My place yesterday and today -ZADAR, Croatia
GLOBE climate and carbon campaign, Croatia, April, 2024.
In the last few years, we have witnessed more and more extreme climatic conditions, mostly in urban areas that are the locations of large heat sources. In all of this, the preservation of the city's green areas plays a big role, but also the creation of new ones, with the aim of reducing the heat load, which increases year by year during the summer months.
Over the years, the construction of buildings for tourist purposes reached its peak in Zadar, but also brought with it the reduction of green areas, which gave way to hotels, apartments and other constructions. ( https://zadarskilist.novilist.hr/zadar-zupanija/zadar/u-nekim-gradskim-predjelima-nedostaje-zelenih-povrsina/)
Presentation of green areas in the Zadar area (interactive map)
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Secondary Medical School Ante Kuzmanić Zadar
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Park of Queen Jelena Madijevka
Zadar got its first public City Park - today's Park of Queen Jelena Madijevka - when it was still a fortress city, when you could no longer leave the city after the evening. That's why for forty years, that park represented a kind of balcony of the city, because it offered a wonderful view of the sea and the environment, and with the gentle smell of Mediterranean flora, you could enjoy all the events organized in the park.
The park was opened on September 16, 1829, and was built according to his own ideas by the then military governor of the city, Baron Franz Ludwig von Welden (Laupheim, June 16, 1780 - Graz, August 7, 1853) - a passionate botanist, who was delighted with the Dalmatian flora and designed the park. He gave it the name Gradski perivoj and handed it over to the citizens for their enjoyment and care.
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Park Vladimir Nazor
It was created on the former city fortress of Forte, the size of which is about 5.5 ha. The fort was built on the site of the city suburb - Varoš in the 16th century according to the plan and under the supervision of the Venetian general Sforza Pallavicino. Several barracks, warehouses, powder rooms, and cisterns were built in it.
Perivoj was built from 1888 to 1890 thanks to the Austrian governor for Dalmatia, Dragutin Blažeković.
Paths lined with sandstone and boar have been arranged in the park, benches and lighting have been installed. According to the plan from 1906. the ground floor was richly planted, and there was also a rich collection of roses. Alleys of cypresses are still visible today, as well as century-old pines and some other species. Only the laurels over time grew from bushes into large trees and began to dominate the lawn, and somewhat covered the flowery parterre with a dense set of crowns.
Despite considerable damage from bombing during the war, the park has been preserved to this day in its unchanged size, thanks to its location on the Forte fortress. After the war, it was restored, and in 1968 it was declared a natural monument.
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Park of Lady of Health
The park was built between the cistern, the theater and the church of Our Lady of Health, and it is represented mainly by Mediterranean species of trees and shrubs.
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Park Vrulje
Of the Zadar meadows outside the old city center, the Vrulje Meadow is important because, as its name suggests, it is a source of water. Since flowing fresh water is a rarity in Dalmatia, this park has great value due to the large number of springs in a small area. They form rivulets that merge into one larger stream about fifty meters before entering the sea, which does not dry up even in summer. Today, the hot springs are less than before the Second World War, but they are still strong enough today, so that during the Homeland War, they were a precious source of water for that part of the city.
The stream flows into the bay of Vrulje located in the northern part of the port, at its exit. The stream bed was landscaped at the end of the 19th century thanks to the Society for the Beautification of the City. The bottom of the bay is partly filled in, a stream bed has been made, and a bridge has been built. A meadow with a large number of plant species has been built around the stream, while a grove of Aleppo pine has been built on the elevated rocky part. At that time, the grove was called "Bosco dei Pini" - boric, pine forest.
After the Second World War, the park was restored again and new trees were planted. Then it was called by its current name. In the eighties of the last century, the lower part of the stream bed was decorated with stone banks, made so that even small children can talk to the water, and a new stone bridge was built over the stream. Along the upper course of the stream, a dozen swamp cypress trees were planted, which, thanks to the abundance of water, thrive beautifully.
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Musapstan
One of the largest, oldest and best-preserved pine cultures (primarily pines) on the Adriatic coast, which covers 250 ha, which is a very large area for Mediterranean karst. This significant forest complex is managed by Croatian Forests - Šumarija Zadar.
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Forests from Žmirići to Petrčane
In the area from Žmirići to Petrčane, there are forests of Aleppo pine, black pine, pine, holm oak and holm oak.
The city of Zadar is located in the center of the Croatian part of the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea in northern Dalmatia. In the hinterland of Zadar is the vast plain of Ravni Kotar. It is the central and most developed administrative territorial unit within Zadar County.
With its geographical position, it is located in the area of the Mediterranean climate with dry and hot summers and wet and mild winters. The mean temperature of the coldest month is not lower than -3°C, and at least one month of the year has a mean temperature higher than 10°C. An important climatic characteristic is the existence of a regular rhythm of the change of seasons. In the local framework, a significant role is played by the wide flat hinterland of the City, which moderates the influence of the nearby Velebit.
The administrative area of the City of Zadar occupies an area of 194.02 km2 and includes fifteen (15) settlements, five (5) of which are located on the mainland, while the other ten (10) settlements are located on the islands.
