Active Public Involvement in
Sustainable Forest Management

Project results:

Six educational workshops conducted with 123 participants. Topics of the workshops were: involvement of public in sustainable forest management and the forest certification process in Croatia.

A leaflet produced, with project information and answers to such questions as: What is sustainable forest management? What is the certification procedure? Who are the main participants in these processes? What is their connection to the certification process? What are the ways and methods for public participation in Croatia?

Donor: The Croatian Ministry for Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and Construction, Zagreb

Education through Video - A Model Illustrating Rural Community Development

Project results:

The 12-minute film, "The Scent of Marigold," was produced in cooperation with FADE IN, a Zagreb-based organization. This film represents all basic steps in community development based upon the established model of medicinal plant production in Lovinac County, Croatia.

During 2004, the wider public saw "The Scent of Marigold" on national and local television, as well as at an international film festival in Slovakia.

Donor: World Bank office in Croatia, Zagreb

Moving towards Sustainability: Rural Development of the South-west Mountain Region of Croatia

Project results:

A web page on rural development was established.

An inventory of products offered by 100 family farms in Ličko-Senjska County was presented on this web page.

Through six workshops in Ličko-Senjska, Primorsko-Goranska and Zadarska Counties, 120 local development specialists and activists acquired new knowledge and skills on rural development topics. Among these topics were key values of the LEADER Program; new approaches in rural development; "area based" and "bottom-up" approaches; innovations in the functions of rural development (positive examples in Croatia); local financing; and elements of project proposals.

Additional funds enabled ZOE to organize two workshops in Krnjak, (Karlovačka County).

Through two meetings, a Croatian network on rural development was established with 11 active members and 13 observers.

The first printing of "LEADER, from Initiative to Method: A Guide for Teaching the LEADER Approach," a manual which describes concepts for innovative production and methods in rural development. This manual was the first of its kind available in the Croatian language.

Donor: Delegation of the European Commission in Croatia, Zagreb

Promotion of LEADER manual in Delnice, April 2004

Medicinal Plant Production in the Velebit Region - Means of Sustainable Economic Development and Environmental Protection

Project results:

A model (inputs, organizing producers, production technology, market) was developed. The results were publicly presented.

Through four workshops, participants in the Velebit region received basic knowledge about different aspects of production technology and the sustainable management of natural resources (wild medicinal plants and aromatic plants).

Two field trips were conducted where children acquired basic knowledge about the preservation of biodiversity and the usage of medicinal plants.

A booklet about the entire process and project outcomes in medicinal plant production in Lika was published.

Donor: World Wildlife Fund Mediterranean Programme (WWF), Barcelona and Government Office for NGOs in Croatia, Zagreb

Basil Cuts for Drying, July 2003

Children are Collecting Medicinal Plants for Herbarium, May 2003

Children's Drawings, May 2003

Educational Workshop in Lovinac, May 2003

Empowering the Institutional Capacities of Local Communities in the Field of Sustainable Development

Project results:

In partnership with local non-governmental organizations and Velebit Nature Park, ZOE conducted the second annual "Autumn in Lika" fair of local traditional agro-products from Ličko-Senjska County.

A list of products offered by forty family farms in Lika was prepared and presented on theVelebit Nature Park's website.

Through four workshops, participants acquired knowledge and skills on project proposal writing.

Two project proposals were prepared by local organizations that participated in workshops and also obtained funding through the Regional Environmental Center (REC) and REC small grant program.

Donor: Government Office for NGOs in Croatia, Zagreb

Traditional Weaving Loom, fair "Autumn in Lika"

Involving Communities in the Development Programmes of Lika

Project results:

ZOE conducted four field trips and workshops for children in primary school in Gospić and held a closing exhibition of their photos and paintings.

New contacts and cooperation were established with children and teachers in a primary school and within the local population.

Donor: Regional Environmental Center (REC), Zagreb

Opening a Dialogue between Citizens and Local Government on the Problems of Sustainable Development in Lika

Project results:

ZOE established and conducted the first "Autumn in Lika" fair of local traditional agro-products from Ličko-Senjska County in the city of Gospić.

In partnership with local organizations, comments and suggestions on the working document of the law on mountain regions in Croatia were prepared.

Through two training workshops, local representatives of non-governmental organizations acquired basic knowledge and skills on problems of sustainable development and civic participation.

Donor: Regional Environmental Center (REC), Zagreb