Coastal Plan for the Šibenik-Knin County – a desirable model for coastal regions

Judging by the interest of various actors and stakeholders the Coastal Plan prepared for the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia has all the chances of becoming a role model for many other coastal areas, not only in the Adriatic but also in wider Mediterranean region. Over the past 15 days only, the Plan was presented at three important events:

- On April 28, in Karlobag, Croatia, at the annual meeting of Croatian Counties and institutions dealing with bathing water quality, where it raised lots of interest and stimulated quite a vivid discussion.

- On that same day, the Šibenik-Knin County Regional Development Agency, jointly with PAP/RAC, presented the Plan at the Bologna Charter Coordination Board held in Rome. During the Plan development process, the Šibenik-Knin County joined the Bologna Charter – an initiative of Euro-Med Regions for the promotion of a joint strategic framework aimed at the protection and sustainable development of Mediterranean coastal areas. The Bologna Charter also promotes a Macro-Project initiative i.e. a proactive approach towards the European Structural Funds. The Šibenik-Knin County, led by the Development Agency, intends to propose some of the Plan’s priorities for EU funding through this initiative. Two other Croatian coastal counties that have been members of the Bologna Charter for several years now, those of Split-Dalmatia and Dubrovnik-Neretva, also expressed their intention to apply for EU funding through the Macro-Project initiative for the preparation of their coastal plans.

- On May 16 the participants of the workshop „Blue Growth and ICZM – sustainable development generators“, organised by the Faculty of Maritime Studies of Split within an EU-funded project, had the opportunity to learn about the Plan. At the workshop the discussion was held on how the two concepts complement each other, and the Šibenik-Knin Plan was seen as an excellent example in that sense.

One of the advantages of preparing a coastal plan is that, owing to its integrated approach, it helps to identify and address management priorities for each individual coastal zone. In the case of the Šibenik-Knin County those were climate change impacts and adaptation, sustainable spatial development and water resources management, but they can be different in some other case, thus confirming the adaptive character of ICZM. PAP/RAC stays at the disposal of any Mediterranean coastal region that wishes to apply this promising approach.

Summary of the Plan