According to the official results of the 2021 census of the State Bureau of Statistics, the City of Zadar has a total of 70,779 inhabitants and is the fifth (5th) largest city in the Republic of Croatia, right after Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek. ( https://dzs.gov.hr/ )
Map 1: Geographical location of the City of Zadar
With the expansion of the city of Zadar, new challenges appeared and the question of how to solve them, so they are thinking about how to improve biodiversity and air quality, reduce city noise, make heat waves more tolerable and in general how to improve the quality of urban life, so it is also included in the Urban Green Belts project whose goal is to establish a GIS system and a model of smart management of urban green areas, education and workshops will be organized with the aim of raising community awareness of green areas in their city. In this way, the visibility of the existing state of green areas will be contributed to, but also the protection, maintenance and revitalization of green areas will be promoted as the key to a healthy and sustainable urban environment, given that they are the "lungs of the city". (http://www.interreg-central.eu/Content.Node/UGB.html)
The city of Zadar is also included in the European Union project called Grow Green (Green Cities for Climate and Water Resilience, Sustainable Economic Growth, Healthy Citizens and Environments), which is implemented as part of the HORIZON 2020 program. One of the planned activities in the Grow green project is the creation of a document that will define the implementation of natural solutions in adaptation to climate change in the partner city area. The vision of the action plan for the implementation of natural solutions in adaptation to climate change of the City of Zadar: Zadar is a city of preserved natural values and a city rich in greenery, which makes it resistant to climate change and able to recover from the consequences of extreme weather conditions. ( https://www.grad-zadar.hr/repos/doc/Akcijski%20plan%20provedbe%20prirodnih%20rjesenja%20u%20prilagodbi%20klimatskim%20promjenama%20na%20podrucju%20Grada%20Zadra.pdf )
However, although the City of Zadar has green areas that are still trying to be preserved, we are witnessing constant changes in the form of a reduction of them, which are allies in preventing climate change, so we tried to record some changes in the space.
We used a tool to analyze the observed area: Imagery Compare - Tool for Satellite Imagery Comparison of EarthMap.org .
Figure 1: Overview of the area of the city of Zadar (Borik) in 2016 and 2024
Legend
Using the legend, we analyzed the changes in the selected area in the area of Borika in Zadar and we observed that in 2016 there were significantly more green areas compared to the same area in 2024 when the same area is dominated by built-up areas. Given that the area of Borik is used for residential and tourist purposes, this did not surprise us too much, and we decided to research the literature with which to confirm these recordings and changes. In the article from the 057 info portal, we found information about the aforementioned construction and environmental change, where the area was transformed from a green area to one built for the purpose of building apartments.( https://www.057info.hr/vijesti/2023-02-22/gradevinski-boom-u-zoni-vitrenjak-ii-donijela-cesta-koja-je-probijena-od-crkve-na-boriku/ ).
The situation we observed in the Borik area with Imagery Compare - Tool for Satellite Imagery Comparison of EarthMap.org we wanted to compare with other maps. On the map from 2013 (Google Earth), it was noticed that there is a green area around the Church Bezgrešnog Začeća Blažene Djevice Marije .
Figure 2: Map of the area of the city of Zadar (Borik), 09/20/2013. using Google Earth
However, on another map from 2018 made using https://preglednik.arkod.hr/ it was observed that there are no more green areas around the church but an area under construction, which we confirmed.
Figure 3: Presentation of the area of the city of Zadar (Borik) in 2018 using https://preglednik.arkod.hr/
We also noticed that there is no forest area in the area of the former Borik camp, now Falkensteiner Premium Camping Zadar, and the shown clip from 2013 shows a forest.
(Part of the map from 2013 using Google Earth.)
In the area of the former camp Borik, a luxury camp with four stars was built, and a transformation of the space was observed, i.e. the existence of mobile homes, and little forest space.
(Part of the map from 2018 using the ARKOD browser.)
The second observed area is the city district of Plovanija, where also in 2024 a decrease in green area was observed compared to 2016 in favor of the construction of residential buildings.
Figure 4: Presentation of the area of the city of Zadar (Plovanija) in 2016 and 2024
Construction in the city district of Plovanija
The latest compiled data on construction in Croatia say that out of 18,991 apartments with a building permit issued in Croatia in 2022, 2,963 are in Zadar County, which is about 16% of all housing in the country. ( https://zadarskitjednik.hr/zupanija-zadarska/zadarska-zupanija-izmedu-gradevinskog-cuda-i-turisticke-odrzivosti-2505264 )
CONCLUSION
When it comes to the preservation of green areas, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of their role in the context of the fight against climate change, starting from the absorption of carbon dioxide, through the influence of the shade of luxurious canopies on the mitigation of high summer temperatures and the removal of harmful substances from the environment, to the retention of precipitation, and especially their role in local ecosystems as a habitat and source of food for numerous birds and animals.
The city of Zadar is actively implementing urban greening projects, which is certainly commendable, but unfortunately not enough attention is paid to the already existing mature trees. This can be noticed during the reconstruction of city roads, when citizens express their fear through the media that the existing greenery will be removed already at the very announcement of the reconstruction.. (https://www.noviradio.hr/koliko-je-tebi-zadar-zelen-85-posto-gradana-smatra-da-nedostaje-zelenih-povrsina-oko-novoizgradenih-objekata/)
It is also very important to conduct campaigns in the form of educating and raising awareness among citizens about the importance of preserving the environment and the negative consequences of excessive concreting. This can encourage citizens to actively participate in environmental protection.
Reducing concreting and overbuilding in Zadar can be a key goal for preserving the environment, cultural heritage and the quality of life of citizens. It should certainly be carefully planned and implemented with an understanding of the needs of the community and the preservation of the environment in order to minimize the negative effects.
