institutionsinvolvedinpreparationoftheproposal: • Arka Arka • Association for Nature, Environment and Sustainable Development SUNCE • BIOM – Association for Biological Research • Blue World - Institute of Marine Research and Conservation • Center for Marine Research, „Ruđer Bošković“ Institute • Croatian Biospeleological Society • Croatian Botanical Society • Croatian Herpetological Society - HYLA • Croatian Ichthyological Society • CroatianOdonatologicalSocietyPlatycnemis • Croatian Natural History Museum, Zagreb • Department of Botany, Faculty of Science • Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science • Ecological Association „Emys” • Faculty of Forestry • Faculty of Veterinary medicine • „GrupaSredozemnaMedvjedica” – Association for Research and Nature Protection • Institute for Oceanography and Fisheries, Split • Institute for Marine and Coastal Research , Dubrovnik • Natural historymuseum, Rijeka • Research-educational centre for the protection of nature „Caput InsulaeBeli“ • The Association of Environmental Protection „Val“

18. Phare 2005 “Institutional strengthening and implementation of the NATURA 2000 ecological network in Croatia” • 2008.-2009. • Total 1.611.750 €; 75% EC (1.538.048 €) • Threemaintasks: • completingthe NATURA 2000 proposalandconsultationprocesswith all relevantstakeholders • creationoftwo management plans for potential NATURA 2000 areas were developed in cooperation with local stakeholders • the training of competent bodies in the mechanisms of nature impactassessements

19. Phare 2005 - NATURA 2000 consultationprocess • for a successful implementation it is necessary to have a good image of NATURA 2000 from the very beginning so it was very important to start a process of institutional and public awareness raising • the consultation process comprised few major steps shown

20. Phare 2005 - NATURA 2000 consultationprocess • A pre-step for a successful consultation phase is a certain level of basic information -for that purpose www.natura2000.hr website has been created and the most important part of the websitewas the interactive map where users can easily search through proposed NATURA 2000 sites in their region.

21. Phare 2005 - NATURA 2000 consultationprocess • Searching the interactive map by locations

22. Phare 2005 - NATURA 2000 consultationprocess • Searching the interactive map by species

23. Phare 2005 - NATURA 2000 consultationprocess • Basic information about the site from the database

24. 1. roundofsectoralworkshops • forestry, water management, agriculture,physicalplanning, nature protection,scientificcommunity, NGOs • every session started with brief information about NATURA 2000 in Europe and Croatia, • followed by the “question and answer” session, • afterthatan interactive phase was scheduled to discuss rumours, fears and opportunities • at the end participants filled out evaluation sheets

25. 1. roundofsectoralworkshops • For better understanding of NATURA 2000, specific sectoral brochures were made for each sector • Reports of theeach workshop were published on web

26. 2 daysregionalworkshops (Osijek, Varazdin, Rijeka, Karlovac, Split) • 1st Day • NATURA 2000 in general • Situation in Europe • Situation in Croatia • Examples • Plenary Discussion • 2nd Day • NIA and NATURA 2000 • NIA in general • What is significant impact • Compensation and mitigation measures • Public interest • Alternative solutions

27. 2. roundofsectoralworkshops • Inthe 2nd round the agenda was focussed on remaining or new questions • how SINP plans to realize additional ideas and requests • SINP wanted to inform all participants how the results of the first round of workshops have been implemented in the proposal of site-designation • Changesbased on participantscomments • Changesbased on refining site boundaries • Changesbased on new scientific dana • Allchanges to theproposalweremadein line withtherequirementsofthe HD and BD; inaccordance to itscriteria

28. Conclusionsfromtheworkshops • more than 300 inputs and comments have been worked out in the working groups • more than 300 different questions have been answered • the comments of the participants referred to the proposal of NATURA 2000 sites as well as to general expectations, requests or ideas for further cooperation. • all reports of the workshops and presentations are published on web and were sent to the participants • for many participants these workshops were only a starting point for more discussions and they expect further activities how they will be involved in the whole NATURA 2000 process • Working group for forestshasbeenestablished – discussionaboutconservationmeasures • Agreementwithphysicalplanningsectorhasbeenmade to organizemeetingswitheverycountyauthorityabout exchange ofdigitalgeographical data andprecisedefinitionof site boundaries

29. Nextsteps: • IPA 2007 Identificationandsetting-upofthe marine partof NATURA 2000 networkin Croatia – startsinNovember 2010 • Total ≈527.000 € • a detailed plan to determine all potential NATURA 2000 marine sites will be developed, in co-operation with international experts • deepseamapping • training on monitoring and reporting in line with the requirements of the HD • training of amateurs, including members of diving clubs and centres for mapping and monitoring of marine species and habitats

30. Nextsteps: • IPA 2009 Natura 2000 management andmonitoring — (MAN-MON) – startsin 2011 • Total ≈ 1.250.000 € • purpose of this project is to build capacities on national and county level for management of NATURA 2000 sites • to develop 6 management plans for selected potential NATURA 2000 sites • to contribute to development and implementation of the national monitoring framework needed for reporting according to the Habitats Directive

31. Management of NATURA 2000 sites • According to the NatureProtectionAct,the future regulation on NATURA 2000 networkwillprescribeconservationmeasures for each site • Intheframeworkof PHARE 2005 project, draftconservationmeasures for groups ofpotential NATURA 2000 siteshavebeendeveloped • Croatia willdesignate NATURA 2000 networkbythedayoftheaccession to the EU but already, bytheRegulation on the proclamation of Ecological Network (NN 109/2007), hastransposed all mainrequirementsoftheHabitatDirectiveintothe national legislation • Potential NATURA 2000siteshavebeenproclaimedandnature impactassessementis carriedoutinaccordancewithArticle 6.

