26.04.2023.
Director of the Fund Luka Balen took part in the final conference on the Fearless Velebit project held in Gospić. The project is aimed at mine clearance and conservation of the forest ecosystems in the protected Natura 2000 areas in Lika-Senj and Zadar counites.The project is worth EUR 34 million, of which 85% is financed from the Cohesion Fund under the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Cohesion. Under the project, 1645.26 ha of woods and forest land has been cleared of mines, and 2177 explosive devices left from the war were detected, deactivated, and destroyed in the project area.
“Mine clearance of our areas is a tough and demanding task that we’re still trying to resolve almost 30 years after the Homeland War. Fearless Velebit is one of the three demining projects which Hrvatske šume have applied for co-financing from the EU funds and which, with the assistance from the Fund’s Intermediate Body, is coming to a successful close,” said director Balen, pointing out that good forest management was one of the preconditions for achieving the CO2 emissions reduction objectives. He also underlined that as part of the project, and projects Naturavita and Karlovac Karst, around 6000 hectares of forest land would be cleared and regenerated with indigenous species, for which almost 100 million euros of grant funding had been secured.
At the conference, the minister of regional development and EU funds, Šime Erlić, emphasised that the Fearless Velebit project represented a very important strategic goal – a mine-free Croatia. He thanked the project team with the words: “You’ve made this region a safer place to live.” These words embody the final goal of all projects implemented by Hrvatske šume, which is not only protection of the environment and forestry as such, but improving the quality of life in the project areas.
State secretary at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development Mario Šiljeg pointed out that the restoration of the forest land, which is actually a grassland habitat, and the reconstruction of the fire-fighting infrastructure, will allow the revival of endangered and protected rare meadow species.
“Forests know of no administrative borders or bounds. Global valorisation and protection of the areas where forests are dominant, and improvement of these areas is important to us. We want to spearhead these efforts, especially in the rural areas of Croatia. We have already seen some excellent results, and in this case, there is the aspect of special admiration we have for Velebit, its grandeur and rugged beauty,” pointed out in his address the president of the Board of Hrvatske šume Nediljko Dujić.