Feasibility study on establishing transboundary cooperation - NP Una - NP Plitvice

8/2/2019 Feasibility study on establishing transboundary cooperation - NP Una - NP Plitvice

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Prepared within the project Sustaining Rural Communities and their Traditional Landscapes Through Strengthened EnvironmentalGovernance in Transboundary Protected Areas o the Dinaric Arc.

Una National Park, Bosnia and Herzegovina IUCN / Boris Erg

Plitvice Lakes National Park Croatiaand Una National Park Bosnia and

Herzegovina

Feasibility study on establishing transboundary cooperation


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ENVIRONMENT FOR PEOPLE

in the Dinaric ArcWestern BalkansEnvironment & DevelopmentCooperation Programme

Atrs:Katharina Lindenmann, eljka Rajkovi and Ognjen kunca

Ptraps:Boris Erg, eljka Rajkovi and Tomasz Pezold

ISBN:978-2-8317-1368-7

Desin and lat:Imre Sebestyen, jr. / UNITgraphics.com

Printed b:PrintXPress

Aailable fr:IUCN Programme Oce or South-Eastern EuropeDr Ivana Ribara 9111070 Belgrade, [email protected] +381 11 2272 411Fax +381 11 2272 531

www.iucn.org/publications

Acnwledents:A Special thank you goes to:Antonija Dujmovi MSc, Conservation Manager, Plitvice Lakes NP Administration;Ivo Pevalek Conservation Research Centre; Ms. Kata Repac, assistant to the Mayor,Municipality o Biha; Mr. Muhamed Ibrahimpai, Senior Advisor, Department orCommunal Aairs, Municipality o Biha and Chairperson o the Advisory Committee orthe physical plan or the Una River area in Federation BiH; Mr. Davor Loni, Zadar County,Head o the Department or Development and European Processes; Mr. Milan Tankosi,Vice-president o the NGO Una in Srb and Deputy Mayor o the Municipality o Graacor providing inormation and materials.

Boris Erg, Veronika Ferdinandova (IUCN SEE), Dr. Deni Porej, (WWF MedPO) orcommenting and editing the assessment text.

Zbigniew Niewiadomski, consultant, UNEP Vienna ISCC or providing the study concept.Emira Mesanovic, WWF MedPO or coordinating the assessment process.


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The designation o geographical entities in this publication, and the presentation o the material, do not imply the expression oany opinion whatsoever on the part o IUCN, WWF and SNV concerning the legal status o any country, territory, or area, or o itsauthorities, or concerning the delimitation o its rontiers or boundaries.

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reect those o IUCN, WWF and SNV.

This publication has been made possible in part by unding rom the Ministry or Foreign Aairs o Finland.

Published by: IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Belgrade, Serbia in collaboration with WWF MedPO and SNV

Copyright: 2011 International Union or Conservation o Nature and Natural Resources

Reproduction o this publication or educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permissionrom the copyright holder provided the source is ully acknowledged.

Reproduction o this publication or resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission o thecopyright holder.

Citation: Lindenmann, K., Rajkovi, . and kunca, O. (2011). Plitvice Lakes National Park Croatia and Una National Park BiH:Assessment on the feasibility study of establishing transboundary cooperation. Gland, Switzerland and Belgrade, Serbia: IUCNProgramme Oce or South-Eastern Europe. 48 pp.

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia IUCN / Boris Erg


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4

Cntents

Fires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5List f Acrns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Eectie sar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Bacrnd f te std . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Project Environment or People in the Dinaric Arc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Why transboundary cooperation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Purpose o the assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Specifc remarks or the Plitvice Lakes National Park and the Una National Park - repor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Reinal cntet fr transbndar cperati. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0L o c a l t r a n s b o u n d a r y h i s t o r i c a l c o n t e x t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0Recent historical context o the area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Border context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Socioeconomic context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Land use, urbanization and economic development trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Transport inrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16State o the environment and threats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Plitvice Lakes National Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

U n a N a t i o n a l P a r k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 9Tourism as the local economy sector depending on natural assets o the region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Sustainable tourism development in the region - conclusions and points or consideration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Natre and its prtectin in te rein f te transbndar area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3Legal and administrative ramework or protected area designation and management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Comparison o protected area networks in the two neighbouring countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26Brie overview o the natural values o the region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Protected areas in the transboundary area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Strategic point or consideration - connectivity and continuity o protected area network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Transbndar cperatin: pririties, callenes and pprtnities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5Priorities or conservation in the transboundary area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Habitats and ecosystems in beneft o a transboundary protected area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35Stakeholders and existing relevant projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Opportunities and challenges or the transboundary cooperation in the transboundary area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46


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Fires:

Fig. 1.1.The area (in green) eligible or application within Croatia-BiH IPA CBC.. . . . . . . . . . 10

Fig. 1.2.Satellite image: the lower stream rom Kulen Vaku to Lohovo (the largersettlements in this area include Kulen Vaku (approx. population 1000) and Oraacwith ukovi (population 2,800) (Source: Googlemaps). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Fig. 1.3.The upper stream area rom Donja Suvaja (in RH), i.e. Drvar (in BiH) to Kulen Vaku,via Martin Brod where the tributary Unac drains into the Una River (the only largersettlement in this area is Martin Brod (population 500), excluding Drvar). (Source:Googlemaps).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Fig.1.4.Satellite image: Plitvice Lakes and Biha (Source: Googlemaps). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Fig. 1.5.Population trends within the national park (Source: Central Bureau o Statistics othe Republic o Croatia). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Fig. 1.6.Border crossings (Source: Googlemaps). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Fig. 1.7.Macro zones within Una National Park (Elektroprojekt, 2005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34


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6

List o acronyms

BiH Bosnia and Herzegovina

B&B Bed and Breakast

CBD COP 9 9th Conerence o the Parties to theConvention on Biological Diversity

CBD PoWPA Convention on Biological Diversity,

Programme o Work on ProtectedAreas

EU IPA CBC European Union, Instrument or Pre-accession Assistance, Cross-BorderCooperation

FBiH Federation o Bosnia and Herzegovina

GEF Global Environmental Fund

GIS Geographic Inormation System

RH Croatia

ISCC Interim Secretary o the CarpathianConvention

IUCN SEE International Union or Conservationo Nature Programme Oce orSouth-Eastern Europe

NGO Non-governmental Organisation

NP National Park

PA Protected area

PHARE Poland and Hungary: Assistance or

Restructuring their EconomiesSME Small Market Enterprises

SNV Netherlands DevelopmentOrganisation

TBPA Transboundary protected area

UNDP United Nations DevelopmentProgramme

UNESCO MAB United Nations Educational, Scientifcand Cultural Organization, Man andBiosphere Programme

UNEP United Nations Environment Program

WWF MedPO World Wide Fund or NatureMediterranean Programme Oce


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This study explores the possibilitiesand challenges o the existingregional collaboration betweenPlitvice Lakes National Park in Croatiaand Una National Park in Bosnia andHerzegovina, one o six pilot sites inthe project Environment or Peoplein the Dinaric Arc. The objective o

the study is to survey the possibilitiesor transboundary conservation,i.e. establishment o transboundaryprotected areas and associatedcooperation mechanisms.

Focusing on the area between PlitviceLakes National Park and Una NationalPark, defned in part by the Una Riverand in part by the Lika Pljeivicamountain ridge. These two naturalbarriers divide the area into three parts:

1) the area along the Una River in theterritory o Bosnia and Herzegovina,which now mainly orms Una NationalPark, and urther downstream, thelargest settlement in the area, the Cityo Biha; 2) the area along the Una riveron the Croatian side, where the borderis defned by the course o the UnaRiver; and 3) the nearby area o PlitviceLakes National Park in Croatia, on theother side o Lika Pljeivica mountain,which delineates the border.

All three areas were severely aectedduring the conicts in the 1990s andthe hardship o post-war transitionchallenges. Today, the socioeconomicsituation diers signifcantly amongthe three areas. The most recoveredand astest developing among thethree is the area o Plitvice LakesNational Park, a consequence o therecent and rapid recovery o the pre-war tourism industry based on thenatural attractions and ame o the

national park.

