managing sustainability in conditions of change a

Managing Sustainability in Conditions of Change and Unpredictability

The Living Landscape and Floodplain Ecosystem of the Central Sava River Basin

Goran Gugić9 789539 795090

CIJENA: 0,00knISBN: 978-953-97950-9-5

“Th e Sava River is considered by nature conservationists and scientists to be one of the “Crown Jewels” of European natural heritage. Th e Sava River Basin is the second largest tributary to the Danube River and is of biological signifi cance because of its outstanding biological and landscape diversity. It has been selected as a focal region in the Pan European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy (PEBLDS) of the Council of Europe. Th e Sava River Basin hosts the largest complex of alluvial fl oodplain wetlands in the Danube basin and the largest lowland forests. Th e Sava is an unique example of a river where the fl oodplains are still intact, supporting both fl oods alleviation and biodiversity. ... Th e most important landscape characteristics are found in the central Sava basin with a mosaic of natural fl oodplains and cultural landscapes formed by traditional land-use patterns in the past typical to the river valleys of Central Europe. Th e PEBLDS has listed the Sava fl oodplains as a river corridor of European importance for preserving our biological heritage.»

IUCN, WAGENINGEN INTERNATIONAL (2007): Project Document Protection

of Biodiversity of the Sava River Basin Floodplains fi nancially supported by

LIFE-Th ird countries and Swiss Agency for Development and cooperation.

Goran Gugić

has headed Lonjsko Polje Nature Park Public Service as director since 1998. Born in Germany, he graduated from the Forestry Faculty of Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich. He also specialised in the Forestry Faculty of Zagreb University, Croatia, and did further training in Glacier National Park, USA, and at the International Course on Wetland Management in Lelystad, Kingdom of the Netherlands. He is a member of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), the chairperson of the national committee for the UNESCO programme Man and the Biosphere, and currently a member of the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention.

Goran Gugić Managing Sustainability in Conditions of Change and Unpredictability


Th is Book fi le has been carried out with the contribution of the LIFE fi nancial instrument of the European Community within the LIFE05 TCY/CRO/000111 project

“Central Posavina – Wading Toward Integrated Basin Management”

Managing Sustainability in Conditions of Change and Unpredictability


by Goran Gugić

Published by: Lonjsko Polje Nature Park Public Service

Copyright:2009 Lonjsko Polje Nature Park Public Service

Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged.Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

Citation:GUGIĆ, G. (2009): Managing Sustainability in conditions of Change and Unpredictability - Th e Living Landscape and Floodplain Ecosystem of the Central Sava River Basin. Lonjsko Polje Nature Park Public Service, Krapje, Croatia.

ISBN:978-953-97950-9-5A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the National and University Library in Zagreb under 696726.

Photos:Boris Krstinić, Kristina Pandža (chapter 3)

Language-editor:Graham McMaster

Layout by:ITG, Zagreb, Croatia

Produced by:Lonjsko Polje Nature Park Public Service

Printed by:ITG, Zagreb, Croatia

Edition:1000 copies

Available from:Lonjsko Polje Nature Park Public ServiceKrapje 16HR-44325 Krapje, [email protected]

Prologue

At the time when urbanisation has become a truly global trend, another process has appeared simultaneously, a process that is leading more and more to an either-or situation in the world: on the one hand, urban areas are developing uncontrollably, and on the other areas of “unspoiled nature” are being declared. In this process of polarisation, the space between is disappearing dramatically. It is the rural area that constitutes this space, that playground in which humankind has practised and is still practising its ability to deal with nature. To speak in the language of ecosystem theories: with the loss of this ability humankind is losing its “robustness” and becoming more “fragile”, more susceptible to changes in the environment. So, there is a serious reason to make every eff ort to maintain the organically evolved cultural landscapes particularly there where they are presenting living systems. Th ose landscapes must be seen as both places of an endangered biodiversity that depends upon man-made habitats and places of holistic solutions already found by humankind in its dealings with nature.

In the world of today, in which individuality and expertise are highly valued, we like to connect a master-piece with a certain, famous individual genius who created it at a certain historical moment. And so we very often admire an architectural or horticultural master-piece and can easily identify ourselves with the ideas of its famous author. But when it comes to a master-piece created over hundreds of years by an uncertain, unknown, common genius, then we even have diffi culties in recognising it as a master-piece let alone in identifying with the ideas and experiences behind it. In fact, old living landscapes do not present any particular idea. Th ey must be understood as the result of a long-term feed-back process amongst both ideas and experiences. A living cultural landscape is a masterpiece that deserves at least the same degree of admiration that we express for a masterpiece by an individual genius.

