Project name: Croatia EU Natura 2000 Integration Project (NIP): Consulting Services for Field research and laboratory processing for collecting new inventory data for taxonomic groups: Actinopterygii and Cephalaspidomorphi, Amphibia and Reptilia, Aves, Chiroptera, Decapoda, Lepidoptera, Odonata, Plecoptera, Trichoptera
Client: Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection
Period: 04/2014 – 12/2016
Funding: World Bank; IBRD
Location: Croatia
The overall NIP project objective was to support Park and County Public Institutions to implement Natura 2000 objectives in investment programs; to strengthen capacity for EU-compliant reporting and biodiversity monitoring and to introduce programs that involve a wider group of stakeholders in Natura 2000 network management. Our project was part of Component 2 which comprised of ecological network data systems and included consulting services to help plan, prioritize, and organize biological inventory and populate data systems to fulfil EU reporting requirements; field work to perform biological inventory and habitat mapping and monitoring services; consultant services to harmonize data systems with the EU INSPIRE Directive requirements, and computer hardware and software upgrades.
The main objective of this project was to gather new distributional data about concerned taxonomic groups in the Republic of Croatia according to the specified methodology necessary for setting future monitoring of the species, favourable reference values for determination of the conservation status of the species, according to Article 17 of the Habitats Directive, to assess threat status and conservation activities needed for planning.
Within the scope of the project activities, we collected new distributional data about concerned taxonomic groups (Actinopterygii and Cephalaspidomorphi, Amphibia and Reptilia, Aves, Chiroptera, Decapoda, Lepidoptera, Odonata, Plecoptera and Trichoptera) in the Republic of Croatia. These activities were implemented through the following phases:
- Phase 1: Intensive field research of priority areas with data recording
- Phase 2: Laboratory processing of collected data and specimens. This phase included necessary identification of species for collected specimens and data analysis of collected data.
After the completion of the field survey and data analysis, the checklist of species recorded in Croatia for eight taxonomic groups (all taxonomic groups except birds (Aves)) was revised.
Research was conducted throughout the whole territory of the Republic of Croatia including Natura 2000 areas: Special Protection Areas (i.e. Important Bird Areas) and Sites of Community Importance.
Services provided:
- Project management
- Project backstopping and coordination
- Field Research for different taxonomic groups (Aves, Chiroptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata, Plecoptera, Trichoptera)
- Identification of specimens
- Revision of checklist of species recorded in Croatia
- Reporting
