At the very end of June (24th and 25th June), interested stakeholders and project partners gathered in the Plitvice Lakes National Park to attend the Local Conference of the CAMPUS project and the project partners` meeting. Since Plitvice Lakes National Park is an associated partner in the CAMPUS project, the World Heritage site was an excellent starting point for learning about the project activities related to the development of climate change adaptation plans for UNESCO sites. The local conference and meeting were organized by the Lika-Senj County Development Agency – LIRA, which is also one of the project partners.
CAMPUS project is co-financed by the INTERREG VI-A Italy – Croatia Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2021 – 2027, and the main objective of the project is to identify climate change risks and resilience capacities of UNESCO sites.
At the Jezero Hotel in the Sedra Hall, participants gathered to receive information about the project activities according to the work packages, which were introduced to them in the introductory presentation by the Senior Advisor for the Preparation and Implementation of Programs and Projects Marina Rukavina, M.Sc. in Pol. This was followed by a presentation by the Nature Conservation Service employee, Dr. Sc. Maja Vurnek, who provided descriptions of the outstanding universal value of the National Park, biodiversity and habitat diversity, as well as the observed impact of climate change and projections of possible changes. This presentation was followed by the research fellow of the IUAV University of Venice, Nives Giovannetti, who opened a dialogue on possible adaptations to climate change through planning, measures and monitoring tools. The University of Venice, as a partner in this project, is key in bringing a scientific approach through the creation of a risk and vulnerability matrix or the effects of multi-risks on cultural and natural heritage.
The working meeting, in which each project partner presented the activities undertaken so far and the future planned activities within the work packages, ended with the financial report of the project and plans for the next meeting and local conference. This conference is to be held in the autumn in the city of Trogir as a representative of UNESCO cultural heritage and associated partner of the CAMPUS project. The Public Institution for Coordination and Development of the Split-Dalmatia County – RERA will organize the aforementioned conference in Croatia.
Probably the most beautiful part of this conference and gathering of project partners was the tour of the Plitvice Lakes National Park, where the beauty of the tufa barriers, waterfalls and lakes of the World Natural Heritage amazed the project partners from Italy. We, who manage this area, but also visitors and residents, as well as all stakeholders, have a great responsibility to preserve this exceptional and unique value for the benefit of all humanity!
More information can be found on the CAMPUS project webpages https://www.italy-croatia.eu/web/campus.