Th e living landscape of Lonjsko Polje Nature Park located in the Central Sava River basin in Croatia is a still hidden masterpiece, an organically evolved cultural landscape that has yet to be discovered as such.

Th ese pages are - at fi rst sight - about an outstanding area of both nature and culture. It is in this area that nature and culture merge in such a manner that classical management structures and tools developed under either nature conservation or cultural heritage approaches have had to address their own limitations. And so, on closer inspection, these pages are dealing with the issue of how adequately to manage both the living landscape and the permanently changing, extraordinary dynamics of a fl oodplain ecosystem, that of the central Sava river basin.

Contents

Chapter 1 GET VERSATILE BEFORE MANAGING CHANGE 9

Chapter 2 THE SAVA RIVER – THE MASTER OF PARADOX 15

Chapter 3 PLAINS OR MICRO-MOUNTAINS? 23

Chapter 4 RIPARIAN WOODLANDS – THE UNMISTAKABLE APPEARANCE OF THE SAVA FLOODPLAINS

27

Chapter 5 TRADITIONAL PASTURING – A CULTURAL AND AN ECOLOGICAL KEYSTONE PROCES

39

Chapter 6 TRADITIONAL PASTURING – THE ANSWER TO CHANGE AND UNPREDICTABILITY

47

Chapter 7 BREEDS OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS AS ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF THE PASTURING SYSTEM

59

Chapter 8 ADAPTATION TO FLOODING – A CULTURAL KEYSTONE PROCESS

71

Chapter 9 THE OTHER WAY OF FLOOD CONTROL 77

Chapter 10 THE PILLARS OF MANAGING CHANGE 83

Chapter 11 FROM VISIONING TO ACTION 93

Chapter 12 THE TWELVE PRINCIPLES OF MANAGING SUSTAINABILITY IN CONDITIONS OF CHANGE AND UNPREDICTABILITY

105

8 Chapter 1

Get Versatile Before Managing Change 9

Get Versatile Before Managing Change

1


As was mentioned in the prologue, this publication is mainly concerned with the ways and means of managing sustainability in changing and unpredictable conditions in a living landscape and a dynamic ecosystem. Th us, instead of with an introduction, this publication begins with a short but essential exercise to prepare the reader for an understanding of the principle of versatility. To get versatile, i.e. to be able to live with change and to be capable of doing many things with varied uses or many functions competently, one must permanently question one’s professional background, education, concepts of management and experiences. As this publication is mainly about nature conservation, a short review of the development of this practice might help to meet the demand for self-questioning. In the 1960s when nature conservation became a major issue at the global level, nature was understood as the untouched wilderness, and it was the wilderness that was endangered. Naturally, man had to be excluded from protected areas. Th e management of those areas was exclusive, the decision making was in the hands of elites, and both managers and politicians looked at protected areas as upon isolated islands. Some twenty years later, nature was no more characterised by the concept of the wilderness only, rather through ecosystems and biodiversity. Now it was natural resources that were declared threatened. Th e statement “man has to be excluded” changed into “man has not to be excluded”. Management became integrated, decision making was technocratic and the idea of transboundary-protected areas made the “island mentality” of the 1960s irrelevant. At the turn of the millennium, culture too was recognised as being an essential part of nature conservation. Traditional knowledge has been recognised as being endangered. “Man can be involved”, is the new doctrine. Th us, management has changed to participatory management, decision making has become authentic and protected areas have been more and more linked up in networks.

12 Chapter 1

1960 1980 2000 2020

Nature wildernessecosystems, biodiversity

culture and nature

change

Protected areas

islands transboundary networkextensive cores

Manhas to be excluded

has not to be excluded

can be involved

has to be involved

Management exclusive integrated participatory inclusive

Decision making

elite technocratic integrated versatile

Endangered wildernessnaturalresources

traditional knowledge

mixed natural and cultural processes

What can one learn from this short refl ection on the development of nature conservation? Obviously, there are mainstreams in nature conservation. A conservation manager has to acknowledge them, but he must not be blinded by them. He needs to keep capable of freeing himself of those mainstreams as their concepts do not obviously fi t to the protected area he is managing. In the case of a dynamic ecosystem like a fl oodplain which is additionally overlaid by complex traditional and/or new human activities, it is even questionable whether there is already an appropriate concept


amongst those that have been accepted. Such a situation demands a capacity for versatility in the search for an appropriate management approach.

