(^78) Coastal Zone and Sea-Level Rise Human Development Report - Croatia 2008
losses could occur due to coastal flooding and salini-
sation of the remaining land.I Figure 5-3 illustrates the
flooding disaster of the Neretva River Delta resulting
from a 0.50 m and 0.88 m sea-level rise.
If future sea-level rise is significant, in addition to the
vulnerable areas mentioned, several other problems
are foreseen:
- A number of commercial fishing ports and
fixed marinas may be affected – even if the
sea-walls remain above projected sea levels, the
ports can still be affected during stormy weather,
by high waves (during “jugo” winds) and extreme
seawater levels, which will make them vulnerable
to flooding. - Contamination of coastal freshwater springs
(salt water intrusion) affecting drinking water
supply may occur – a great number of coastal
settlements in Croatia use coastal or near-coastal
freshwater springs in karst terrain. Higher levels
of seawater could displace the freshwater from
those springs (a process called saltwater intru-
sion) resulting in their contamination. Moving
wells to a new location or desalinising the water
would require additional funds. - Wetlands and swamps may be damaged – in
particular, one of the most recently proclaimed
Croatian Nature Park ‘Vrana Lake’, the only large
swamp near the Mediterranean coast – could be
directly threatened and potentially destroyed
with a sea-level rise of 0.5 metres. Vrana Lake
is a special ornithological reserve (habitat of
endangered bird species) with immense biodi-
versity and extraordinary scientific and unique
ecological value.II Flooding by seawater would
irreversibly destroy the sensitive balance of its
ecosystem.- Coastal erosion may speed up and a number
of beaches may be destroyed or become sub-
merged. Although it is possible that new beach-
es could appear further inland and new ones may
be created by erosion, artificial beach repair and
replenishment of the beach gravel or sand may
be necessary and will need funding. In addition
sea-level rise can negatively affect many of the
plants and animals of the coastal ecosystems, in-
cluding forests. - The tourism and recreational businesses that
depend upon coastal areas may be severely
affected. Since the tourism industry is predomi-
nantly seaside-oriented, sea-level rise can also
have a direct and indirect impact on this sector.
Table 5-2 summarises the potential direct and
indirect impacts of sea-level rise on Croatian
tourism. The most prominent direct impact is the
threat to coastal tourist and cultural sites (hotels,
historical sites). The most prominent indirect im-
pact would be the threat to freshwater springs,
water-pipes and sewerage systems.
I Znaor (2008) estimates the value of tangerine production alone at
EUR 6 million per year for the Neretva River Delta
II See http://vransko-jezero.hr/cms/ for more details.