Although the other two areas arealso blessed with attractive naturalscenery, they have actually neverrealized their potential or nature-

based tourism. Beore the war, theirdevelopment was based on orestry,agriculture, and the ood and woodprocessing industries, all o whichcollapsed during the war and post-war period and still show no signso recovery. Facing such a situation,these areas are now willing to ollow

the example o their more successulneighbour, Plitvice Lakes National Park,by developing tourism based on thenatural attractions o the Una Riverand the surrounding area. Currently,the vision o sustainable developmentbased on the conservation andsustainable use o valuable naturalassets through tourism, combined withpreserved traditional agriculture andmanuacturing practices, is alreadyvivid in the minds and plans o the

local population and their government,as they can see it happening in theirneighbourhood, at the Plitvice Lakes.

Some concrete actions with tangibleresults are critically needed tomake this vision a reality. The majorenabling actors could be cross-bordercooperation, exchanging know-howand experience, and cooperationbetween two complementary touristdestinations - the existing one,Plitvice Lakes National Park, and the

developing one, the Una NationalPark. Development based on the areasconserved and revitalized naturaland cultural heritage is the bestpossible scenario or its biodiversitypreservation.

Building on the already establishedpractice o cross-border cooperation,there are no doubts that the conditionsare in place or joint long-term projectsthat would provide opportunities or

long-term and tangible impacts.

ExECuTIvE SummARy

Una River, Bosnia and Herzegovina IUCN / Boris Erg


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8

This study presents the analysis oa preliminary assessment o oneo six project sites o the projectEnvironment for People in the Dinaric

Arc.

Prject Environment for

People in the Dinaric Arc

The project Environment or Peoplein the Dinaric Arc began in 2009and is unded by the Ministry orForeign Aairs o Finland. The projectis expected to last three years. Itrepresents a joint developmentinitiative by IUCN (InternationalUnion or Conservation o Nature)implemented by IUCN RegionalOce or Pan-Europe and IUCNProgramme Oce or South-

Eastern Europe, in partnershipwith World Wide Fund or Nature- Mediterranean Programme Oceand SNV Netherlands DevelopmentOrganisation.

The project was developed tosupport the political commitmentso the Dinaric Arc countriestowards enhancing cooperation onprotected area establishment andmanagement within the rameworko implementing CBD PoWPA. In this

context, the most important stepwas the Big Win commitment orthe Dinaric Arc, jointly signed byAlbania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, andSlovenia in May 2008 during the9th Conerence o the Parties to theConvention on Biological Diversity(CBD COP 9) in Bonn. The commitmentincludes the general statement oall signatories to build an eectivenetwork o protected areas, based

on the recognition o the natural andcultural wealth o the Dinaric Arc

region. It also includes a list o specifcnational and regional prioritiesor each country. These prioritiesinclude the establishment o 13 newprotected areas and the evaluationo the contribution the protectedareas could make to the local andnational economies. They also include

strengthening regional collaborationby creating a series o transboundarynatural resource management areas(i.e. transboundary protected areas),which shows a general awareness thatprotecting this natural and culturalwealth can only be achieved throughthe close cooperation o the DinaricArc countries.

The EU perspective is currentlythe main political driver, since EU

accession is the principal objectiveor the countries o the region. Strongeconomic growth and progressingintegration into the EU are set to bringthe stability, security, and prosperitythat the peoples o the region arehoping or. In this context, establishingtransboundary collaboration onenvironmental and development issuesis o interest to all the western Balkancountries.

The Environment or People in the

Dinaric Arc project aims to transormthis political commitment into aconcrete action or the Dinaric Arcregion. In short, the goal o theproject is to improve the sustainabledevelopment o rural communitieson the basis o conservation obiological diversity and traditionallandscapes in transboundary regionsby enhancing regional cooperationand strengthening environmentalgovernance, including participation

and empowerment o civil society andlocal communities (IUCN 2008).

BACkgRouND oF ThE STuDy


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W transbndarcperatin?

The need or establishingtransboundary collaboration is basedon the idea that natural systemsstraddling political boundariescan be most eectively managedas unctional units at the scaleo the regional landscape andwould, thereore, beneft rom

appropriate mechanisms or long-term transboundary co-operation.While the establishment o TBPAsor integrated conservationand development can enhanceenvironmental protection, it canalso reinorce political security andprovide multiple benefts to localcommunities.

The existence o TBPAs and theirbuer zones can help rebuild

divided communities, promotereedom o movement and createnew opportunities or sustainabledevelopment, including low-impacttourism. Such areas can also make animportant contribution to regionalbiodiversity conservation programmes,especially in areas where they orma coherent ecological network.Neighbouring states, which oten havedierent levels o technical expertise,knowledge, capacity, and fnancialresources, can beneft by combining

their respective strengths throughtrans-boundary cooperation (IUCN,2008).

Prpse f te assessent

The purpose o the assessment isto eed the project with necessaryinormation and provide directions orincreasing the level o trans-boundarycollaboration by taking advantage o

the opportunities and overcoming thediculties identifed in this report.

metdl

This analysis is based on aquestionnaire completed by twolocal consultants, one or each sideo the border at each project site.The questionnaire was developedby Mr. Zbigniew Niewiadomski,the UNEP Regional Consultant onTrans-boundary Protected Areas. TheUNEP kindly made the questionnaire

available to this project and allowed itsauthor, Mr. Niewiadomski, to assist us.The initial questionnaire was slightlymodifed to ocus on the specifc needso this project and the specifcs o thepilot sites.

The questionnaire consists o 168questions and regional consultantswere given a three-month period toprovide answers with the assistanceo other regional experts, local

administrations, Internet research,scientifc articles and personaldiscussions.

Although the questionnaire providedsound insight into the traditionallandscape, more thorough overview othe local law enorcement and socialbackground is recommended oruture assessments.

Specifc remarks or the

Plitvice Lakes National Parkand the una National Park -report

Plitvice Lakes National Park wasproclaimed a national park in 1949and a great deal o inormationand scientifc data on the park areavailable. Considering that UnaNational Park was establishedonly recently (in 2009) much lessinormation is available. Thereore, the

descriptions o the Una region are lessdetailed.

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia eljka Rajkovi


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10

Lcal transbndar istrical

cntet

In 1991, Yugoslavia split up into severalcountries and the political events thatollowed brought a very heterogenicsituation or the newly emerging statesin the region.

Recent istrical cntet f

te area

This study ocuses on the borderterritory between Croatia and BiH,

covering the area o Plitvice LakesNational Park, Una National Park and thearea in between. This vast territory canbe divided into three distinct regions,each o which disposes typical eatures.The Una River and Lika Pljeivicamountain ridge orm the two naturalbarriers dividing the area into three

sectors: 1) the area along the Una Riveron the BiH side, now mainly orming theUna NP and urther downstream the

largest settlement in the area, the cityo Biha; 2) the area along the Una Riveron the Croatian side, in the part wherethe border is defned by the course othe Una River; and 3) the nearby areao the Croatian Plitvice Lakes NP, on theother side o Lika Pljeivica mountain,in the part where the border is defnedby Lika Pljeivica mountain.

The unortunate events rom theterritories recent history, such as

occupation, ethnic conicts and war, donot represent a major obstacle to cross-border collaboration today. Nevertheless,they have caused various changes onboth sides, leading to a modifcationo the ethnic structure o the localpopulation and destruction o the culturaland religious acilities in the region.

Fig.1.1. The area (in green) eligible or applicationwithin Croatia-BiH IPA CBC.

Fig. 1.2. Satellite image: the lower stream rom KulenVaku to Lohovo (the larger settlements in this area

include Kulen Vaku (approx. population 1000) and Oraacwith ukovi (population 2,800) (Source: Googlemaps).

REgIoNAL CoNTExT FoRTRANSBouNDARy CooPERATIoN


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Fig. 1.3. The upper stream area rom Donja Suvaja(in RH), i.e. Drvar (in BiH) to Kulen Vaku, via MartinBrod where the tributary Unac drains into the UnaRiver (the only larger settlement in this area is MartinBrod (population 500), excluding Drvar). (Source:Googlemaps).

Fig.1.4. Satellite image: Plitvice Lakes andBiha (Source: Googlemaps).


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12

Brder cntet

The border roughly ollows the courseo the Una River, or the ridges o thenearby Lika Pljeivica mountain, bothriver and mountain creating a naturalobstacle. The border in its present shapemainly ollows a much older historicalborder still evident in the series oortifed settlements along the way.The border was negotiated during the

Treaty o Carlowitz 1699 which endedthe hostilities between the OttomanEmpire and the Holy League (Austria,Poland, Venice and Russia) (16831699)The Ottoman side was deeated at theBattle o Zenta (1697) and accepted tonegotiate a peace treaty, were Austriareceived all o Croatia and Slovenia. TheCroatian territories were incorporatedinto the Military Frontier (Vojnakrajina in Croatian, Militrgrenze inGerman) (Encyclopaedia Britannica

2011) o the Habsburg Monarchy,while the side in BiH was a part o theOttoman Empire. As such, it was theborder between the Christian and theMuslim world, a place o wars, but also,as has always been the case, a place ortrading and communication.

