Světová síť přeshraniční ochrany přírody: Ostnatý drát mezi zeměmi EU ohrožuje živou přírodu

In the last few months, more than 500,000 refugees and migrants from Syria and other Middle East countries passed through Croatia in search for security and better life in Germany and other European countries. In the attempt to control further influx of migrants, Hungary started erecting razor-barbed wire fence along its boundary with Croatia in October 2015. This was followed by Slovenia which erected razor-barbed wire fence on 140 km portions of its boundary with Croatia. This occurrence not only puts Croatia in an unusually awkward situation being the only European Union (EU) country separated by neighbouring EU member countries by a wire fence and generating discomfort among local population, but also creating problems with free movement of wild animals and disabling the ecological connectivity.

Ecological connectivity is highly important for species that migrate on daily or seasonal basis in search for food, shelter or individuals of opposite sex for breeding. Historically, the boundary of Croatia and Slovenia, which is about 500 km long area, had no physical barriers that would disable the movement of species or local people. This has changed ‘overnight’ creating doubts about the future of wildlife, some of which is already at the brink of extinction. For years, Croatian and Slovenian scientists have cooperated on various projects and action plans to protect and sustain certain species such as Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), brown bear (Ursus arctos) and wolf (Canis lupus). All of these species regularly migrate through the two countries’ territories as wildlife and nature knows no political boundaries. With the new fence in place and further plans of Slovenia to continue to put up the fence along the border, transboundary conservation of these species is at risk.

Conservation of large carnivores is particularly promoted by the European Commission (EC). Moreover, brown bear, wolf and Eurasian lynx are all listed in Annex II of the EU Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43/EEC) as animals of community interest whose conservation requires the designation of Special Areas of Conservation, and in Annex IV as animals of community interest in need of strict protection. At European scale, the habitats of these two countries alongside other countries of the Dinaride region, are rare refuges for the large carnivores and richness of biological diversity in general. The fence not only harms large mammals on their regular route from Croatia to Slovenia and opposite, but also puts pressure on already threatened species such as the lynx. According to the IUCN Red List of Threated Species, the Dinaric population of lynx is Endangered. With only about 50 individuals in Croatia, the national Red List indicated lynx as Critically Endangered. Slovenia, according to the latest EC report from 2012, hosts only about 20 lynx individuals and the population might be decreasing.

Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) raises serious concern about erection of the razor-barbed wire fence which has already proven to harm the wildlife exposing it to suffering, and believes that such fence creates unfavorable conditions for ecological connectivity and migration of wildlife, including threatened species. The Specialist Group strongly suggests removal of the fence and supports the efforts of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in calling the Slovenian Government to remove the wire. The Specialist Group also supports the public efforts of local communities in Istria and Slovenian coastal areas to influence the decision for wire removal.

WCPA Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group notes with regret that the current situation with physical obstacles to free movement of wildlife at the boundaries of Croatia with its adjacent EU countries is not an isolated case in Europe and in the world. In Europe, due to the refugee crisis, Hungary has built a massive fence system on its boundary with Serbia, putting at risk the survival of the blind molerat (Nannospalax (leucodon) montanosyrmiensis). Some other examples include the extension of the fence between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey, and Greece and Turkey. Such physical barriers will generate sustained direct and indirect impacts to ecosystems and migration corridors, often of European importance.