If one thinks back over the above mentioned developments in nature conservation, over the next twenty years the following challenges might be expected: protected nature will be gripped by change, even in those ecosystems that seemed to have long-term stability. Climate change and urbanisation will particularly endanger mixed natural and cultural processes. Th e natural features because of which an area was protected may disappear in the area itself but may appear in another place outside the protected area. Th us, decision making must become versatile and fl exible. Th ere will be a need to make nature conservation, and with that the protected areas, extensive. Th at does not necessarily mean an extension of the entire protected area. It might rather mean that protected areas will play an active part as generative extensive cores in the development of the entire not-protected space. Th us, conservation management must get inclusive. Man has to be involved.

14 Chapter 1


The Sava River – The Master of Paradox

2

Th e Sava River − Th e Master of Paradox 17

Th e Sava River underlies all impacts derived from the natural features of Central Posavina. Th e master river, it is the main force that generates one of the key ecological processes of the fl oodplain ecosystem: inundation. Th erefore, one must take a closer look at the characteristics of the river’s watershed, which greatly aff ects its behaviour.

Th e Sava originates in Slovenia, when two little streams join, the Sava Bohinjka and the Sava Dolinka. Th e total length of the river is 945 km, 562 km of which are in Croatia. Th e Sava River fl ows into the Danube River at Belgrade.

Th e way a river behaves depends on the terrain through which it fl ows. Th e Sava River leaves the alpine landscape of Slovenia and enters Croatia still as a torrent, with a markedly inconstant course, particularly in the case of high waters. But then, somewhere at the level of the Zagreb - Slavonski Brod highway, where car drivers take their toll tickets, the terrain changes. From a geotectonic point of view a step appears here that leads into the immediate Sava depression. As a result, downstream of this step any discharge can inundate only the downstream area. Th e fl ood cannot extend in the upstream direction. Th e land now slopes gently and the channel of the river is in unconsolidated material - the alluvium. Th e Sava River now has a relatively shallow, gently descending and winding course, with an average fall of 1.66 m/km between Zagreb and Mačkovac. Th e sediment load must eventually come to rest. Th is central part of the river basin is a natural depression that receives the high waters. Here, a perfect example of positive feedback is in action: middle-sized particles are deposited in this lowland area. Th e Sava slows, some of its sediment load is dumped on the riverbed, building up the bed, which slows the river still more, causing still fi ner sediment to be dumped - and so it goes on. In the end the rising bed acts as a dam. Th e river overtops the banks and fl oods the adjacent land.

18 Chapter 2

Th e fl oodwater fl ows much slower, and the sediment it carries is quickly deposited as a smooth layer of mud. Over the years, fl ood after fl ood deposits layer upon layer, and so a fl oodplain is built. Right next to its course the Sava River has formed a natural levee: fi rst the river overfl ows its banks, but the slowdown drops the sediment load immediately. A ridge appears beside the river. Th us, the essential statement that needs to be made here seems to be a paradox: the safest place in the Central Sava River Basin is this natural ridge directly beside the river!

Another important characteristic of the Sava’s watershed here is that it is composed of numerous tributary watersheds. Th e discharge of water of the Sava River is therefore signifi cantly increased by these tributaries. Th e watershed from the gauging station at Zagreb to the gauging station of Mačkovac on the right bank consists of the watersheds of the larger streams, the Kupa and the Una, and on the left of the Česma and Ilova, as well as of a number of smaller streams that immediately gravitate to the retention areas of Sava high waters. Th e total area of the basin of the Kupa to its entry into the Sava at the town of Sisak comes to 10,032 square kilometres with an average descent of 3.12 m/km, and that of the Una River is 9,368 square kilometres with an average basin descent of 3.35 m/km. It is important to recognise that the larger streams of the Kupa and Una originate from another climatic region, which is already infl uenced by the Mediterranean. Th e heavy rainfalls during late autumn typical of that climatic regime may cause high waters in the Una and Kupa. Th e Sava River itself rises in an alpine area where high waters appear regularly when the snow smelts. Finally, the smaller tributaries on the left may cause fl oods during local heavy rainfalls. Accordingly, the hydrological situation of the Central Sava River Basin is fraught indeed! Five rivers originate in three diff erent climatic regions and may cause fl oods at any time of the year. Th ere is diffi culty enough in predicting fl oods if only one climate region

Th e Sava River − Th e Master of Paradox 19

aff ects the watershed. But in this case, clearly, the inundations are almost beyond the scope of any forecasting.

