Instruments of Environmental Protection in the Republic of Croatia – Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of Plans and Programs

Generally, the question of development for each area or development policy is how we develop and build, and during that procedure, how we preserve the existing biodiversity, flora and fauna, cultural heritage, air and water quality and the landscape. In recognition of the EU acquis in the field of environmental protection, Croatia has assumed the obligation and the implementation of a Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of Plans and Programs. Social benefit from Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment, as a practical way of special monitoring and assessing the impact of development activities on the environment, has proved to be very useful. It gives a possibility to the plan’s and program’s makers to develop ideas which could be assessed while creating a document, giving the possibility to change concepts and providing alternative proposals, which was not a practice until now. The new Decree on Strategic Environmental Assessment of the impact of plans and programmes in Croatia is prescribes the development of Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment, which had introduced the environmental criteria in the process of spatial planning and development of sectoral strategies with which these processes have not been so thoroughly engaged so far. With this procedure the importance of environmental criteria and environmental sustainability plans and programs come into the focus and the entire social dialogue about the importance of environment in development become clear and meaningful