Ater World War II it became theborder between the ormer republicso Yugoslavia. Once the republicsproclaimed their independence romYugoslavia, Croatia in 1991, BiH in 1992

it became the state border betweenCroatia and BiH.

For the two areas along the Una Riverin BiH, the splitting o Yugoslavia in1991 once again made the river banksa state border, thus disabling theree movement o people and goods.This continues to cause problems orthe local population along the river.Very oten, armers living on one sideo the river have a signifcant part

o their cultivated land on the otherside. They can only reach their land bycrossing the border illegally in someconvenient places, since the regularborder crossings are relatively ar. ThePlitvice Lakes NP area is less aected by

the border issues, since it is not situateddirectly on the border.

The border can be crossed only at aninternational check point on the road,while the remainder is guarded againstillegal crossings by regular patrol teamsrom both countries. However, there areno particular physical arteacts pointingto the presence o a state border thatwould limit the movement o peopleand wildlie across the state border.

There is no visa regime and no legalobstacles that limit the movement opeople between Croatia and Bosniaand Herzegovina. As or health andveterinary regulations, there are nospecial rules or the neighbouringborder-crossings. However, generalrules or the transport o domesticanimals between the two countriesare in place and are aligned with therelevant EU policies. Thereore, there

are three dierent inspections presentat the border (phytosanitary, veterinaryand sanitary).

The State Border Police o the Ministryo Interior o the Republic o Croatiaand Border Police o the Ministry oSecurity o Bosnia and Herzegovinaare responsible or border area control

and patrolling.

Sciecnic cntet

Demography

The entire area has been experiencingcontinuous depopulation since theend o 19th century, and the war in the1990s intensifed this process.

For the Plitvice Lakes area (2001 census),the population o the settlementsentirely or partially located within

the national park boundaries wasapproximately 1,300, while in 1991this fgure was 2,238. This decline inpopulation was largely a consequenceo wartime events (Plitvice Lake NPManagement Plan, 20071).

1 . http://www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/eng/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=59&Itemid=73


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There are 21 settlements in the areasurrounding the Plitvice Lakes, whichare entirely or partially located intwo municipalities - Plitvika Jezeraand Saborsko. The settlements arescattered, consisting o several smallermutually remote hamlets that arecharacteristic o mountain areas. Themain settlements within the nationalpark are Plitvika Jezera with thehamlets Mukinje, Jezerce, Plitvica,

Poljanak, Rastovaa, Babin Potok and aseries o other villages and hamlets onthe park periphery. Plitviki Ljeskovacand Bijela Rijeka are located at thevery source area o the Plitvice Lakes.Agricultural areas are abandoneddue to continuous depopulation andthe act that tourism inrastructureemploys the majority o thelocal population. There are 1,300

inhabitants o the Plitvice LakesMunicipality, o whom 1,000 workpermanently or temporarily (duringthe season) in the park (Plitvice LakesNP management plan, 2007).

The communities around PlitviceLakes NP have a higher standard oliving than in the region adjacent tothe BiH border (along the Una Riveron the Croatian side). In comparison,

this region is poor, with highunemployment and the entire regionis currently classifed as an Area oSpecial State Concern, and lags behindthe national average in economic,social, and demographic development.

Today on the BiH side o the Unaregion, there is a total population oapproximately 4,300, including Martin

Brod (pop. 500), Kulen Vaku (pop.1000), and Oraac (pop. 2,800)2. Onthe entire territory o some 350 km2,this makes an average populationdensity o 12 inhabitants/km2.The unemployment rate in Bihamunicipality is about 45%, while in theUna NP region it is about 65%.

The demographic structure othe area in general shows a high

percentage o elderly people. Theactive younger population has letthe area in pursuit o better economicprospects. Todays populationrepresents approximately 60% o thepre-war population in the area, withthe departure o a signifcant portiono the labour active population, dueto the lack o work opportunities inthe region.

Fig. 1.5. Population trends within the national park (Source: Central Bureau o Statistics o the Republic o Croatia).

HUMAN POPULATION TRENDS

PLITVICKA JEZERA SABORSKO

20000

18000

16000

14000

12000

100008000

6000

4000

2000

0

1857 1869 1880 1890 1900 1910 1921 1931 1948 1953 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001

ear

no.ofin

habitants

2. Data taken rom the development strategies o the municipality o Biha and cited by interviewed ocials in 2009.


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14

Land se, rbanizatin and

ecnic deelpent trends

In the area around Plitvice Lakes NationalPark, the local population is traditionallyengaged in arming, agriculture, millingand orestry. Two villages with extensiveagriculture and arming activitiesPlitviki Ljeskovac and Bijela Rijekaarelocated at the very source area o thePlitvice Lakes. Since the establishment o

the national park, almost all commercialactivities in the park territory have beenbanned (Plitvice Lakes NP ManagementPlan, 2007).

Currently, the local population beneftsrom the park mainly in terms oemployment (the park ensures anincome or 750 employees, reachingup to 1 000 employees during thehigh season, and around 3,000 amilymembers).

Farming, fshery and traditional crats,in addition to catering, tourism andrecreational activities, are permittedpursuant to the Nature Protection Act(Article 11). This means that the localpopulation is allowed to use the landin a traditional way, or example ormowing and cattle grazing.

Tourism inrastructure within PlitviceLakes National Park is well developed.There is a hotel and a campsite owned

by the park. Private houses also oeraccommodation and have muchgreater capacity than the park itsel.

There are no major agricultureactivities on either side o the stateborder and agriculture is generallyo low intensity. There is somecattle-arming in the area. Economicactivities on the Croatian side consistmainly o tourism and jobs at thepark. As a whole, Lika-Senj County

is underdeveloped compared to therest o Croatia and the Municipalityo Plitvika Jezera is categorised asan Area o Special State Concern, as itlags behind in economic, social, anddemographic development.

There is a low intensity o huntingand fshing tourism in the area andall activities are carried out outsidethe national park. Fishing is orbiddenwithin the park. As or medicinalherb or berry picking, there are nosignifcant activities within the park.

For the region on both sides o theUna River, the situation concerningeconomic development is almost the

same. The major sectors are: extensiveagriculture, some animal husbandry(dairy cows on the BiH side, sheepon the HR side), some vegetables,orchards, fsh arms (Martin Brod inBiH and Suvaja in HR) and orestry.On both sides o the border, there aregreat expectations rom tourism tocreate a market or local agriculturalproduction ocusing on premiumprice organically produced traditionalproducts as well as souvenirs, and

in general to serve as a signifcantmultiplier or the local economy.

Currently, the only relatively developedtypes o tourism are y-fshingopportunities on the Una River (KulenVaku and Martin Brod which hostedthe European championship in 2010),and rating on the Una River (approx.14,000 visitors per year).

On the BiH side, there are two hotels(Martin Brod and Bastasi total

capacity o 39 beds), three pensions(Kulen Vaku 52 beds in total),private accommodation (Martin Brodand Kulen Vaku total o 35 beds),eight restaurants that also oer someaccommodation as an additionalactivity, our camps (three in Biha andone in Kulen Vaku), and fve touristagencies oering rating, kayaking,canoeing, and y-fshing on the UnaRiver. The surrounding area, i.e. thecities o Biha, Petrovac and Drvar, oer

500 hotel beds and some 750 beds incamps. The tourism inrastructure ismore developed on the BiH side o theUna River, as opposed to the Croatianside o the river, where tourisminrastructure is virtually non-existent


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(Plitvice Lakes NP with its highlydeveloped tourist inrastructure isurther away).

Other sectors o the local economyare a gypsum mine near Kulen Vaku,a water bottling plant in Kulen Vaku,a fsh-arm in Martin Brod, and woodprocessing acilities in ukovi.

The conicts in the 1990s had a great

impact on all three areas in ocus.All were aced with hard post-wartransition challenges. Today, thesocioeconomic situation o the regionsdiers signifcantly.

Even beore the war, the economicactivities in the Plitvice Lakes areawere very much ocused on tourism in

the national park. Due to the naturalattractions and ame o Plitvice LakesNP, the tourism industry recoveredquickly and the area is now the mostrecovered and astest developingamong the three.