Let us simulate the situation after the snow has melted. Th e water level of the Sava River rises. Normally, the Lonja River fl ows into the Sava River because of the diff erence in altitudes. But now, when the master river rises, at a certain moment it will achieve equilibrium with the water level of the tributary. As a result, the master river halts the fl ow of the tributary. It becomes a liquid dam for the tributary at its mouth and the water level of the Lonja River rises upstream. Th e high level in the Sava forms a backfl ow in the Lonja River. If the Sava River continues rising - and faster than the Lonja River - another paradox appears: now the master river will fl ow into the tributary. Th e Lonja River starts to overfl ow the natural levee right next to its course and starts fl ooding the surrounding land. Th is is called indirect fl ooding. It is the main phenomenon in the fl oodplains of the Central Sava River basin.

Th e situation becomes more complicated still when the Una River rises because of heavy rainfalls. Th en, at its mouth opposite Jasenovac, it slows the master river, which consequently forms a backfl ow, the water level rising upstream of the Una and Sava confl uence. Th e water level of the Sava River at Jasenovac may increase up to 10 meters within 24 hours.

Because of the exceptional arrangement of the river system, which comprehends three diff erent climate regions, inundation may occur at any time of the year. Th is volatility makes the area an outstanding example of ecological processes caused by extreme and unpredictable oscillations of inundation dynamics occurring in the central course of a great river.

A comparative look at the existing World Heritage list demo-nstrates the uniqueness of Lonjsko Polje Nature Park as a complete and typical riverine-palustrine ecosystem. When the existing World Heritage properties in the Palaearctic realm (on the whole

20 Chapter 2

primary wetlands containing major freshwater wetland values) are considered, then it is quite striking that no single property lies in the centre of a basin. Th ey are located either in the delta itself, which is the case with the Danube Delta and the Doñana National Park, or in the lower part of the basin, as in the Srebarna Nature Reserve; alternatively, they are large lakes, such as Lake Baikal, Ichkeul National Park or the Volcanoes of Kamchatka. Outside the Palaearctic zone, there are only a few examples such as Kaziranga National Park in the Indo-Malayan realm and Manu National Park in the Neotropical realm, located in the central part of a river basin. Th is refl ects the reality that today natural fl oodplain ecosystems, representing the ecological processes caused by the dynamics of a river in its central part, belong to the most vulnerable and threatened ecosystems worldwide for the very reason that exactly those areas off er the most favourable preconditions for industrialisation and the intensifi cation of agriculture.

Th e great importance of the Central Sava Floodplains property is related to the absence in Europe of any other fl oodplain ecological systems, as a result of the drainage and regulation of the great rivers, particularly in their central courses. It is only in the area of Lonjsko Polje that the still surviving habitats and ecological processes of inundation can be protected.

Plains or Micro-Mountains?

3

Plains or Micro-Mountains? 25

At fi rst sight, a fl oodplain looks like a fl at and level stretch of land. But this is not how it looks to those who know it intimately, and listening to the local dialects of the Central Sava River basin one can identify a group of special terms describing what is called the microrelief. Th e microrelief is a geomorphological refl ection of the work of the river and inundation, as described in the previous chapter. And so, on closer inspection, one discovers that the fl oodplains actually are not fl at and level but rather like micro-mountains. Th is microrelief is one of the most important factors impacting the habitats, particularly those in the forest and grassland. In the natural setting a diff erence of only 10 cm in altitude will have a crucial infl uence of the appearance and abundance of a certain plant community. Th rough fl ooding and the work of the river, naturally raised areas or ridges were formed, which are now almost never fl ooded. Th ey could be named the top of the mountains. Th ere are also micro-depressions, analogous to mountain valleys. If they are completely closed, like a plate, the fl ood water in them can disappear only by transpiration. Th e micro-elevations are located between the ridges and the micro-depressions. Th ey could be named the slopes of the micro-mountains.

