ECOVAST Croatia

The main activity is focused on preserving and promoting cultural, historic, environmental, social and economic values, and a comprehensive and sustainable development of villages and small towns Croatian. It works by networking human resources, ideas, activities, knowledge and practice. The Association operates on the entire Croatian territory and connects members, experts and all interested parties, as well as representatives of institutions, public administration and regional and local governments for the purpose of comprehensive and sustainable development and heritage protection in rural areas.

The ECOVAST Croatian Section organized two International workshops on the landscape identification: in 2006 in Makarska on Adriatic coastal landscapes and in 2010, in cooperation with Krapina-Zagorje County, on Sub-pannonian hilly landscapes. The workshops aimed to awareness rising among experts, non governmental organizations and general public on the importance of landscape and the need of effective implementation of the European Landscape Convention in Croatia. General terms were to involve citizens, experts, local and regional authorities but also experts from neighboring (Austria, Slovenia) and other countries (Germany, England). The workshops were open to the public and conclusions of both were submitted to the competent ministries: to better recognize landscape in laws and establish more efficient landscape policies aimed to landscape recognition and protection, on local and national level.

Plans for future activities of the ECOVAST Croatian Section are: cooperation on the landscape issues with other nongovernmental organizations (i.e. Croatian Network for Rural Development), raising awareness of the landscape values among general public, private sector and public authorities; getting involved in trans-regional cooperation and projects, exchange information and knowledge in training, research projects, workshops, etc.