Beore the war, other areas around theUna River based their developmenton orestry, agriculture and the oodand wood processing industries, all

o which collapsed during the warand post-war period and still show nosigns o recovery. Thereore, the BiHside expects the new Una NationalPark to become a regional attraction.Similar to the Plitvice Lakes area,income rom tourism is seen as theonly economic perspective.

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

IUCN / Boris Erg


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16

Transprt infrastrctre

The state road D1 Plitvika Jezera Korenica Udbina Graac (directionN-S) passes through Plitvice LakesNational Park. This was ormerly themain route to the major tourismdestination, the Dalmatian coast,beore the motorway was built.Another state road D52 Plitvika Jezera Vrhovine Otoac (direction E-W) also

passes through the park with two roadextensions D504 Plitvika Jezera Prijeboj Liko Petrovo Selo and D217Rakovica Liko Petrovo Selo stateborder crossing with BiH (Izai).

Public trac along these transportcorridors is heavy, especially ortransportation o gasoline or the areaaround Biha in BiH, which originatesprimarily rom the Rijeka terminal, butalso rom Karlovac (both in Croatia). The

City o Biha is the capital o the Una-Sana Canton and the Biha municipality.

The areas in both Croatia and BiHare well connected by the road D217 (Rakovica Licko Petrovo Selo),where the international state bordercrossing point Izai is situated. Itholds international status and is notrestricted to serving only the citizens othe two neighbouring countries.

The Una River region in BiH is a sparselypopulated rural area, relatively isolatedbecause o the underdevelopedtransport inrastructure. The majorbarrier or movement is the inadequatenumber o border crossing check pointsin this area. The distance between thetwo existing border crossings (Uljebiiand Strmica) is approximately 110 km.

There are several roads (Borievac in

RH Kulen Vaku in BiH; and Doljaniin RH Martin Brod in BiH) where thetrac is relatively low, despite the twoocial border crossings. Izai on thenorth, near Plitvice Lakes, and Aranoon the south are the more oten usedalternatives. The amous Una railroadroughly ollows the course o the UnaRiver, and crosses the state border anumber o times.

State f te enirnent and

treats

The general condition o theenvironment is at a relativelysatisactory level, in the sense thatthe state o the environment hasnot been altered in any major waywithin the study area. The areahas no wastewater collection andpurifcation inrastructure (except orPlitvice Lakes NP). This is largely dueto the sparse and relatively small total

population. The collapse o pre-warindustry such as the cellulose actoryin Drvar, and the lag o new industriesin the area, the absence o any majorpolluting sources is the main reasonor the good environmental quality.Monitoring the water quality othe Una River shows that it meetscategory II criteria, with signifcantdeterioration downstream o thelarger villages, especially downstreamo the inow o the Oraac tributary,

which carries the wastewater romthe Oraac and ukovi villages. Thebest water quality o the Una River isupstream o Martin Brod, while the

Fig. 1.6. Border crossings (Source: Googlemaps).


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Unac River upstream o Martin Brod isalready polluted by wastewater romDrvar.

Plitvice Lakes National Park

The majority o tourism inrastructure isin the vicinity o Kozjak Lake, includingthree hotels built about 50 years ago.The sewage system was constructed

without considering the protectiono the lakes. The park area and themunicipalities o Rakovica and PlitvikaJezera are supplied with potable waterrom Kozjak Lake.

The large number o visitors may posea problem to species living in thepark, especially those inside the lakezone where tourists concentration isgreatest. One example is the Eurasianotter (Lutra lutra). This mammal

requires at least hal o the water bankswithout the disturbance o visitors.Visits to orests and other areas alsorequire certain restrictions and control.

One o the case studies o the EUFramework Programme 5 Study oAnthropogenic Pollution ater theWar and Establishing o Measuresor Protection o the Plitvice LakesNational Park and the Biha Regionat the Border Area o Croatia andBosnia-Herzegovina (European

Commission 2005) was directed atinvestigating the human eects othe Plitvice Lakes National Park area.The conclusion has shown that theconcentrations o trace elements andorganic substances were mainly onatural origin. This allayed the parkadministration and local authoritiesconcerns about the negative impacto tourism activities and heavy trac.The only pollutants detected weredetergent-derived chemicals, which

are believed to have been caused bythe deects in the sewerage systemo the hotels situated above KozjakLake in recent decades. The entire

system was later repaired and newmeasurements o the uppermostsediment layer need to be conductedin order to estimate i these measureshave helped to reduce the detergent-derived chemicals level.

Forest management: There is orestcutting on private land within PlitviceLakes National Park. However, thishas not been a signifcant issue, since

all orest cutting on private land isregulated.

Invasive alien species: Plitvice LakesNational Park has problems with chuband char, and the result has been thedecline o trout stock to very low levels.The solution would be to eliminatechub rom the rivers and streams. Barkbeetle does not represent a signifcantproblem, as only 102 o 29,685 hectaresare threatened by it and its population

is monitored.

Water management: Plitvice LakesNational Park has a signifcant issuewith the potential overuse o springwater, especially during the touristseason, though an EU unded projectstarting soon is expected to resolvethe issue o water consumption romKozjak Lake. Water supply will beprovided or Like Jasenice, though theissue o water supply to Korenica andsome other villages still remains.

Wastewater management: PlitviceLakes National Park has problemswith septic tanks at the water source.A growing problem occurs especiallyat Plitviki Ljeskovac, a village atthe source o Crna and Bijela Rijeka(Black and White Rivers). The ewhouseholds standing at the watersource are expected to be relocated.Although the settlements around thenational park have sewage systems,

discharging o wastewaters into therivers is still a problem. Measurementshave confrmed that the polluted waterows towards Biha in BiH, though the


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18

water is purifed along the way and isalready purifed by the time it reachesBiha. The sewage network has beenconstructed up to the village Rastovaa,where a clarifer thickener is located.Wastewater is currently emittedinto a karst sinkhole, though projectdocumentation has been developed tobuild a wastewater treatment plant atthis location, and this issue is expectedto be resolved in the near uture.

Nevertheless, the sewage network omunicipalities Rakovica and PlitvikaJezera still needs to be designed.

Tourism: The lake zone open tovisitors is a recreation and tourisminrastructure zone. It is the mostattractive area o Plitvice LakesNational Park, where tour programmesand thereore the largest numbero visitors concentrate. In order topreserve the ecological balance and

avoid possible negative consequenceson the sensitive ecosystem o thelakes and the natural process o tuaormation, and also to ensure qualitytourist experiences in this part o thepark, development o a study on thecapacity o the lake system or visitorsis planned or the near uture. Thiswill defne the optimum number ovisitors in this zone and serve as a basisor developing sustainable tourismservices and amenities.

Transport: An important issue inPlitvice Lakes National Park is thepreviously mentioned road Rijeka-Biha. This road is an oil trail andpasses straight through the watersource area o the national park, andis used or public trac, especiallythe transportation o oil and uel orthe area around Biha in Bosnia andHerzegovina. This problem has beenpartially resolved by escorting cisternsthrough Karlovac, while other cisterns

and all trailer trucks still pass throughthe water source area o the nationalpark.

Eutrophication: Increased amountso dissolved organic matter impede

tua ormation in the Plitvice Lakes.The lakes are exposed to the naturalprocess o eutrophication (enrichmento water with nutrients) or lake-aging,which has accelerated as a result ohuman activity (agriculture, animalhusbandry, tourism, wastewater). Theeutrophication o Plitvice Lakes inducesthe growth o macrovegetation, whichin turn decreases water circulation,adds to the accumulation o organic

material, slows tua ormation andcan even jeopardize the statics o thetua ormed barriers by its weight,threatening them with collapse.

Vegetation succession: Vegetationstages maintained by humanintervention are very endangered inthe park. The low level or absence otraditional land uses such as mowingand grazing o meadows leads toovergrowth by bushes and later by

trees, and thus the grassland associatedbiodiversity in the parks territory isbeing lost. Based on a rough estimate,70% o the parks biodiversity is tied tonon-orest habitats, primarily to suchgrass-covered suraces.

To ensure preservation o the parkslandscape diversity and its abundanceo plant species, all existing ormso grasslands/meadows must bemaintained to prevent the growtho tree-like and bush species. There

are large grassland areas in thepark, such as Homoljako Field(1080 ha), Brezovako Field (960 ha),Karleuine Plase (80 ha), and so orth.I the overgrowth process o grassysuraces is not halted, the numbero plant species will decline, and theappearance o the landscape will bealtered. The colour and diversity ograssy suraces will thus not come totheir ull beauty.