But the microrelief is not only important for the appearance and preservation of natural and semi-natural habitats. It is also of the utmost importance for the creation of the organically evolved landscape that constitutes the mosaic of the traditional culture of the countryside, following both the microrelief and - related to it - the incidence and duration of fl ooding. Th e dynamics of fl ooding and the shape of the micro-relief are thus intimately bound up with the lives of the people. Th ey established their life, built their settlements, on the safest places, the ridges beside the master river. Behind the villages they created orchards, ploughed fi elds and meadows, and further off the complexes of hay-making, fl ood pastures and at the end the riparian lowland forests. Th is sequence of land use strictly follows the way the fl oods advance and retreat.

Riparian Woodlands – The Unmistakable Appearance of the Sava Floodplains

4

Riparian Woodlands – Th e Unmistakable Appearance of the Sava Floodplains 29

HORVAT et.al. (1974) stated in their publication Vegetation of Southeast-Europe, which can still be seen as the most comprehensive geobotanic overview of this part of the world: “Much though ... the forest associations and the entire character of the landscape of the Illyrian zone of oak and hornbeam recall Central Europe, the shape of its riparian hardwood forests is still unique and unmistakable. Where else in Europe do highly natural oak stands extend over 200,000 hectares in the fl oodplains, and where else has their water regime remained as undisturbed as here? Not only from an economic point of view, but also with regard to science these forests, hardly touched by man, are of extraordinary value. [Translated by the present author]1.

Th e vegetation of the Central Sava River fl oodplains belongs to the lowland or planar vegetation zone that ranges in elevation from 80 to 150 metres, since the whole space of Lonjsko Polje is below 150 m above sea level. It accordingly represents the initial level of the vertical arrival of forest vegetation in the area, and it is marked above all by forests of common oak, narrow leaved ash, alder, willow and poplar. Th e crucial ecological factor in the origin and development of forest vegetation in this area is water, whether fl ood water, as is the case with the woods of poplars and willows, or ground water (the forests of common oak), or whether the two together, as is the case in forests in which the dominant species are the alder or narrow-leaved ash. Forest vegetation of the planar zone here is characterised by certain specifi c features such as great richness of communities over a relatively small area, the thriving of the famed Slavonian forests of common oak, the arrival of the narrow-leaved ash, the marked biological diversity, and the good state of preservation of large forest complexes.

1 HORVAT, I., GLAVAČ, V., ELLENBERG, H. (1974): Vegetation of Southeast-Europe. In: TÜXEN, R.(Ed.): Geobotanica selecta. Band IV, Stuttgart, Germany. p. 370-371)

30 Chapter 4

Th e phytocoenological features of the forests of the lowland vegetation zone strictly follow the micro relief. Th ey are complex, and within them we can distinguish wetland woods along the course of the river, woods of depressions and woods of micro-elevations or ridges.

4.1 Wetland Woods Along Th e Course of Th e Rivers

Wetland woods along the course of the rivers are regularly and periodically fl ooded, and grow on shallow sills that are still being vigorously developed and are well supplied with nutrients because of the sedimentation of material. Th ey are shown as willow and poplar woods understood in a very broad sense (Salici-Populetum). Such stands are mainly composed of white willow (Salix alba) and more seldom of poplars (Populus nigra and Populus alba). Th ey extend in the parts between the river and the embankment, on the outer sides of the embankments, and particularly on the already described edges of fi elds, commons and forests where the intensive natural succession of forest vegetation is in the initial phase.

In places, willow thickets, Salicetum purpureae Wend.-Zel. 52 are also developed.

In other places, there are very well developed communities of Galio-Salicetum albae – Raus 73, most often along pools and very large areas of water, carrying on to the willow thicket community or directly to rushes and pond phytocoenoses. Th ere are frequent fl oods in this community, and because of them the willow creates adventitious roots from the stem, which after the retreat of the waters remain pendent, giving the forest a very individual appearance. Old stems of this kind can be seen along the Lonja and Česma.

In the fl oral composition of the community the characteristic species is the white willow and occasional companions such as the almond willow and the black poplar.


