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Internationally important underground sites for bats ‐ conservation and protection application

There are 55 Internationally important underground roosts for bats submitted to UNEP/EUROBATS Agreement. Underground sites in Croatia refer to caves, pits, mines, railway tunnels and waterway tunnels. Each site has following data: coordinates, name, type, primary usage (all year, hibernation maternity, transient/migratory), name and code of pSCI, biogeographical region, number of bat species recorded and protection (gates, grilles, difficult access, open for public). For each bat species per site the year in which the biggest number of individuals recorded since 1994 is given together with the type of usage. In all underground sites listed, altogether 25 bat species out of 34 present in Croatia are recorded. As a general rule for the most species the most numerous hibernacula are in the continental biogeographical region, whereas in the mediterranean biogeographical region the biggest maternities are present. All 55 underground sites are a part of the Natura 2000 Ecological Network which means that for every project, plan and programme an impact to the Natura site conservation objectives should be assessed. Legal mechanisms required at the strategic planning and physical planning level or project level are presented taking into account roost type, usage type and ecology of bat species. Provided are examples of criteria and evaluation of strategic impact assessment of the county physical plan and Appropriate assessment on the project level of several windfarms.

bats; underground roosts; legislation; conservation; appropriate assessment

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