Marina Matulović-Dropulić, Minister of Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and Construction
Five Stars Croatia Issue 3 — April 01, 2008.

The American Yale University ranked Croatia, on the basis of 25 indicators for the assessment of the environmental policy and status in 149 countries worldwide, at position twenty. The European Commission also assessed that in 2006 and 2007 Croatia achieved good progress in the field of environmental protection.

We are pleased with such evaluations, as they represent a confirmation of the efforts and measures undertaken within the framework of the Government's environmental policy in its 2004-2007 term. In the current term, we have again set very ambitious objectives in environmental and spatial protection, and therefore there still remains a lot of work ahead of us, both in the short and in the long term. It also needs to be pointed out that continuous growth in citizen awareness has been observed, primarily with regard to the importance of human impact on the environment and to the necessity of modifying behaviour-facts recognised by this Government and incorporated into its agenda.

Croatia has committed to the Kyoto Protocol, which intensified activities on energy efficiency increase, introduction of renewable energy sources, and investments into new technologies contributing to environmental protection. A programme requiring both time and substantial financial funds is the modernisation of industrial and energy plants and facilities. At the moment most progress has been achieved in the modernisation of refineries in Rijeka and Sisak. Remediation of several „hot spots" involving dangerous industrial waste is also underway, e.g. the site of the former alumina factory in Obrovac, the former asbestos factory Salonit and Mravinačka kava landfill, as well as the coke plant in Bakar.

Environmental protection and energy efficiency projects have become a significant driver of Croatia's economic development. Specific financial investments, subsidised interests and granting of loans (about 350 million kuna) to a large number of economic entities who have started activities in the field of management of special waste categories, resulted in the construction of new production plants as well as in the modernisation of existing ones, and in the consequent creation of more than 3000 new jobs.

Remediation of 298 official municipal waste landfills is underway. Around 350 000 m2 of land has been cleaned up and re-cultivated (planting of lawns, trees, etc.). It was also necessary to demine a part of the polluted area. Through the remediation of 280 illegal landfills significant positive effects on the environment and human health have been achieved, as these landfills are located mainly in settlements, sanitary water protection zones and protected nature areas. Municipal waste landfills will be gradually closed down, and county waste management centres will be built to replace them. The field of environmental protection and sustainable development also encompasses the construction of 528 km of main gas pipeline, water supply and drainage networks, wastewater treatment plants in continental as well as coastal Croatia, etc. All these works are being continued in this term as well.

Successful preservation of the environment and the sustainable use of Croatian space is a strategic issue for the further development of Croatia and a guarantee of its competitiveness. In the previous term we have laid the foundations for introducing the regulation of space. In this regard, it needs to be stressed that now Croatian cities and municipalities, numbering 556, have spatial development plans, which is a huge success in light of the fact that in early 2004 only 113 of them had spatial plans in place. In cities and counties also committees are being established for the assessment of the architectural value of conceptual designs, whereby more significance is attributed to the experts involved in the decision-making process on the future appearance of a certain space. On the other hand, by introducing licensing of companies in the construction sector, it is our intention to eliminate the existence of unqualified companies and to thereby ensure quality and raise construction standards.

Our objective is to establish a balance between necessary and desired development, and I am certain that we will be successful in achieving this balance, i.e., to preserve both the environment and the attractiveness of Croatian space, as well as the distinctiveness of its landscape and the architectural heritage.