World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) Adria warned on that excessive exploitation and industry remain to be the main causes of the loss in biodiversity, and that although Croatia's wildlife is suffering from the same problems, the situation there is not as alarming as in some other parts of the world.
“In our region, the state of nature is not entirely alarming, although the public management of natural resources is disastrous – often starting with a good idea, but ending up with poor implementation,” WWF Adria said.
According to the WWF’s Living Planet Report 2018, human activity is felt on 75 percent of the Earth’s surface. Ongoing trends suggest that by 2050 less than 10 percent of the planet’s surface will remain unaffected by human activity. In addition, wildlife accounts for less than 5 percent of the living planet, whereas humans and domestic animals, mainly bred for human consumption, account for nearly 96 percent.
In recent history, the local lynx and wolf populations were reduced to the verge of extinction in Croatia, with only the bear population showing signs of recovery. As many as 93 percent of estimated fish stocks in the Mediterranean are overfished, and the situation in the Adriatic Sea is very similar.
One in ten fish species is currently at risk of extinction due to the construction of hydro-electric infrastructure projects, which WWF Adria says is mostly unnecessary, as it accounts for less than 5 percent of the total electricity produced.
The incentive system in the energy sector doesn’t help, as it enables spending taxpayers’ money for the destruction of basic life resources, WWF Adria said.
“In Croatia, we use nearly two planets-worth of resources a year, which is terrifying. We must find a better model of using natural resources, and agree on how we can live in harmony with nature,” said Andrea Stefan of WWF Adria, the organisation’s regional subsidiary active in seven countries of the former Yugoslavia and Albania.
Follow N1 via mobile apps for Android | iPhone/iPad | Windows| and social media on Twitter | Facebook.
