Life restored to burned forests on Croatia’s Biokovo

(Photo: Scouts Croatia)

Two hundred volunteers, scouts, and foresters from Croatian Forests took part this Saturday in reforesting a fire-ravaged forest in Biokovo Nature Park, as part of the Boranka campaign, marking International Tree Planting Day.

This event also marked the first reforestation action of the year and the 39th overall in the Boranka project, now in its seventh consecutive year.

The Croatian Scout Association, Croatian Forests, Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, and the Civil Protection Directorate are the main organisers of the Boranka campaign, which has grown into the largest volunteer reforestation initiative of fire-damaged areas in Europe.

In one of the worst wildfires this summer, thousands of hectares of greenery around Makarska were destroyed, with over 600 hectares of forest in Biokovo Nature Park consumed by the flames.

(Photo: Scouts Croatia)

To restore part of the greenery and prevent soil erosion and degradation, over 200 volunteers, led by scouts, foresters from Croatian Forests, and Biokovo Nature Park staff, planted more than 2,000 new saplings. These included holm oak, downy oak, flowering ash, cypress, stone pine, and black pine.

(Photo: Scouts Croatia)

Among the volunteers were scouts from the “Spinut” Sea Scouts Troop, “Split” Scout Club, and “Jadran” Sea Scouts Troop, alongside numerous students and teachers from Split’s IV Marko Marulić Gymnasium, V Vladimir Nazor Gymnasium, and Split’s School of Natural Sciences, as well as employees of the Makarska city administration.

(Photo: Scouts Croatia)

Before the planting began, all volunteers received a brief educational session about Biokovo Nature Park, the importance of its forests, fire prevention, and the planting process itself. Representatives of the organisers addressed the volunteers, including Dan Špicer, Executive Director of the Croatian Scout Association, Slavo Jakša, Director of Biokovo Nature Park, and Zlatko Lalić, a representative of Croatian Forests from the Makarska Forestry Department. They expressed their gratitude to the volunteers for their participation and help in the recovery of Biokovo’s forests.

The organisers provided all volunteers with saplings, planting tools, work gloves, drinking water, and sandwiches.

As Boranka, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia, has successfully expanded to neighbouring countries in recent years, where it is implemented by national scouting associations, representatives from the Scout Associations of North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina also participated in this event. Representatives from Croatia’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs personally supported the action by planting trees alongside the volunteers.

(Photo: Scouts Croatia)

“We are proud to have supported two Croatian Scout Association projects as part of the Public Call for Civil Society Organisations, specifically the Boranka project in North Macedonia, and now continuing cooperation in Montenegro. In doing so, we promote Croatia’s priorities and visibility in the field of international development cooperation. A testament to our success is the recognition of the project in North Macedonia by the US Embassy, which is actively involved, while the project in Montenegro has been acknowledged by the European Union delegation.

Support for environmental protection projects is also reflected in the National Strategy for Development Cooperation, where responsible economic development, based on environmental responsibility, is one of Croatia’s sectoral priorities. Seeing the tangible results of investment in new generations is what gives these projects their added value. The involvement of top officials, public figures, and numerous volunteers, along with the project’s many awards, demonstrates the broad support for these initiatives and society’s commitment to a common goal – creating a greener and healthier planet.

(Photo: Scouts Croatia)

We would like to thank the Croatian Scout Association for promoting Croatia beyond the region. One example is COP28 in Dubai, where the Boranka project was showcased as a leading environmental protection initiative. The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs will continue to support initiatives that bring positive ecological and social impacts, as sustainability is not just a moral choice but a necessity,” said Dragan Ljevar, Second Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

Following this successful reforestation action in Biokovo Nature Park, Boranka will continue reforesting fire-damaged areas around Trogir and Šibenik in the coming weeks. More information about participating can be obtained by contacting [email protected].

(Photo: Scouts Croatia)

To see how the reforestation in Biokovo Nature Park took place, you can watch the video via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlhfyMHB1Qk.

To date, the Boranka campaign has brought together more than 11,000 volunteers from across Croatia and abroad. Scouts and other Boranka volunteers have planted over 130,000 new trees in saplings, seeds, and acorns in fire-affected areas around Split, Solin, Makarska, Trogir, and Zadar. This has made Boranka the largest volunteer reforestation campaign in Europe and a shining example of how to unite numerous volunteers, institutions, and organisations in restoring nature.

(Photo: Scouts Croatia)

Many institutions are involved in Boranka’s organisation, providing support to the scouts and other volunteers – including Croatian Forests, HGSS, the Civil Protection Directorate, and the Red Cross. The main sponsors of this year’s Boranka include Raiffeisen Bank, Ferrero International, Radenska Adriatic, Henkel, DM, Abbott, and Dacia.

(Photo: Scouts Croatia)

Boranka has been supported for many years by the European Parliament, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Science and Education, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the American Chamber of Commerce, the Embassy of Canada, the Croatian War Veterans’ Association (UHDDR), the IMAGO agency, the HEARTH agency, the World Scout Foundation, and the German-Croatian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.