32. Conservation and management ofecological network areasaccording to theRegulation on NEN • Article 3 • Conservation measures related to ecological network sites are established on the basis ofguidelines for conservation measures listedinappendix • Guidelines for protection measures related to ecological network site apply to all naturaland legal persons who exploit natural resources in those areas and perform activities andprojects in line with the Act. • Data on whether the scope of a document or plan affects an ecological network site shallbe entered into physical planning documents and natural resource management plans.

33. Conservation and management ofecological network areasaccording to theRegulation on NEN • Article 4 • Ecological network site, which is at the same time proclaimed as a protected area inline with the Nature ProtectionAct, shall be managed by a public institution on the national level. • Ecological network site, which is located outside a protected area, and is not specially protected, shall be managed by a public institution formanaging protected natural valueswhich is established by a regional self-government unit (PI on the county level), • Ecological network site which is located on the territory of two or more counties shallbe jointly managed by public institutions for managing protected natural values of thosecounties. • In Croatia, there are currently 19 public institions at the national level (National and Nature Parks) and 20 at the county level

34. Conservation and management ofecological network areasaccording to theRegulation on NEN • Article 5 • Protection of ecological network sites is ensured by implementation of the prescribedconservation measures and nature protectionrequirements issued by the nature protectionauthority • A management plan for the purpose of conserving each site within the ecologicalnetworkshall be adopted for ecological network sites • If an ecological network site is at the same time protectedarea, the Protected Area Management Plan shall be considered asthe Ecological Network Management Plan • If an ecological network site is notprotected, the Ecological Network Management Plan is adopted by a public institution formanaging protected natural valueson thecountylevel • Exploitation of natural resources in an ecological network site is performed on the basisof natural resource management plans, which contain measures and requirements for natureprotection

35. Management plans So far 13 management plans have been prepared in the framework of several international projects, 10 are in preparation, and 6 are planned • “Karst Ecosystems Conservation” project financed by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) via a World Bank 2003. – 2008. - five management plans for five PAs (Nature Park Velebit, National Parks Paklenica, Risnjak, Sjeverni Velebit and Plitvice lakes • “Developing a model for the conservation of Croatia’s grassland biodiversity” – financed by Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species – 2004. – 2007. – management plan for Nature park Žumberak i Samoborsko gorje • CARDS 2002 “Capacity building of the State Institute for Nature Protection” 2005. – 2006. - management plans for two small future NATURA 2000 sites were developed (Dubravica Bog and Đurđevac Sands) • INTERREG IIIA HUN SLO- CRO 2004-2006 “Establishment of the transboundary network of karstic protected areas and their joint management” – 2006. – 2008. – management plan for Nature Park Učka • LIFE05 “Central Posavina – Wading toward Integrated Basin management” – 2006. – 2008. – management plan for Nature park Lonjsko polje • The PHARE 2005 “Institutional Building and Implementation of NATURA 2000 in Croatia” 2008. - 2009. - preparation of the management plan for Vransko Lake Nature Park and Jasen candidate Natura 2000 site and development of the management plan for the candidate Natura 2000 site important for large carnivores • „Capacity building of local public institutions for management of protected natural values, in process of legislative alignment with EU“financed by Swedish fund SIS – 2008. - 2 management plans for ecological network sites and proposed NATURA 2000 sites are prepared - MP for Drežničko polje including Polje Lug and MP for Dretulja river • „Strategic Partnership for the Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem - Pilot-project for Croatian marine protected areas“ (MedPan) – 2009. – 2012. - financed by FFEM and WWP-MedPO, RAC/SPA)- development of 5 management plans for selected marine parks: national parks Kornati, Mljet and Brijuni, as well as nature parks Telašćica and Lastovo archipelago - in preparation • IPA 2009 “Natura 2000 management and monitoring” (MAN-MON) – 2011. - 2012. - development of 6 management plans for six potential NATURA 2000 sites (alluvial forests in Vukovar-Srijem County, locality Pregon in Istria County, complex Mediterranean fields and mountain areas in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Odransko polje in Sisak-Moslavina County, locality Bulji in Lika-Senj County, transboundaryriver in Krapina-Zagorje County - planned

36. General issuesabout management andmanagementplans • The state has put theresponsibilityof management of National ecologicalnetworksites on publicinstitutionsfor managing protected natural values, • PIs of areas protected by the NPA are relatively wellcapacitatedandarefinancedthroughthe state budget, but they are responsible for only 19 sites, and still it is not clearly determined by the legislation are they obliged for management of the parts of the sites whose boundaries extent outside the boundaries of the PAs, • County PIs are under capacitated and struggling with constant need for ensuring funds – not enough directed to self-initiatively search for external funding in the framework of some internationalprojectsbeacuseofthelackofcapacity; relying on thecountybudgetwhich is notsufficient, they are notfundedbythe state budget • Alltheseissuesresultin a smallnumberof management plans • Most ofthe management plans done inthe past are bounded to areasprotectedby NPA and are more orientedto a classicalwayofconservingtheareaandnotspecificallydirectedto theconservationoffavourableconservation status of target speciesandhabitats.