Habitat management: Subterraneanhabitats in the park are threatenedby uncontrolled visits by tourists,illegal waste dumping, and therelated seepage o waters whichmay be polluted. Such waters also



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threaten subterranean aquatic auna,while subterranean auna in general(especially the endemic insect,Machaerites udrzali) are threatened byillegal collection.

Land mines: Land mines pose a threat,but only outside Plitvice Lakes NationalPark (all land mines have been clearedwithin the park boundaries). However,there still remain areas close to the

border that are polluted by land mines(Plitvice NP Management Plan, 20073).

The war let no particular damageon the environment o the PlitviceLakes NP region, as the area wassecured by the Czech battalion o theUN Protection Forces (UNPROFOR),stationed at the Plitvice Lakes, duringthe temporary occupation.

Una National Park:

Actual threats within the parkboundaries include:

untreated communal wastewaterthe settlements o Drvar, MartinBrod, Kulen Vaku dispose theirwastewater directly into the UnaRiver or its tributary. As previouslydemonstrated, pollution rom thetowns o Udbina and Korenica,settlements on the Croatian side,appears at the spring o the Una

River tributary Klokot, which suppliesdrinking water or the Biha area;

communal solid waste disposalin nature or on ad hocormeddumpsites;

devastation o the landscape byillegal building/development andpoorly prepared physical plans;

destruction o travertine barriers andvaluable habitats by inadequatelyregulated tourist activities;

overfshing o fsh stocks as aconsequence o non-existing fshingplan and appropriate enorcement.

Another threat to the region isa prospected dam (137 m) or ahydropower plant on the Unac river

upstream o Martin Brod. This planrom the Ministry o Energy wouldcontradict the vision and objectiveso the declared national park Una.Until now the opposing views o theministries o energy and physicalplanning and environment have notachieved a consensus.

The EU Framework Programme 5(European Commission 2005) statedthreats o invasive allochthonous

species or the Una River system in theBiha region. However, little data areavailable, as the entire area has yet notbeen properly surveyed.

The area o the ormer military baseand eljava airport, situated at thestate border between Croatia andBiH, is contaminated by PCBs4 (airporttunnels lying under Lika Pljeivicamountain) and land mines. Land minepollution is also a problem or someareas close to the state border and

some areas within Una National Park,and these have been declared a priorityarea or mine clearing programmes.

To summarize, the environment in theentire transboundary area has not acedany great threats and has not experiencedecological disaster o any kind.

4. Polychlorinated biphenyl.

3. http://www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/eng/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=59&Itemid=73


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20

Tourism as te local economy

sector depending on natural

assets o te region

Gustav Janeek was the initiator othe Society or the Arrangement andEmbellishment o the Plitvice Lakes(Drutvo za ureenje i poljepanjePlitvikih jezera), ounded in 1893. TheSocietys goals were to conduct researchand development o the Plitvice Lakes

and to develop tourism. Thanks toJaneek, the frst tourism trails weremarked, the frst hotels and resortsbuilt, and systematic tourist marketingstarted.

The frst legal protection o the PlitviceLakes was realized or a short period in1928/29 under the Financial Code othe time. Due to administrative issues,this protection lasted only two years.Only ater World War II were the Plitvice

Lakes assigned permanent protection.Based on the 1948 Regulation on themanagement o national parks, in April1949 the Parliament o the then NationalRepublic o Croatia adopted an Actdeclaring the Plitvice Lakes a nationalpark as an area o a special naturalbeauty. Since then, certain amendmentshave been made. Tourism developmenthas always been intertwined with theintention o placing the area underspecial protection regime.

The story o the establishment oUna National Park is more recent.Symposiums on physical planning,wastewater treatment technologies andprotection o the Una, Sana and KoranaRivers were held in the mid 1980s. In1991, the symposium Value o thenatural and cultural heritage o the UnaRiver basin in Biha fnally triggered

the initiative or establishment o UnaNational Park. Eventually, in 2002 theprocess o establishing Una NP wasinitiated, frst with the preparation oa easibility study in 2005, ollowedby adoption o the Act on the Una NP(2008). The physical plan or Una NP hasnot yet been established, though itspreparation was initiated in 2007.

Plitvice Lakes National Park is

considered a great success story judgingby the number o visitors to the park.Consequently, local communities havedeveloped both through the provisiono park related jobs and through theprovision o tourism related services.

The possibility o developmento sustainable tourism and visitormanagement was the main reasonwhy nature protection authoritiesand protected area administrations

considered the possibility oestablishing transboundary cooperation.Yet, the existing tourism practices haveto be assessed against the pressureposed on nature and the participation olocal communities or Plitvice Lakes NPand Una NP alike.

The EU IPA CBC project proposal Una Spring o Lie is a positive exampleo transboundary cooperation onsustainable tourism. It builds on asuccessul implementation o the EU

CARDS 2004 project UnAvanTurizam.Una Spring o Lie covers parts otwo counties in Croatia (City o Zadarand Municipality o Graac in ZadarCounty; Municipality o Donji Lapac inLika-Senj County) and a part o a cantonin Bosnia and Herzegovina (Municipalityo Biha in Una-Sana Canton). As parto this project proposal, building and

Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009(10 Oct)

Total 482,275 597,884 665,108 721,265 749,209 855,866 866,218 931,372 948,891 905,000

Number o visitors in Plitvice Lakes National Park, 2000-2009


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improvement o tourism inrastructureneeded is planned or the developmento the joint tourist oer Una Spring oLie. A wooden railway is planned to beconstructed along the tourist walkwayto the Una Spring. Creation o oot andbicycle paths alongside the Una Riverand other similar activities have beenoutlined in the project proposal.

Sustainable tourism

development in te region

- conclusions and points or

consideration

Previous cooperation with neighbouringareas is visible rom the act that beorethe war in the 1990s, Plitvice LakesNational Park flled accommodationcapacities in a radius o 60 km rom thepark, including Biha in BiH, Otoac,Korenica in Croatia, etc. Nowadays,Una-Sana Canton and the Municipalityo Biha have their inormation desk atEntrance 1 o the Plitvice Lakes NationalPark. It is expected that the PlitviceLakes National Park will also set up aninormation desk at the entrance toUna National Park once the entrance isopened.

This cooperation can still be improved.The parks could start exchanging visitorsthrough some orm o unifcation ovisitor services and accommodation

standards. This would acilitatedevelopment o joint regional touristpackages and would increase the qualityo tourist services. Plitvice Lakes NationalPark cooperates with approximately 500domestic and oreign travel agenciesand tour operators, and their share inrecorded tourist days is 85% o the totalnumber o recorded tourist days. Thevast majority o visitors are international(oreign) visitors.

Development o joint tourism productpackages would enable greatermarketing strengths o the two nationalparks and attract more tour operatorsdue to the economy o scale and morediverse and wider tourism product

package available. Development o ajoint booking system or tourism services(e.g. accommodation, transportation,guided excursions, cultural events)would increase the attractiveness o bothnational parks, since the visitor wouldbe able to visit more than one site on asingle trip. Organising joint training ortourist guides and interpreters acilitatesexperiences and interpretation skillsexchange, provides or better knowledge

o the region, its natural, historicaland cultural heritage, and improvescommunication and understandingbetween partners. The joint promotiono tourism and recreational potential,and marketing o visitor servicesavailable on each side o the state borderincrease marketing strength o bothnational parks and increases incomes othe local tourism service providers andaccommodation owners.

It is an opportunity, but also a challengeor Plitvice Lakes National Park, withits long tradition and advantageo experience and knowledge, tocooperate with the newly establishedUna National Park.

Plitvice Lakes National Park has a verywell established park inrastructure andmanagement. It is very well promotednationally and internationally with anadapted brand, tourist oces and all thenecessary tourism acilities. Una National

Park, on the other hand, is struggling toestablish the basic acilities required ora national park, and is still halway romcompleting its management scheme,inrastructure and zoning.

Furthermore, dierent economicbackgrounds place these two parks oncompletely dierent stands. PlitviceLakes National Park generates mosto its own income (95.8%)5 and soar has had a relatively independent

position politically. Una NP is completelydependent on government support andoreign donors. Thereore, every decisionbecomes one o political importance andleaves the management in a dependentand weak position or negotiation. An

5. State budgetary revenues represents only 0.89% o theentire park budget.


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22

agreement on cooperation with PlitviceLakes National Park could thereoreend up being quite unbalanced, withPlitvice Lakes National Park representinga generous donor o knowledge, andUna National Park let in a position o thepoor inexperienced partner asking orsupport.

