Statement by Ms Mojca Luk?ic
Senior Adviser
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management
of the Republic of Croatia
at the Twelfth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development
19 April 2004
Mr. Chairperson, Distinguished Colleagues, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:
At the outset, let me congratulate you Mr. Chairman and members of the bureau
upon your election as well as putting a lot of effort in organizing this session of the
Commission on Sustainable Development in an interactive and participatory manner.
We are set on a new path in the work of the Commission after having adopted a
multiyear programme of work at its previous session as well as having decided to
work in two-year cycles. We have a lot of confidence that this method of work will
have a direct impact on the implementation of Agenda 21, Programme for the Further
Implementation of Agenda 21 and Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
In this regard, choosing the theme of Water, Sanitation and Human Settlements for
its first two-year cycle shows our firm commitment to focus on these high priority
issues which feature prominently both in the Millennium Declaration and
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and which are central to the world?s hopes of
eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development. Let me therefore
commend the Secretary-General for elaborate reports on these themes as well as for
establishment of an Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, to galvanize global
action on these issues.
WATER, SANITARY STRUCTURE AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
IN THE REPUBLIC CROATIA
Water, Water Management and Water Protection
Croatia nationally also gives a lot of emphasis to these issues as protection of human
health, healthy environment and safety of human lives and property are among basic
human rights, also listed as such in the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia.
Protection of human health is primarily based on the obligation to «provide drinking
water to all, and implement sanitary measures for all», within integrated water
management systems, with the aim to achieve sustainable exploitation of water
resources and to secure necessary water quality, which does not endanger human
health, and which protects water ecosystems? (according to the Protocol on Water
and Health), with the necessary level of population and industries connected to public
water supply and sewerage systems. It is evident that achieving the goal of
protection of human health is closely connected with environmental protection, which
can be achieved on ly through integrated water management in the river basin. The
national legislation in Croatia is addressing the stated problems, from the national to
the local levels. It should be pointed out that all legislation elements are not fully
harmonized, which to a certain extent makes it more difficult to manage water in the
river basin and to achieve all stated basic human rights.
The Water Act and the Water Management Financing Act, both from 1995, define the
legal framework of water management in the Republic of Croatia. At the national
level the legal framework established by these two laws is almost complete, with only
several bylaws which regulate the development of planning documents lacking.
However, the legal framework established by the two base laws whose enactment is
the responsibility of the local government has not yet for the most part been
established or harmonized with the legal framework at the national level. Thus a
more intensive work is planned to enact this legal framework, and to further develop
the implementation mechanisms for the existing legal framework. The Republic of
Croatia also faces the task of harmonizing its standards with the standards of the
European Union.
The long-term planning document in the field of water management, as foreseen by
the legislation, is the Water Management Master Plan of the Republic of Croatia. This
document is harmonized with other relevant strategies, and in the course of its
development the requirements set in the EU Water Framework Directive were
complied with.
However, although the existing legislation system fully accepts integrated water
management, the implementation of this legislation framework continues with
sectoral management. Additionally, the participation of all relevant stakeholders in
water management is still not at the satisfactory level, and the forms of public
participation need to be elaborated in more detail.
The basic needs for improvement relate to capacity strengthening in the field of
integrated water management, i.e. further education and training of employees at all
levels.
For the purpose of research and development in the field of water management, an
important factor for aquatic ecosystem, funds are secured for scientific and research
projects with the aim to develop water protection plans and organize their
implementation, monitoring and determination of water quality, and taking measures
and constructing water works for water protection.
To create a basis for water management planning and offer timely and available
information in the field of water management the development of the Water
Information System (WIS) was initiated.
The development of the Water Information System project was founded on the
existing strategies, laws and regulations of the Republic of Croatia . It was initiated in
2001 and according to plans should be completed by 2007.
