The decision about financing the project “Sedra Viva” with a total value of 2.34 million Euros

A new step in the restoration and preservation of tufa barriers in the Krka National Park

As part of the Call for "Improved Management of Protected Areas and Areas of the Natura 2000 Ecological Network", worth a total of seventy-five million euros, a Decision was made on the financing of the Krka National Park project entitled "The restoration and preservation of the target habitat type 32A0 – Tufa barriers of the karst rivers of the Dinarides in the area of the Krka National Park – Sedra Viva" (PK.3.7.05.0017), which allocates to the Krka National Park the amount of EUR 1,988,109.29 in grants, which is 85% of the total expenses of the project and the highest possible amount of co-financing.

At the ceremony of awarding the funding decision, organized by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, ten public institutes that manage national parks and nature parks received their decisions. The total value of the approved projects is twenty-eight million Euros, of which twenty-three million and three hundred thousand Euros of the grants were provided through the Competitiveness and Cohesion Programme.

"We thank the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition for recognizing the importance of the “Sedra Viva” project, which is aimed at preserving one of the most valuable and sensitive natural phenomena of the Krka National Park – the tufa barriers. This decision confirms the importance of long-term and responsible management of the tufa barriers through systematic monitoring, the application of scientifically based measures, and investment in their restoration", emphasized the director of the Krka National Park, Nella Slavica, and added: "At the same time, I congratulate all other protected areas that have been awarded funds within this project."

The "Sedra Viva" project is aimed at the restoration and preservation of the target habitat type 32A0 – The tufa barriers of the karst rivers of the Dinarides, by enabling an unhindered process of sedimentation and the establishment of an efficient management monitoring system, and the project partner is the Josip Juraj Strossmayer Water Institute from Zagreb. The project is coordinated with the Specific Objectives within the Competitiveness and Cohesion Program 2021-2027, "Strengthening the protection and preservation of nature, biodiversity, and green infrastructure, including in urban areas, and reducing all forms of pollution", as well as with the objectives of the 1st Strategic and Action Plan for Nature Protection in the Republic of Croatia.

The planned activities include the restoration of tufa barriers by removing successional vegetation, the implementation of restoration and conservation measures, and the establishment of a system for monitoring the effectiveness of conservation, restoration, and management of this extremely valuable habitat type. The proposed activities are based on the results of a series of scientific studies conducted in the project area over the past five years.

As a natural phenomenon of the Krka National Park, tufa is responsible for the formation of the Krka River’s seven magnificent tufa waterfalls. This is a complex natural process that is only possible under specific conditions characteristic of karst areas, where waters rich in dissolved calcium bicarbonate allow for the deposition of tufa. Tufa is extremely sensitive to pollution and changes in the form of vegetative overgrowth, which further emphasizes the importance of systematic and scientifically based management of this phenomenon.