National Island Development Programme
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Republic of Croatia Ministry of Development and Reconstruction NATIONAL ISLAND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME Oh, do not sleep you islands, our islands, You gardens beautiful, floating in the sea. (Antun Mihanović, 1853) February 1997 National Island Development Programme 3 CONTENTS page INTRODUCTION 5 I. NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 7 1.1. Position, climate, sea 7 1.2. Soil, vegetation and animal life 8 II. POPULATION AND SETTLEMENTS 10 III. HERITAGE 15 3.1. Natural and cultural 15 3.2. Church 17 IV. ECONOMY 18 4.1. Tourism 19 4.2. Agriculture 23 4.3. Fishing 28 4.4. Traffic 30 4.5. Shipbuilding 30 4.6. Other industry 31 4.7. Mining 31 V. INFRASTRUCTURE 33 5.1. Water supply and sewage 33 5.2. Solid waste disposal 34 5.3. Electricity 35 5.4. Telecommunications 35 5.5. Roads, seaports and airports 36 5.6. Petrol and gas 39 VI. HEALTH CARE 41 VII. EDUCATION 44 VIII. ADMINISTRATIVE TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION 47 IX. DEVELOPMENT LEVEL AND POTENTIAL 48 9.1. Actual situation 48 9.2. Comparative development advantage 49 9.3. Limitations 50 9.4. Island development at a crossroads 51 X. ENCOURAGEMENT OF ISLAND DEVELOPMENT 53 10.1. Goals 53 10.2. Principles 55 10.3. International conventions 56 Ministry of Development and Reconstruction of the Republic of Croatia National Island Development Programme 4 10.4. Development measures 57 XI. RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS OF THE NATIONAL AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATION AND LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT 59 11.1. Passage of the Island Act 59 11.2. Passage of and amendments to laws relevant to the island development 65 11.3. Programmes of full and sustainable exploitation of island resources, physical plans and scientific and professional documentation 67 11.4. National infrastructure and superstructure programmes 71 11.5. Activity of the Island Development Centre of the Ministry of Development and Reconstruction 80 INTRODUCTION Ministry of Development and Reconstruction of the Republic of Croatia National Island Development Programme 5 Islands are a great treasure and special value in Croatia. At the moment their potentials are being poorly made use of, their originality insufficiently protected, their opportunities not encouraged or even discouraged. Almost throughout the last century, especially under both Yugoslav regimes, little or nothing was invested in them, so that year after year they increasingly lagged behind in economic and demographic terms. Modern national reconstruction, building and development revival in Croatia includes a turn in the island development treatment. This National Programme has been prepared to this end, starting from the Constitution which states that the islands are under special protection of the Republic of Croatia. Its intention is to establish and clearly define the tasks to be performed or directed by the government in an organised and persistent manner for the continuing development of the islands, enabling the existence and return of their population and their economic prosperity. Sustainable development reflecting a harmony between man and nature, in the course of which the exploitation of natural resources is conducted only to an extent that does not risk their destruction, is specially appropriate for our islands where the environment protection must always be maintained at the highest possible level. This is why special promotion measures have been proposed which do not run counter to this basic requirement. The first section of the Programme contains available information on the islands. During our work on this document we often saw such information were scarce, not available or not systematised. It took us great effort to collect and present them concisely here. From these information and data there can be seen the basic problems of the islands today, which have been inherited from previous times. Primarily, the fact is that on a great majority of our islands the population has been dwindling over the past seven decades. People are getting fewer and fewer, especially young people and professionals. This is aggravated by all the limitations and shortcomings of the infrastructure, links to the mainland, education, health care, culture etc. Measurtes have been proposed based on the knowledge of the facts and the actual situation and the causes. They relate to various fields, always from long-term aspects. The measures reflect the efforts to stop the tragic tendency of island desertion, with incentives to islanders in the form of palpable economic and social measures, especially for the young people to return. This is also linked to a wish to motivate the professionals needed for a demographic and economic revival to settle there. Beside these general measures concerning all islands, specific measures have been proposed