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The number and size of protected areas in the
region has been increasing, although the share of
protected land is still low if compared to that of
the EU. Protected areas that have been established
recently, or are in the process of being included in the
transboundary protection system, include Neretva
River Delta, Skadar Lake, Ohrid Lake, Prespa Lake,
Bjeshkët e Nemuna Mountains, Djerdap National
Park, Balkan and Tara Mountains, and Danube River.
Energy
Emerging policies and actions aim to increase the
efficiency of energy production and consumption, and
to promote a transition to low or zero-carbon energy
sources. These policies, which are clearly relevant
to climate change, entail synergies (and trade-offs)
between often overlapping mitigation and adaptation
strategies. While the introduction of renewable sources
Croatia’s “green tax” is prescribed by the Law on
Forests, and is a fee that is charged to all legal and
physical persons inCroatia that engage in economic
activity as a percentage of all revenues acquired in
Croatia and abroad. This fee was set at 0.07% of all
revenues in 2005, but was subsequently reduced to
0.0265%. The total funds for 2012 were € 27m.
These funds are allocated to the state budget and
then transferred to Croatian Forests Ltd., which
uses these funds for forests-related activities,
including scientific research. In 2011 these funds
were allocated to the following activities (in
descending monetary value):
• Demining of forests and forest land
• Forest infrastructure
• Forest keeping
• Division for private forests
• Management of forests on karst terrain
• Forest protection
• Forest monitoring
• Fire prevention
• Pre-commercial thinning
• Scientific research
A green tax based on the Croatian
Law on Forests
important for climate change adaptation. They play
a crucial role in: (i) supporting species to adapt to
changing climate patterns and sudden climate events
by providing refuges and migration corridors; (ii)
protecting humans from sudden climatic events and
reducing vulnerability to floods, droughts and other
weather-induced problems; and (iii) supporting
economies to adapt to climate change by reducing
the costs of climate-related negative impacts.
The Dinaric Arc Initiative (DAI) is a joint
effort by international organizations including
WWF, IUCN, UNESCO, FAO, UNDP, Council
of Europe, UNEP, SNV and EuroNatur. Among
its goals, it seeks to preserve the wealth and
integrity of the Dinaric Arc eco-region by
establishing networks of protected areas and
ecological corridors, and providing support
to initiatives for the conservation of the eco-
region’s biological diversity and the sustainable
management of its resources. The Dinaric Arc
has proposed the Framework Convention on
the Protection and Sustainable Development of
South-Eastern Europe Mountain Regions, which
aims at preserving the wealth and integrity of
the Dinaric Arc and other mountain regions in
South-Eastern Europe.
For further information, please visit http://www.
Natura 2000: The south-eastern countries have
begun cooperating on conservation through
various European and International Conventions.
The Dinaric Arc Initiative and other nature protection networks in the
Western Balkans
Two widely known networks are the Emerald
Network (working under the Bern Convention)
and the Natura 2000 Network (working under the
EU Birds and Habitats Directives). As a Member
State of the European Union, Croatia greatly
contributes to the natural heritage of the EU
with 87 bird species and 53 regularly occurring
migratory bird species, 135 other species and 74
habitat types on reference list. About 29 per cent
of Croatia’s territory is included in Natura 2000
Network. Through its EU accession and technical
adaptations of the EUDirectives, Croatia proposed
inclusion of 11 species and two habitat types
specific to Croatian and Dinaric karst to Natura.
This demonstrates Croatia’s strong responsibility
for nature conservation policy.
For further information, please visit:
• Sida’s Helpdesk for Environment and Climate
Change (2012). Western Balkan – Environment
and Climate Change Policy Brief. Available at:
• State institute for nature protection of Croatia.
Available at: