Unrecognized Conflicts among Forestry, Agriculture and the Ecological Network: Easement of Forests and Forest Land for the Raising of Perennial Crops - Case Study Dubrovnik-Neretva County

Sa？etak The Government of Croatia, greatly opposed by the forestry professionals decided to ease forest and forest land in the amount of 21,949.828 ha throughout the country for the raising of perennial crops (vineyards and olive yards). Apart from being professionally unjustified, since the recent study of the Faculty of Agriculture on Pollution of Ground and Surface Waters Caused by Agriculture from 2014 stated that approximately 52% of the agriculture land in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County is not being used, these areas are greatly conflictual since they overlap with the ecological network sites: firstly, with the National Ecological Network proclaimed in 2007 and later with NATURA 2000 proclaimed after the admission of Croatia to the EU in July 2013. Conservation goals of the ecological network sites are, in a great number of cases, forest habitat types which will be clear-cut if the Government's decisions are fully executed. However, since most of these decisions have not yet been implemented, there is still a chance to revoke them to preserve vast ecological network areas and thus avoid paying of substantial penalties to the EU due to the loss of habitat types - conservation goals (more than 1 %). By the utilization of the GIS and comparison of cadastral lots designated for easement with the ecological network areas from 2007 and 2013, the article analyses significant threats from the loss of vast ecological network areas and suggests means for avoiding of such a scenario