A Climate for Change

(^74) Coastal Zone and Sea-Level Rise Human Development Report - Croatia 2008
protect them from the adverse impacts of economic
development. PAP/RAC (2008) reports that the major
issues in the terrestrial zones of the Croatian Adriatic
area include the following (see Box 5-1):

1. Urbanisation of the coastal belt;


2. Tourism development - currently affecting the ex-
   isting environmental infrastructure, the landscapes
   and natural qualities of coastal regions;


3. The abandonment of agriculture and conversion
   of farmland into housing; and


4. The conflict between nature and landscape pro-
   tection and further economic development.

Since the entire Croatian coast is situated on carbonate

rocks and karst habitats – which are rare and extremely

vulnerable to physical changes – the management of

those ecosystems (which are also connected to fresh

water reservoirs) is a top priority for nature protection.

The same document suggests that the major issue in

the aquatic zones of the Croatian Adriatic area is mari-

time traffic (private and commercial), which is becom-

ing more and more dense – especially in the northern

Adriatic (due to the port of Rijeka but also the foreign

ports of Trieste, Venice and Koper). Even more traffic

is expected with the opening of the Liquefied Natural

Gas (LNG) terminal in Omišalj (on the island of Krk).

Another great hazard to seawater quality is the lack

of or insufficient wastewater treatment from the facili-

ties and settlements along the Adriatic coast. Besides

domestically produced pollution, a large contribu-

tion comes from the Italian Po River. Seawater pollu-

tion has adverse effects on water-based tourism and

marine ecosystems. Fisheries management is another

major issue in the Adriatic, as the decrease in fishing

resources (due to over-fishing and damaged marine

ecosystems) is reducing the economic opportunities

for many families and consequently the contribution

of the fishing sector to the country’s economy (see

Chapter 9).^7

Box 5-1: Coastal zone planning and development – issues of environment and social well-being

One of the milestones in the planning and control

of coastal development in Croatia was the adoption

of the Coastal Decree (the Decree on the Protected

Coastal Area adopted in 2004). It was a necessary

response to the pressure for coastal development,

mostly poor quality, second homes (including illegal

buildings), which could not be controlled through

regular spatial planning instruments. The impact of

the Decree has become somewhat controversial.

A majority of landowners saw an opportunity to

sell their properties at a high price and pushed for

their land to be classified for construction. Few suc-

ceeded, which has resulted in disappointment and

frustration with the restrictions. Owners are not al-

lowed to build on their land and the land cannot be

sold at what they consider a just price. As a result,

local communities are often divided over the situa-

tion. Others were fortunate enough to sell their land

for large sums but often have not invested produc-

tively to generate future incomes and/or jobs. As a

result of the strong demand for coastal property, it

is common for successful businesses in the area to

neglect their core activity and to try their luck in real

estate development.

On the positive side the Decree clearly managed to

achieve some important sustainable development

objectives, including:

• curbing further sprawling development, by re-
  stricting permission to build on new land;


• stopping development on pristine coastal
  land; and


• ensuring that construction was set back from
  the coast, allowing public access

Existing county spatial plans required amendment,

in order to be harmonized with the Coastal Decree,

which was then repealed and almost completely

integrated into the new Spatial Planning and Con-