Generally, it may be dicult to satisythe expectations or the development

o the Una region rom tourism alone.As illustrated in the socioeconomicoverview o the region, there is no otherimportant industry in the region. Tourismand agriculture are the only existingsources o income in the area. This givestourism a quasi-monopoly and a dicultposition o a saviour or the Una region,with the responsibility o attracting asmany visitors as possible each year. Thusthe view on economic development orthe Una area is biased due to the nearby

Plitvice Lakes area. To depict this better,here is a quotation rom our consultantor BiH, More or less ollow the ootprintso the nearby Plitvice area.

The local population is predestinedto cooperate, since tourism cannot bedeveloped by an isolated individual. TheUna region has to become a brandedtourism destination, which can onlybe achieved through cooperationwith all local stakeholders. It could bedicult to bring everyone on board,as it is likely that not all share the samevision o long-term sustainable ruraldevelopment based on a combination o

organic arming, traditional small scaleproduction o premium price products,and eco-tourism.

Additionally, tourism in this region isalmost entirely seasonal. During winter,tourism acilities are almost empty andthe number o visitors drops signifcantly.Thereore, the major portion o revenuesmust be generated during the ewsummer months. This adds pressureon the amount o income to be gained

during this period to suce through thewinter months.



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Leal and adinistratie

fraewr fr prtected area

desinatin and anaeent

The Dinaric Arc eco-region can

be defned as the bio-geographiccrossroad between the Alps, theplains o Central Europe, and theAdriatic Sea. The Dinaric Alpinemountain chain runs parallel tothe east coast o the Adriatic Searom Slovenia to Albania. Someoutstanding biological values o thiseco-region include:

one o the richest subterraneanauna, large and well preserved

orests with high oral speciesdiversity and a high rate oendemism (1020% o all plants areendemic);

largest and most spectacular karstecosystem in Europe, includingan extensive cave system andsubterranean network o lakes andrivers with specially adapted lieorms;

representation o healthy

populations o large carnivores suchas brown bear, lynx, wol, as well asmany birds o prey a phenomenonnow rare in Europe;

intact reshwater ecosystems themost water-rich area in SouthernEurope and the Mediterraneanbasin.

Over the millennia, low intensityarming practices have created

habitats that integrate orest, pastureand cropland, and provide a homeor a unique set o species. Thesecomplex mosaics are still presentthroughout the Dinaric Arc. Despitethe conservation importance o the

Dinaric Arc, protection o the priorityareas in a network o protected areasis ar rom complete, with particularlyserious gaps ound in the southernand eastern portions o the region.

The situation o protected areas, bothin terms o quantity, protected surace,and management eectiveness,varies substantially among thedierent countries. As a generalrule, Slovenia and Croatia have themost extensive network o protectedareas and best management levels,while the network o protected areasis less complete in Serbia, Albaniaand Montenegro, and even less

so in Bosnia and Herzegovina andKosovo. Existing protected areasoten lack management plans, and/or the fnancial and human resourcesor eective management. Thebreak-up o the ormer Yugoslaviaalso contributed to a racturing othe conservation planning or theregion and laid the ground or theestablishment o transboundaryprotected areas (IUCN, 2008).

Croatia and BiH are both currently

aspiring towards membership in theEU. This will lead to better balancingo legislation on nature conservationbetween the two countries. However,it is important to note that Croatiais ahead o BiH in this process. ForCroatia, EU accession could alreadybecome a reality in the next ewyears. On the other hand, BiH remainsin a political stando between itstwo major entities: the Federationo Bosnia and Herzegovina and the

Republika Srpska. All this has put thecountry in a standstill with politicalstagnation. Due to the division, theinstitutional ramework and theramework or nature conservationremain relatively complicated. Each

unit has its own government andministries, including the ministry oenvironment and physical planning,and they all operate at three dierentlevels (municipality, canton and state),

oten without interaction and legalhierarchy.

Apart rom the dierence in thenature legislation o the two countries,the law enorcement in Croatia andBiH also diers signifcantly (Zeleni-Neretva, 2008:21).

NATuRE AND ITS PRoTECTIoN IN ThE REgIoN oF ThETRANSBouNDARy AREA


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24

Croatia

In Croatia, the Ministry o Cultureis the main authority in charge onature protection, pursuant to theNature Protection Act adoptedin October 2003 and amended inNovember 2008. The Directorate orNature Protection o the Ministryrepresents an administrative unitdealing with nature protection at the

state level, and it prescribes natureprotection measures and conditionsor sectoral cooperation, approvesconcessions or the economic use onatural resources, maintains a centralregister o protected areas, and is incharge o implementing internationalconventions. The Directorate or NatureProtection Inspection o the sameMinistry is in charge o inspection andsupervision, and the ranger service6.

The State Institute or Nature

Protection o Croatia7 is the centralinstitution responsible or specializednature protection activities inCroatia and represents an expertunit or nature protection in Croatia.It is responsible or collecting andprocessing data that constitutes thebackground or nature protectiondesign and planning.

When the State Secretary or NatureProtection o Croatia signed the Big

Win commitments or Dinaric Arcat the CBD COP 9 in Bonn, Germanyin May 2008, the initiative was alsohanded down to the regional level.In 2008, the Ministry o Culture sentocial letters to the Plitvice LakesNational Park and the State Instituteor Nature Protection regardingcooperation on the implementationo CBD PoWPA, which includes the BigWin commitments, and particularly thecommitment Examining possibilitiesfor transboundary cooperation between

Plitvice Lakes National Park (Croatia)

and Una National Park (Bosnia and

Herzegovina).

The Public Institution o Plitvice LakesNational Park is the managementauthority o the park. In accordancewith the Nature Protection Act (OcialGazette 70/05, 139/08), these publicinstitutions are ounded by the Republico Croatia by virtue o a regulationadopted by the Government o theRepublic o Croatia (Article 72). Thepublic institutions bodies are theGoverning Board, Director General andConservation Manager. The GoverningBoard makes the key developmentaldecisions, while the Institutionsoperations are organized andadministered by the Director General,appointed by the Minister or a our-yearmandate. The Conservation Manageroversees the Institutions conservationoperations (conservation service). The

Plitvice Lakes National Park ManagementPlan was adopted in 2007. The PhysicalPlan o the Plitvice Lakes National Parkdates rom 1986 and will be replaced bya new one in the near uture. Regionalauthorities responsible or the areawhere the park is situated are Lika-SenjCounty and Karlovac County. The localauthority in Lika-Senj County is theMunicipality o Plitvika jezera, while thelocal authority in Karlovac County is theMunicipality o Saborsko.

The section Implementing protectionin protected areas in the NatureProtection Act (Articles 69-81)stipulates the main responsibilities othe public institutions/managementauthorities o protected areas8.

The Public Institution o PlitviceLakes National Park is divided intotwo services and three sectors whichare administered by the Oce o theDirector General.

6. Main articles o the Nature Protection Act that deal with the

responsibilities o Ministry o Culture in national parks are theollowing: 38 interventions in nature, 70&71 special natureprotection and conservation measures, 72, 76&77 protectedarea management, 80 management plan, 112&113 pre-emption (restrictions in legal transactions), 127 interventionsin protected areas (permissions), 135&137 concessions, 195 misdemeanour provisions.

7. http://www.dzzp.hr/eng/

8. In more detail, adoption o the regulation in internal order(Article 71), protected area management (Articles 72-79), andmanagement plan (Articles 80-81). With regard to protectedarea management (Articles 72-79), the Nature Protection Actstates that public institutions manage protected areas (Article72). Public institutions carry out the activity o protection,maintenance and promotion o protected area with thepurpose o protection and conservation o authenticity onature, saeguarding the undisturbed running o natural

processes and sustainable use o natural resources, as wellas control the enorcement o nature protection conditionsand measures in the area they administer (Article 73). Article74 states the provisions or fnancing public institutions andtheir work. Articles 75-76 defne the Governing Board and itsresponsibilities, such as adoption o statute, management plan,annual programme or protection, maintenance, conservation,promotion and use o a protected area containing a price list orservices related to use o protected natural assets, general acts,development plan o a public institution and annual fnancialplan, and decision concerning the election or appointmentand dismissing o ocers designated in the by-laws o a publicentity. The remaining provisions on protected area managementdefne provisions or the manager (Article 77), conservationmanager (Article 78), and supervision o work o publicinstitutions (Article 79). Also, direct supervision in protectedareas is carried out by the chie ranger and rangers o the publicinstitution (Article 174).


