Conservation context -Dinaric Arc-
Globally significant biodiversity in the five Mediterranean Regions Assuming 300,000 species
% Habitat lost % Habitat protected
Dinaric Arc
Land of the Fallen Lakes Land of the Fallen Lakes
Dinaric Arc Ecoregion Thousand islands
A vulnerable period Great pressure on natural resources Economic transition -corruption Environmental NGO scene is developing General under-capacity of governments to shape an adequate response due to pressing societal demands
Opportunities offered by EU-Accession Reform of laws and institutions Adoption of EU norms in nature conservation Governments have to establish a dialogue with civil sector Some possibility to control destructive behaviors through EU institutions
Ecological GAP Analysis Protected Areas Biodiversity Targets Target species and habitats (157 included in the analysis) that are not adequately represented (10%) in protected areas are considered as gaps
Forest types Evergreen forests & scrubs Oriental hornbeam forests Thermophilous beech forests Montane and subalpine beech forests Oak-hornbeam forests Hygrophilic forests of common oak Spruce and fir forests Omorika spruce forests Forests of Heldreich s pine Forests of Macedonian pine Shrubs of mountain pine Thermophilous and supra-mediterranean oak woods Coastal flooded forests of ash and common oak
Moderately thermophilous, beech dominated forests are transitional between thermophilous and supra- Mediterranean oak woods and montane beech forests. Dominates on sun exposed steep slopes on limestone and dolomite bedrocks between 500 and 1000 (1100) m.a.s.l. Fagus sylvatica is intermixed with Quercus petraea, Q. pubescens Ostrya carpinifolia, Acer obtusatum, etc. Thermophilous Beech Forests
Small mammals Sorex araneus Sorex alpinus Neomys fodiens Neomys anomalus Suncus etruscus Talpa europaea Talpa caeca Talpa stankovici Dinaromys bogdanovi Myodes glareolus Arvicola terrestris Microtus arvalis Microtus agrestis Microtus subterraneus Microtus liechtensteini Microtus thomasi Chionomys nivalis Apodemus agrarius Apodemus flavicollis Apodemus epimelas Micromys minutus Mus spicilegus Spalax leucodon Muscardinus avellanarius Dryomys nitedula Eliomys quercinus
Species Endemic dinaric IUCN classification Salamandra atra no LC Figure 49: Small terrestrial mammals hotspots. Figure 109: Amphibian hotspot gaps. Figure 173: Overlapped of Canis lupus range, planed and existing infrastructure
Table 1. Overview of the numbers of identified biodiversity targets trough DAE countries Country No. of identified biodiversity targets No. of covered biodiversity targets Covered / % No. of gaps Gap / % No. of total gaps Total gap / % AL 97 54 53,60 38 41,20 5 5,20 BIH 111 11 9,90 79 71,20 21 18,90 CRO 133 78 58,60 52 39,10 3 2,30 MNE 109 34 31,00 60 55,00 15 14,00 SLO 85 15 17,60 68 80,00 2 2,40
Conclusions The level of protected area designations in the DAE is not sufficient to meetthe miimum threshold rate (10 %) of land under PAs Marine protected areas in the whole region are far below the IUCN threshold Majority of forest types not well represented in PAs except e.g., evergreen forest and scrub, thermophillous beach forests, shrubs of mountain pine High mountain grasslands (rudine), thermophillous grasslands and karstic fields are a gap Small terrestrial mammals (throughout), reptile hotspots (e.g, Adriatic coast), amphibian hotspots (central Dinaric part of Slovenia, northern D. Arc Croatia, mountains of eastern BiH, Mon and Alb) a concern
Conclusions The highest gap (Slo, Cro, BiH) relates to habitats between 200 and 1400 m.a.s.l. which, together with the lowlands, are subject to the highest human pressures Cave biodiversity is under-represented in the protected area systems Areas rich in freshwater fish were identified in the river systems of Dalmatia and south Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly the rivers Krka, Cetina and Neretva and all identified areas are under high pressure from human activities Bosnia and Herzegovina, with its central role in connecting biodiversity between the north and south Dinaric Arc Ecoregion, is an urgent priority for protection The lack of adequate data indicates a future investment in compiling field inventories for a full understanding of the biodiversity of the area
BIG WIN FOR DINARIC ARC Environmental ministers of six governments signed a joint commitment and national-level commitments for delivering on the CBD PoWPA in 2008-13 new areas to be established (7 transboundary) - Review of PA management effectiveness & financing - Management plans (terrestrial and marine) - Exchange of information and collaboration
Dinaric Arc Initiative Development of joint actions Avoiding duplication of efforts Stronger lobbying & visibility
Discoverdinarides.com
Sense of humor & regional collaboration
Dr. Deni Porej dporej@wwfmedpo.org