Island Biodiversity Protection

Croatian perspective Sustainable development of Islands

International organizations:

•INSULA– International Scientific Council for Island Development (UNESCO)

• ISLENET – European Island Energy and Environment Network

• DIGITAL ISLANDS ASSOCIATION - Platform for the Development of the Information Society in the European Islands and Isolated Regions

• Etc... : more than 1.000 islands...

..but only 50 inhabited..

..”Mediterranean – one of priority ecoregions and one of the 25 top biodiversity hotspots”.. (Conservation International) Croatian Adriatic Archipelago Total no. of islands = 1185

• Inhabited islands = 47 • Unihabited = 651 • Rocks = 389 • Reefs 78

• Lenght of the sea coast: - islands 4.058 km (70%) - mainland 1777,3 (30%) Island of in ISLAND DIRECTORY by UN SYSTEM-WIDE EARTHWATCH Web Site

• Cres - including Losinj, , , [1096] Group: Cres-Losinj Group Archipelago: Kvarner Islands Country: Croatia Region: Lat: 44.90º N Long : 14.45º E Area: 350.5 sq. km (it is 405!) Altitude: 650 m Shoreline: 181.7 km (it is 247.7!) (scale 1:1000000) Coastal Index: 0.5184 (it is 0.61!) • Depth to nearest land: < 50 m Island only isolated since last ice age Nearest island: 8 km group: 6 km Nearest continent: Europe Distance: 6 km Isolation Index: 8 ISLAND TYPE: Natural Protection Indicator: 0 ECOSYSTEMS: SPECIAL FEATURES : Special Features Indicator - Terrestrial: 1 Marine: 0 Lake of Vrana HUMAN OCCUPATION: Inhabited, since the bronze age Population: 10000 (it is 2800!) Density: 28.5 persons/sq. km (it is 7!) • Growth Rate: 0.7%/yr Stable Major Human Activities: tourism (NO – it is agriculture!) • Habitat: villages Urban Pop: 0 Urban Indicator: 0 Accessibility: port Annual tourist arrivals: 328000 DATA RELIABILITY: Data Rel. Indicator: 1 HUMAN IMPACT INDEX HI: 33 CONSERVATION IMPORTANCE INDEX CI-Terrestrial: 1 Low CI-Marine: 0Low Last updated: 04/09/90 Island of Cres The biggest island on Adriatic Archipelago • 405 km² • 650 m a.s.l. • 2.800 inhabit. • Density: 7 person/sq.km • Only one town: Cres (2.500 inh.) There are many antient or prahistoric towns and temples...

- 4000 years of permanent human activity - ...high value of (still) saved cultural heritage...... history (still) visible... ..and different habitats... ..which are realy very... ..very.. ..very..

Lymnaea stagnalis ...really VERY diverse! BUT WHY? Adriatic coast Pre-glacial refugium before ice-melting – Kvarner Archipelago Ice-border. 20.000 years ago

Adriatic coast Adriatic sea today

Partly because.. ..of the shape of Adriatic coast during the last glaciation 20.000 years ago, which produced a refugium for plant and animal species... 45° 45° 45°

Island of Cres ..and partly because here is the 45th parallel of the Northern Geographic Latitude, i.e. the same distance to the North Pole as to the Equator.. and traditional (sustainable) use of resources Deciduous Quercus cerris and Q.pubescens forests (submediterranean)

Evergreen Quercus ilex forests (eumediterranean) The Island of Cres is unique ecological treasure, with two climatological and vegetational zones which at the overlapping area reflects one of the strongest ecological feature in Europe and it is one of the main reasons for its high biodiversity. Island biodiversity?

Number of plant species

Scale: 1:1 Number of amphibian and reptile species

Cres (Croatia): 30 – 406 sq.km (Croatia): 28 – 405 sq.km Sicily (Italy): 27 – 25.700 sq.km Sardinia (Italy): 25 – 24.090 sq.km Cres Island Biodiversity

150 specimens 15

150 23 200 1500 7 22 Eurasian Griffons (Gyps fulvus)

Eurasian Griffons live in Croatia only on the Island of Cres (90%), and on Krk, Plavnik and Prvic Island

This population (unique worldwide – even geneticaly!), nests on steep cliffs immediately above the sea, sometimes less than 10 m above the sea surface. Griffon – sheep – man centuries of connection Without extensive sheep farming there will be no vultures Hunters introduced 30 wild boars on the island in 1986 – just for fun - and 20 years latter there were 1.000 specimens of this alochtonic animal which never lived on Cres • Wild boar started to kill lambs and sheep and only during 2004 more than 2.000 lambs and sheep were killed by wild boar on Cres • Helpless farmers are trying to poison wild boar by puting sheep-carcass filled with poison... Extensive sheep farming

• today, there are 15.000 sheep on the Island, but there were 35.000 15 years ago, 50.000 50 years ago... • they graze 375 species of grass (plant species) • without the sheep-grazing??? Here is a result...

?

Network of European Eco-islands

Hiiumaa BIosphere reserve (Estonia)

NPs ofNP Frizian islands (Germany) La Palma Biosphere Reserve (Spain)

Fuerteventura Canary Is. (Spain) Cres-Lošinj Elba-NP of Tuscan Archipelago Archipelago (Italy) (Croatia)

NP of Northern Exchange of experiences on Sporades (Greece) sustainable development possibilities Biosphere Reserves on Islands (European)

ESTONIA: West Estonian Archipelago FINLAND: Archipelago Sea B.R. FRANCE: Iroise - Archipel de la Guadeloupe - Atoll de Taiaro - Vallée du Fango (Corse) GERMANY: Rügen GREECE:Gorge of Samaria (Creta) IRELAND: North Bull Island NORWAY:North East Svalbard SPAIN:Menorca - Lanzarote - Los Tiles (La Palma) UNITED KINGDOM: Isle of Rhum - Saint Kilda - Loch Druidibeg (Hebrides) What all small islands need is a holistic approach in the biodiversity protection – an integral approach to the protection of a natural and cultural heritage, simultaneously in the area where both values are pronounced • There are not only small states-islands which are important – other small islands have to be accepted as extremely important concerning the biodiversity value • Actions have to be urgent because untill 2010 it would be too late for many small islands • Croatian islands (or Greek, or any country’s) could not be ONLY Croatian responsibility – they have to be European as well – they “belong” to the Continent, as the biodiversity “belongs” to our Planet • Develop the list of priority areas at continental level taking into the consideration those small islands (or archipelagos): * with the most valuable biodiversity * with the cultural and etno-heritage at the same area * with still egzisting and preserved traditional way of agriculture * where the threats and/or irreverseable damages are to be expected in the nearest future

Traditional experience of islanders has to be used, to preserve the traditional management/use of island’s resources, and to protect the biodiversity untill (and we hope after!) 2010.

Chosen islands have to be protected internationaly as Biosphere Reserves and included in European (continental) network for the exchange of experience “No Man is an Island” - but today – “No Island is an Island any more” THEY HAVE TO BE CONNECTED!

Thank you for your attention ☺