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The Institutions internal organizationalunits are:

Oce o the Director General; National Park Conservation,Promotion and User Service;

Joint Operations Service; Hotels and Hospitality Sector; Maintenance and Utilities Sector; Retail Outlets Sector.

Within these departments, the park

currently employs 730 persons, owhich approximately 130 perormconservation related jobs. A smallnumber o the parks activities arefnanced rom the State Budget, whilethe rest is fnanced by the parks ownrevenues9.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there isno state level ministry in charge o

environmental issues. This representsa general obstacle to all processeso implementation o internationalconventions such as the CBD. Thegovernment and parliament o theFederation o Bosnia and Herzegovinais the highest authority in chargeo the management, includingsustainable development, andconservation o this area.

Una National Park was proclaimedby the Parliament o the FederationBiH and the Act on Una National Parkwas passed on 29 May 2008. By virtueo this decree, the Public Institutiono Una NP was established and willoperationally manage the area, inaccordance with the Act on UnaNational Park and the ManagementPlan or Una NP.

The establishment o the institutionwas still underway at the time othe preparation o this assessment,and at the phase o appointingthe Institutions director. The 10-year management plan is yet to beadopted by the FBiH Government,while the Annual Program or thePublic Institution will be approved bythe FBiH Ministry o Environment andTourism.

The Una-Sana Canton, and thesettlements in the area, the largestbeing the City o Biha, are veryinterested in the protection o thearea and its expected associatedbenefts or the sustainable local andregional development, and as suchthey participate in the governanceo the area as very importantstakeholders.


9. The current organizational structure o Plitvice LakesNational Park can be ound in the National Park PlitviceLakes Management Plan (page 21, Figure 3)


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Comparison o protected

area networks in te two

neigbouring countries

Both countries are parties to theConvention on Biological Diversity(CBD) and the UNESCO World HeritageConvention. Furthermore, both countriesare involved in the integrated riverbasin management project or the SavaRiver. This project is aimed at identiying

wetlands in Posavina to be introduced ina network o protected areas.

As stated above, Croatia is currentlyin the accession phase to EUmembership and BiH is on theEuropean Commission list or potentialcandidates (European Commission,2009). This process includes importanteorts to align the national natureprotection legislation with EUstandards. Ater becoming a member

o the European Community, bothcountries would have to identiy,propose and establish a network oSpecial Protected Areas and proposeSpecial Areas or Conservation that willorm the NATURA 2000 network.

There are important dierences in naturelegislation between Croatia and BiH. InCroatia, protected areas represent 7.95%o the national territory, including thesea (or 11.37% o the continental parto Croatia and 0.22% o maritime part o

Croatia; May 2010). On the other hand,protected areas in BiH represent only0.9% o the national area (this was only0.6% prior to the establishment o UnaNational Park in May 2008).

In 2009, the protected area networkin BiH encompassed almost 50,567ha and included three national parks:Kozara (3,375 hectares), Sutjeska (17,250hectares) and Una (19,800 hectares);two nature parks: Blidinje and Hutovo

Blato (one o the three Ramsar sites inBiH, alongside Bardaa and LivanjskoPolje); fve strict nature reserves, threemanaged nature reserves, 29 specialreserves (6 geological, 22 botanical and1 ornithological), 16 nature landscape

reserves, a larger number o naturalmonuments and seven memorialmonuments. It has to be noted that theprotected area categories listed aboveare occasionally overlapping, e.g. thePeruica Strict Nature Reserve is locatedwithin the border o Sutjeska NationalPark (Niewiadomski, 2009:45).

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) completeddrating its National Environmental

Action Plan (NEAP) in 2006 and identifedsites relevant or the Emerald Network(November 2006). The country is urthercommitted to developing the list and GISdatabase o natural habitat types andsupports the process o preparation othe Red Lists o species (CBD, 2009).

For the Republic o Croatia, the Registryo protected natural values at the Ministryo Culture o the Republic o Croatia (aso 14 May 2010) lists a total o 461 high

nature value areas in Croatia, protectedin nine categories. The largest portion othe territory is protected in the naturepark or national park categories. Thereare two strict reserves, eight nationalparks and eleven nature parks alreadyprotected. Several areas are in the processo designation in other categories. As oMay 2010, 12 areas in Croatia were underpreventive protection, two o whichas regional parks, one special reserve,fve protected landscapes, two naturemonuments and two park orests. Certain

areas in Croatia enjoy international legalprotection. The Plitvice Lakes NationalPark is listed on the UNESCO WorldNatural Heritage List. The Ramsar List oWetlands o International Importancelists the Kopaki Rit and Lonjsko PoljeNature Parks, the Crna Mlakafshpondsspecial ornithological reserve andlower course o the Neretva River asinternationally important wetland areas.Velebit Mountain orms a part o theUNESCO World Network o Biosphere

Reserves under the Man and BiosphereProgramme.In 2007, Papuk NatureParkbecame a member o the UNESCOGlobal Network o National Geoparks asa European Geopark (State Institute orNature Protection, 2007b).


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The proposal o the Croatian NationalEcological Network (CRO-NEN) wascompleted in 2005, thereby orming thebasis or the Ordinance on the NationalEcological Network adopted by theCroatian Government pursuant to theNature Protection Act in September2009. The designation o the NationalEcological Network was the frst steptowards preparation or the NATURA2000 proposal as part o Croatias

accession process to the EuropeanUnion. The National Ecological Networkis defned under the Nature ProtectionAct (Ocial Gazette 70/05 and 139/08)pursuant to the EU Habitats Directiveand NATURA 2000 habitats types (StateInstitute or Nature Protection, 2007b).The EU PHARE NATURA 2000 projecthas urther assisted Croatia in preparingits NATURA 2000 proposal, and a newIPA project has started and will assistin preparation o the marine part o

NATURA 2000 proposal.

Brie overview o te natural

values o te region

The Dinaric Alps have a variety oMediterranean, continental and alpinespecies and habitats.

The main reason or the placemento both areas, Plitvice Lakes NationalPark and Una National Park, underprotection is the specifc geological

and hydrological karst phenomenon.The basic eature in the Plitvice LakesNP is a chain o lakes connected bywateralls, created by the biodynamicprocess o tua development. Placedwithin the orested karst landscape,the sixteen larger and smaller lakesare interconnected by cascades andwateralls. In the continuous process otua deposition, certain plants (algaeand mosses play a signifcant role)cause the barriers between the lakes

to grow and orm new wateralls andcascades.

Furthermore, Plitvice Lakes NationalPark includes a virgin orest, orkovaUvala, and the largest peat surace in

Croatia in the Matica Valley (LjeskovakeBare). So ar, 114 speleological sites havebeen identifed in the park. This numberalso includes sites in peripheral areas,to approximately 500 m outside o theocial boundaries.

According to the habitat map, andin compliance with level III o theNational Habitat Classifcation, thereare 43 dierent habitat types within the

boundaries o Plitvice Lakes NationalPark, and o these, 21 belong to thecategories o endangered and rare. Themost common among the endangeredand rare categories in the national parkare beech orest with giant dead nettletrees and the Dinaric beech/fr orest.

The interplay between geographicalposition, horizontal and verticalstratifcation and geological andpedological particularities creates a rich

and diverse ora in the park, with manyrare, endemic and endangered species.To date 1,448 plant taxa have beenrecorded, including some 50 orchidspecies, many o which are endemic.For some species, such as the Siberianrayower (Ligularia sibirica), this is theonly known locality in Croatia. A rareand interesting plant is a species ohawksbeard (Crepis conyziolia) thatorms the special grassland associationCrepido conyzioliae-Molinietumaltissimae (egulja, 1992). There are

only two known locations o thisassociation in Croatia recorded in theliterature.

The park auna is also rich anddiverse. There are records o our largecarnivores in the park: brown bear,lynx, wol and wild cat. Additionally,Plitvice Lakes National Park is the onlynational park in Croatia where theItalian crested newt (Triturus carnifex),Alpine salamander (Salamandra atra),

Harvest mouse (Micromys minutus),Striped feld mouse (Apodemusagrarius) and Whiskered bat (Myotisalcathoe) can be ound. The record othe Whiskered bat is the frst and theonly one in Croatia so ar.


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Una National Park has equally uniquephenomena o karst bio-, hydro- andgeomorphology. As in the case oPlitvice Lakes NP, this is a sensitivebiodynamic system o plants, algaeand mosses orming various travertineshapes and barriers creating microlakes, caves, islands, and waterallsalong the course.

