ZAGREB, 22 Dec (Hina) - Part of the solution to climate change lies in nature and healthy ecosystems, because when ecosystems are degraded, the impacts we experience are far greater, said Aljoša Duplić, Director of the Institute for Environment and Nature Protection at the Environmental Protection Ministry.
Speaking at a briefing on the outcomes of the COP30 climate conference in Brazil, Duplić noted that while climate change is most often linked to fossil fuel emissions, up to 15% of emissions are caused by permanent land-use change, particularly deforestation.
In Croatia, he said, natural vegetation would largely consist of forest: without human activity, around 98% of the country would be forested, with open areas created only by natural disturbances such as storms, fires or floods.
Climate change is one of the five main pressures on biodiversity
Duplić stressed that climate change is one of the five main pressures on biodiversity and has so far been the least monitored. It is increasingly emerging as a key threat to species, especially those dependent on marine and freshwater ecosystems, acting as a multiplier that accelerates ecosystem degradation.
He warned that heatwaves are having a serious impact on marine and inland waters, affecting water quality, and cautioned against complacency over Croatia’s water abundance, as much of it depends on inflows from neighbouring countries.
Referring to large hydropower projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he said the Neretva River could lose significant water volumes, threatening one of Croatia’s most important agricultural areas through increased salinisation.
Duplić emphasised the need for adaptation and innovation across sectors, calling the shift away from traditional approaches the essence of the green transition.
He highlighted nature-based solutions for flood protection, such as giving rivers more space and using uninhabited areas for water retention, alongside technical measures, noting that this approach is already being applied in parts of Croatia, including around Zagreb.
He warned that the canalisation of the Sava River is causing riverbed erosion and deepening, reaching four to five metres below previous levels in parts of Zagreb, which is affecting the city’s aquifer.
"Green transition is a horizontal process that requires all sectors to work within their fields on solutions aligned with nature, in order to increase society’s resilience to climate change," Duplić said.
He added that the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition is opening up these issues and engaging in dialogue with all sectors, including scientists, businesses and civil society.
Ivan Hlupić, a journalists, said that while media outlets are trying to raise awareness about climate change locally, the reality is that people respond most when something bad happens. Dunja Mazzocco Drvar, a meteorologist and climate policy expert, says this is because climate change was communicated for a long time as something slow-moving and decades away, whereas it is already here, right in front of us.
Srđan Baković
Izvršni urednik
Hrvatska izvještajna novinska agencija (HINA)
