Failing to protect Croatia’s nature: Will we stop environmental crimes?

(Photo: Sunce)

By Zrinka Jakl, Matea Špika

Croatia takes pride in its wealth of protected areas and ecological network, yet the reality on the ground is far less promising.

Despite legal provisions and international commitments, Croatia faces a serious issue: the ineffective monitoring and enforcement of laws against illegal activities within protected areas and the ecological network.

Monitoring of Illegal Activities Is Failing

The environmental organisation Sunce has been actively working in nature conservation for 25 years.

Over the years, they have witnessed the development of legal frameworks and a gradual strengthening of capacities within the nature conservation sector in areas such as management planning, visitor management, stakeholder engagement, and environmental monitoring.

However, a major weakness in the entire system remains the ineffective enforcement of laws against illegal activities, particularly at sea.

“This crucial aspect of nature conservation has not only failed to progress to the level necessary to achieve EU and global conservation targets, but it has actually regressed in recent years,” says Zrinka Jakl, Head of the Nature Protection Department at Sunce.

A study titled Analysis of the Institutional and Legal Framework of Existing Capacities in Protected Areas in Croatia, conducted as part of the Interreg project EFFICIENTN2K, has revealed a dire situation.

Inadequate financial and human resources, lack of coordination among institutions, and poor law enforcement allow the continuous destruction of protected areas without significant consequences for offenders.

Nature rangers do not have the status of official persons, making it difficult for them to take action and preventing them from operating within the ecological network.

(Photo: Sunce)

Fines for offenders are too low to serve as a deterrent, and public institutions lack legal support when dealing with environmental crimes.

Furthermore, nature protection inspectors, the police, the State Inspectorate, and other relevant agencies do not collaborate effectively, further slowing down and complicating law enforcement.

The results of this study clearly highlight the urgent need for reform to strengthen monitoring and enforcement in protected areas and the ecological network.

Urgent Reforms Needed in the Monitoring System of Protected Areas and the Ecological Network

The first step in this process should be amending legislation to grant nature rangers official status and adjusting penalties to reflect the real needs of nature conservation.

In practice, authorised nature rangers rarely intervene, for reasons ranging from political influences and lack of expertise to personal connections with offenders.

Additionally, in recent years, public institutions managing protected areas have been given extra responsibilities under the Marine Fisheries Act and the Maritime Domain and Seaports Act.

Instead of strengthening their capacities, these institutions have merely been burdened with new obligations, further straining an already ineffective system.

(Photo: Sunce)

“The new Maritime Domain and Seaports Act has imposed additional duties on already under-resourced ranger services within public institutions managing marine protected areas. We believe it is essential to provide these institutions with the necessary support to implement this law effectively. In 2023, they were given significant new powers to manage maritime domains, but they also require legislative and organisational changes to secure specialised legal support for handling environmental crimes,” says Matea Špika, Senior Expert Associate at Sunce’s Nature Protection Department.

Nature rangers should be fully professionalised, requiring higher education qualifications and focusing on enforcement rather than technical tasks such as maintaining the environment and collecting entrance fees.

Increasing the number of inspectors and providing them with better equipment, particularly for maritime surveillance, is crucial to strengthening law enforcement.

Agencies involved in monitoring should be able to work in shifts to ensure a continuous presence in the field. Training officials on environmental crimes is also essential, as police officers, prosecutors, and judges often lack specialisation and awareness in this area.

Better coordination at sea is also needed between nature rangers, the State Inspectorate, the police, the harbourmaster’s office, fisheries inspectors, and the Coast Guard. Regular meetings and a clear division of responsibilities would reduce institutional inefficiencies and improve enforcement.

Nature Conservation as a Priority

It is important to emphasise that the resistance of responsible institutions to improving monitoring efficiency and inter-agency cooperation is disproportionate to the weaknesses and needs expressed by implementation and expert bodies.

At nearly every level, political will and accountability are lacking, preventing effective inter-agency collaboration in tackling environmental crimes, which would ultimately benefit society as a whole.

Only determined and sustainable systemic changes can ensure effective monitoring and nature protection in Croatia.

Enhancing the efficiency of monitoring in protected areas and the ecological network must become a top priority for the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition in the coming years. Environmental protection is not just a formal obligation to the European Union but also a matter of responsibility towards future generations.

Each of us can contribute to change—by working to improve the system and by acting responsibly in nature. Time is running out, and nature cannot wait.