The project objectives and expected results particularly emphasize the task of the
WIS to systematically and timely collect, process, exchange and make available data
and information, both internally, to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water
Management and Croatian Water Institute, and externally, to bodies of state
administration, international institutions and all interested parties, the general public
in particula r.
Standardization and monitoring, an important part of the Water Information System
project, was accepted for financing by the EU CARDS 2002 programme.
Drinking water supply and sanitation
Both the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia and the Water Act define water as a
general good which, due to its natural characteristics, cannot be anyone?s property.
Water as the general good has a special protection of the Republic of Croatia, and
this presents the legal grounds of water protection.
Water protection measures are defined in more detail in the Water Act and the
National Water Protection Plan. The National Water Protection Plan is enacted for
the purpose of implementing freshwater and sea water protection from pollution from
land-based and island-based sources, and it includes: necessary water quality
assessment and analysis, water classification, water protection measures,
contingency measures in case of accidental pollution, plan for the development of
plants and facilities for waste water treatment, funding sources and way of financing
the Plan, and the register of natural and legal persons responsible for implementing
the Plan, their duties and powers.
The existing legislation includes protection from pollution at the source and emission
control as well as the prevention principle and the «polluter pays» principle.
In Croatia, approximately 76% of population is connected to public water supply
systems, 40% to public sewerage systems, with only 12% of collected wastewater
undergoing some form of treatment before being discharged into the recipient. In the
current state of municipal water systems, due to low population density and still low
impact of Croatian economy on the status of water quality, at present we have no
major water pollution p roblems. They are generally of local significance, in the vicinity
of pollution sources.
Particularly unfavourable situation is encountered in smaller settlements (up to
10,000 inhabitants), where municipal water systems are generally not constructed, or
not fully constructed, which makes the present state of the public sewerage system
potentially dangerous to human health, and poses a threat of environmental pollution.
Such state has a growing influence on the need for implementation of increasingly
complex measures of drinking water protection, and the need for the construction of
water processing/conditioning plants. Most water presently used for drinking is
distributed to users without processing/conditioning. The pollution of drinking water
supplies creates the problem for sustainability and safety of water supply systems,
and the sustainability and purpose of drinking water protection system (zones of
sanitary protection of the source). The problem of technological sustainability of the
public water supply originates from high water losses in the system (approx. 46%).
This state is unsatisfactory and significantly influences the increase in the cost of
water supply.
Sanitation is closely connected to the protection of human health. The lack of
activities in this respect cause insufficient communication with regards to priority
needs and activities at the national level, thus the necessity of a globally coordinated
action at the national level and the definition of national priorities in the field of water
and sanitation. It is necessary to include all stakeholders at all levels, and apply the
multi-stakeholder approach to the solution of water and sanitation problems. We
need to establish an institutional framework which comprises of priorities, policy and
decision-making in the field of water and sanitation, as well as the effects on the
population through the activities of different sectors and ministries.
In all discussions and documents, from the local to the national levels, it is
undeniable that the supply of population with healthy drinking water and sanitary
disposal of wastewater is today considered the top water management priority, the
precondition for both healthy living and basic standard of living of the modern man.
Human Settlements
Municipal water services to the population in Croatia are still insufficiently developed
and available in comparison with the developed counties in our surroundings. The
proposed concept of settlement enlargement and population concentration will make
planning and provision of all kinds of municipal services to the population easier. This
is additionally facilitated by the recommendation that consolidating, constructing and
populating should first be focused on places with already present municipal
infrastructure, i.e. drinking water supply and wastewater disposal systems included,
which are a particularly important and expensive component of urban space.
The development of municipal services to the population, which are most directly
related to health protection and improvement of sanitary standard, is emphasized in
the Residential Strategy, which concludes with the expression of need for
improvement of social and municipal infrastructure, as well as regional and urban
development (counties, towns, municipalities). Based on this, the planning of
municipal water systems, and other municipal systems as well, has been left to a
certain extent to regional planners, who need to take into account the framework set
by water management schemes and plans.