for the underdeveloped islands (majority) where life is harder but needs to be maintained, though. This can only be done by means of additional stimulation. To keep islands alive, encourage demographic revival and economic progress, together with preserving the harmony of unsurpassable natural values, are the objectives this Programme seeks to realise. This can be achieved through small scale but permanent and well organised long-term investments. The islands require so little, and can soon contribute much more to the national economy. In spite of the historical moment in which national defence and post-war reconstruction are priorities, this is the right time for an active and well considered treatment of islands, the right time for the reconstruction and revival of the Croatian islands. I. NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS Ministry of Development and Reconstruction of the Republic of Croatia National Island Development Programme 6 1. Position, climate and sea The Croatian islands include almost all islands on the east coast and the central area of the Adriatic, making the second largest archipelago in the Mediterranean. There are 1,185 of them, geographically divided into 718 islands, 389 rocks and 78 ridges. Although they determine the territorial sea which makes almost 37 % of the total area of Croatia (without the islands the territorial sea would be reduced by two thirds), the islands make up just about 3,300 km2 or 5.8% of the Croatian land. The largest of them is the island of Krk (409.9 km2). There are 77 islands larger than 1 km2, and only twenty exceed 20 km2. Due to their particularly indented coastline (Pag is the most indented and Hvar is the longest) they feature more coast line than the mainland. Of 5,834.9 km of the Croatian coast line 4,057.2 km (69.5%) is island coast. The islands are usually divided into the Istrian, Kvarner, North Dalmatian, Central Dalmatian and South Dalmatian groups. The sea which rose during the last ice period divided parts of the land and formed islands, occasionally creating steep coast, and even cliffs at places. Today∗s relief was created by erosion, as well. Several lime-stone ridges on the largest islands rise above 500 m above sea level. The highest peak is Vidova gora (778 m) on the island of Brač. The 62 km long Pelješac peninsula is usually listed together with the islands. With its 348 km2 it extends in the same direction as the surrounding South Dalmatian islands. Pelješac is of the same structure as the islands, has the same climate, and its vegetation and animals resemble more that of the islands than that of its hinterland. All inhabited islands of East and Central Adriatic belong to Croatia. According to the 1991 census there were 67 such islands with a surface area of 3,062 km2. There are also about 15 occasionally inhabited islands (during the season) which together with the uninhabited islands make a surface area of 143 km2. The Croatian coast and islands lie within the Adriatic type of the Mediterranean climate. Summers are hot and dry, with high insolation rate. Particular climate characteristics differ from island to island, depending on the compass direction, height above sea level or exposure to winds. In terms of climate, there are frequent differences between the windward and leeward sides of islands. The Kvarner islands are reached by mountain and continental influence in the winter. The Dalmatian islands are under more maritime climate influence, because there Adriatic is deeper and wider so it can accumulate more heat. Except for the island of Krk and the northern parts of the islands of Cres, Pag and Rab, the islands lie within the January isotherm of 6oC that marks the boundary of the Mediterranean climate. Average July temperatures are between 23.7 0C and 25.6 0C, which is primarily the effect of a great insolation. The Croatian islands are among the sunniest areas in Europe: they average 2,200 to 2,650 hours of sunny weather a year, which means that on the average the sun shines from 6 to more than 7 hours a day. The precipitation distribution is typically Mediterranean. Maximums are in November or December, while minimums are in July or August. As elsewhere in the karst, rain vanishes in the depth and finds its way to the surface again at the juncture of lime-stone and impermeable rocks, in a form of springs or undersea wells. There are no permanent watercourses. During the rain period on terrain built of semipermeable and impermeable rocks there are occasional watercourses no bigger than a stream, as well as karst pools. There are two lakes on the island of Krk, and the Vrana lake on the island of Cres, a natural phenomenon of exceptional value and economic importance. It was created in a karstic sink by water rising from the depths, and its annual performance depends on the precipitation. The lake forms a 74 m deep cryptodepression holding 200,000,000 m3 of potable water. It is 5.5 km long and 1.5 km wide, with a surface area of about 5.5 km2.