The landscape is very attractive due to

a number o scenic valleys (Martin Brod,Kulen Vaku, Klisa, Lohovo) and deepcanyon sections with steep sides andclis. The Unac River, the main tributaryto the Una River, is hydrogeomorpho-logically unique, since it submergesseveral times along its course, andultimately springs rom the Black Springupstream o Martin Brod.

There is important diversity o thewatercourse, rom a karst spring, aster

and slower sections o the river streamand ooded meadows, and terrestrialdiversity o the habitats in a landscapeo clis, virgin orests, anthropogenicgrasslands meadows and/or pastures.The area is the meeting place o threedierent climatic zones: Mediterra-nean, continental and alpine, whichresults in relatively high humidity. Allthese eatures, i.e. karst, geomorpho-logic characteristics, geological history,mosaic o habitats, and the biogeo-graphic position makes this a zone o an

exceptional diversity o ora and aunawith many endemic species. Many o

these species are ound within the clifssures, but also in the anthropogenicgrasslands. Wetlands associated withriver streams are especially endangeredand thereore valuable habitat. There isa great diversity o invertebrate auna(comparable to Plitvice Lakes NP), with215 species confrmed and up to 250(including unconfrmed species) overtebrate auna species including richornithoauna as a consequence o the

great habitat diversity, 15 reshwaterfsh species including local endemics,12 amphibian species, 15 reptile speciesand 70 mammal species.

The area is sparsely populated, withpoorly accessible subareas o preservedwilderness, where all o Europes toppredators are ound. Furthermore, thearea is one o signifcant biodiversity,in terms o the total number o species,number o endangered species and the

number o endemic and relict species.

For both Plitvice Lakes National Parkand Una National Park, water is thecentral element. Even though watersuraces make up only 0.74% o the ter-ritory o the Plitvice Lakes National Park,water represents its most importantvalue. It is present in each and everypostcard o the Plitvice Lakes NationalPark and in its name. The same is trueor Una National Park. The park wasnamed ater the river that ows through

it. This makes the river its central ele-ment and the ocus o protection.



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Prtected areas in te

transbndar area

Plitvice Lakes National Park on theCroatian side and Una National Park onthe Bosnia and Herzegovina side are notthe only ocially designated protectedzones within the cross-border area.

On the Croatian side there are also theollowing smaller protected areas:

Javornik - Tisov vrh peak (specialreserve);Velika Pljeivica - Drenovaa (specialreserve);Bijeli River tributary - Kamensko(protected landscape);Una spring (nature monument).

Plitvice Lakes National Park

The park is located in two counties, with91% o the park located in Lika-Senj

County, and 7% in Karlovac County.

The Plitvice Lakes have been underprotection since 1949. Thereore,Plitvice Lakes National Park has over60 years o experience and, in severalaspects, it represents the older andmore experienced brother in thistransboundary relationship. Today,the total surace o the Plitvice Lakesis over 29,685.15 hectares, ater aspatial extension in 1997 to alsoinclude the drainage basin. Plitvice

Lakes National Park was registeredon the UNESCO World Heritage Listin 1979, and is also a member o the

Natural Parks Federation and theEuropean Parks o Nature.

Una National Park

Una National Park was recentlyestablished, and has been ociallyin existence since 29 May 2008.However, some general establishmentprocedures are yet to be fnalized. UnaNational Park expands over 19,800

hectares in Bosnia and Herzegovina,while the physical plan or thearea, currently under preparation,proposes extension o the area toa total o 34,700 hectares, whichis a requirement or an eectivemanagement o the area.

Strateic pint fr

cnsideratin - cnnectiit

and cntinit f prtected

area netwrThere is currently no jointly elaboratedand adopted planning document orstrategy or cooperation between thetwo national parks. The cooperationbetween Plitvice Lakes NationalPark and Una National Park is notormalised and there is no commonunding or communication strategy.

For the elaboration o a mid-term plano transboundary cooperation, the

upcoming EU IPA CBC project Una Spring o Lie could present a uniqueopportunity. The project proposal

includes the preparation o theStrategy or development o tourism incross-border region o the upper courseo the Una River. It could also includeother sectors beside tourism. Themomentum and established structuresrom the earlier successul joint EUCARDS 2004 project UnAvanTurizamcan be built upon. Further, the projectpartners have gained experiencein another EU CARDS 2004 project,

Promoting conservation o borderriver ecosystems and sustainable useo resources in border area o Croatiaand Bosnia and Herzegovina. In thecourse o that project, activities ledto the proposal o an Action Plan orconservation o the upper course o theUna River.

Administration

Plitvice Lakes National Park currently

has much greater capacities in allsectors compared to Una NationalPark, owing to the act that UnaNational Park was only recentlyestablished. Both partners statedtheir willingness to allocate statime, acilities and equipmentor developing transboundarycooperation.


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Needs or mutual assistance inoperational and/or technical capacitybuilding were identifed, thoughnot specifcally in relation to thetransboundary cooperation initiative.There is not much experience ineither o the two countries with theollowing issues:

development o a carrying capacitystudy (visitor management);

economic evaluation o protectedareas and beneft sharingmechanisms (including tourism,incentives, and other economicopportunities);

sustainable fnancial managemento protected areas (including privatesector undraising);

transboundary protected areamanagement.

The needs o Una National Park have

been defned in the EU IPA CBC projectproposal, including the componento capacity building, in particularStrengthened human capacities intourism services in cross-border regionand increased awareness o conditionsor living and working in or nearprotected natural values.

Due to the specifc situation o PlitviceLakes National Park, it is expected thatit will provide its expertise, know-howand capacity to assist Una NP in its

development. The Action Plans onspecifc priorities within the PlitviceLakes NP Management Plan, adoptedprior to the establishment o UnaNP in 2008, do not list enlargementor support to the Una region in theactions planned or the period 20082017.10 However, the revision o thePlitvice Lakes NP Management Plan in2012 could present an opportunity toinclude cooperation with Una NP.

For the time being, there are gapsbetween expectations on one side andconcrete, unded and planned actionson the other.

Funding and coordination

A common governing structure andregional unds or transboundarycooperation are, at the moment, neitheran issue nor an area o interest on eitherside. Because a spatial connectionbetween the two areas is not soughtater, there is no interest in theestablishment o a common governingstructure or the area. Thereore, unds

directed at visible, concrete outcomesare more welcome than a permanentlyinstalled regional trust und witha bureaucratic system that wastesresources without visible beneftsor the general community. Further,neither in Bosnia and Herzegovina norin Croatia is there much experiencewith this kind o a und. Croatiasinterest in such a und is at an evenlower level, because they expect thatits contribution would not meet the

expected advantages.

Furthermore, there is currently nolegal or contractual basis allowing theestablishment o a common governingbody that would have a mutuallyapproved mandate to coordinatetransboundary cooperation. Firstand oremost, national and regionalauthorities need to provide an enablingenvironment or transboundarycooperation, which would mainly includepolitical will and legislative support.

It could be estimated that more ormaland regular coordination (as ad hoccoordination and cooperation alreadyexist)11 will be achieved once theinitiative related to the areas protectionand sustainable development becomesstronger. An additional contributingactor to the enhancement ocoordination could be seen in the actthat both countries are aspiring to EUaccession, and these two areas might

become parts o the same NATURA2000 site. There is also apparentwillingness to cooperate demonstratedby both sides.

Una River near Biha, Bosnia and Herzegovina IUCN / Boris Erg

10. Plitvice Lakes National Park Management Plan,(2007). pp73-76, A1-A29/ B1-B32

11. A bilateral BiH-RH committee or management o commonriver basins exists.


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A common governing structure couldbe established on BiH side, aliated tothe uture Public Enterprise o Una NP.On the Croatian side, an aliation o theregional and local authorities could beestablished, and include the counties,regional development agencies, localmunicipalities and county protectedarea management institutes. It is,however, dicult to fnd support or thisinitiative, since there is no existing trust

und o this kind in Croatia.

The current economic crisis andbudgetary restraints will slowthe dynamics o cooperationdevelopment. However, theprotection and sustainabledevelopment based on the uniquenatural value and attractiveness o theUna area is perceived to be a majoropportunity or development, both inthis rural area and the broader region.

It can, thereore, count on long-termsupport and commitment rom alllevels o authority.

Dierent unding sources could beavailable or supporting commonactivities to be undertaken in thecourse o the plan

Feasibility study on establishing transboundary cooperation - NP Una - NP Plitvice

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