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Marine Protected Areas of Croatia – size, legal status and distribution

In light of the recognition of the scarcity of marine resources and their common nature, marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly coming into the frontline of nature conservation. Here we present the current state of MPAs in Croatia. While there are different types of MPAs, in this poster we only address MPAs as defined by the Law on nature protection. We use GIS to analyze and show the current situation as well as historic trends (change in area and type) in MPA designation in the Croatian Adriatic. Currently, only 19 marine sites, covering in total 1, 5% of the territorial sea is designated as a protected area (PA) in one of the 9 national categories. All of these address only the near-shore ecosystems and no open waters. Majority is protected in categories compatible to IUCN categories II (21648ha) and V (27385ha), while IUCN IV is covering 13795ha. IUCN category III is represented only by point locations of negligible area. In 2007 Croatian Government enacted the ecological network consisting of sites important for conservation of birds and sites important for conservation of other taxonomic groups and habitat types (in line with the EU Birds and Habitats Directives). Croatian ecological network comprises 441 marine sites important for habitat types and species (total area 392921ha, out of which marine area covers 355067ha or 11, 4% of the territorial sea) and 9 marine sites important for conservation of birds (total area 1281981ha, out of which marine area covers 1002252ha or 32, 3% of the territorial sea). These sites mostly overlap with MPAs designated in one of the national PA categories and together they cover 39% of the Croatian territorial sea. Even though management plans for all large MPAs protected in one of the national PA categories are currently being developed, the management authorities still face serious challenges in MPA management mainly due to a lack of capacity and intersectoral cooperation.

MPA; Croatia

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