It should be said that occasionally areas of this phytocoenosis have undergone soil fertility improvement operations and that plantations of hybrid poplars are grown there.

4.2 Forests of Depressions

Forests of depressions occupy depths and depressions of from half a hectare to several hundred hectares. Most often they belong to ash, black alder or common oak forests. Th ese forests were once regularly inundated, but today some parts, depending on the terrain and the distance from the river, are periodically fl ooded, while others only have a high level of ground water and a long retention or stagnation of precipitation because of the particular structure of the soil. In the whole of the area the following three basic associations can be found: Frangulo-Alnetum glutinosae Raus 1968, Leucoio-Fraxinetum angustifoliae Glav.1959 and the Genisto elatae-Quercetum roboris Ht. 1938.

Th e Frangulo-Alnetum glutinosae Raus 1968 is of fragmentary distribution, with areas of a few hectares, with a specifi c micro relief and hydrological conditions. It most often overgrows old watercourse beds, less often marshes. Th e common alder takes a pioneering role, and it will overgrow old watercourses when the conditions are right, and will through a number of generations create a normal forest soil and the conditions for the growth of other tree species. It is important to state that this community was for the fi rst time described right here in Central Posavina, where it is optimally developed.

Forests of common alder with buckthorn are developed on organogenic-marshy soil with a weak acid reaction that at a depth of 50 cm ranges around pH 5.7. Most of the year, the phytocoenosis is below about 20 to 70 cm of water, perhaps even more. It is because of this stagnant surface of the water that the alder develops

32 Chapter 4

its distinctive conical shoots (lateral roots). Around them mud is collected and soil is created, and the alder manages to vegetate in spite of the surface water under which a good part of the root system is located. In the surface growth layer there are two structural units one of which (the mesophyte) develops on the outgrowths of the alder, or rather on the earth that is bound to the root system of the alder. Th ese outgrowths sometimes occupy a diameter of 1 to 2 m, and they are 50 to 20 cm above the level of the stagnant water. Th e other structural unit of the surface growth is on the soil itself.

Th e Leucoio-Fraxinetum angustifoliae Glav.1959 forests of narrow leaved ash and late snowfl ake are from the general use and economic point of view among the most important forest ecosystems in Croatia. Th ey are distributed over about 30000 ha in the riparian (inundated) areas of the Sava valley (Posavina), the basin of the Kupa River, the Bjelovar basin and the Drava valley. Th e largest complexes are to be found in Lonjsko Polje Nature Park. In these forests about 80% of Croatian ash groves thrive. With respect to ecological integrity and structural, functional and economic preservation, they are the largest complex of riparian ash forests in Europe. Th ey are unique with respect to management techniques, which are based on the principles of sustainability and natural rejuvenation correlated with stand dynamics.

Particularly valuable and interesting are the stands of the initial phase of development that grow in pond habitats where woods have spread to the extreme edges of the possibility of their existence - the pool border of the forest. Pools that lie in greater depressions are not overgrown with forest trees. Most of those stands are around Poganovo Polje in Lonjsko Polje Nature Park. Th ey can be found fragmentarily in other parts of the park as well. Th is community was determined and described for the fi rst time in this area. Of all the lowland phytocoenoses, this is the one that is most exposed to the eff ect of surface and high ground water. Often in winter the


surface water (with a depth of an average of 1 m) will freeze, and because of the deleterious eff ects of the ice, considerable damage is done to the ash stems.

Narrow leaved ash is a very important tree species, because it thrives in adverse and mainly marshy conditions where other species of tree cannot grow and where it has no competition.

When stands of common oak die out in the community Genisto elatae-Quercum roboris, and where there has been marshifi cation or other change in the biotope, ash is an essential species in the rehabilitation of the stands after draining.

Forests of common oak and broom, Genisto elatae-Quercetum roboris Ht. 1938, appear after forests of willow, poplar, alder and narrow leaved ash, in complexes that are very large, up to several thousands of hectares, a unique case in Europe and indeed the world. Th e habitat on which it grows is a few metres above the normal water level. Th ey are either periodically inundated, with the fl ood lasting for a short time, or else they are out of the reach of fl ood waters, but still fairly damp. In the wood storey, which is very luxuriant, it is the common oak that dominates, but a considerable proportion of the stand is taken - sometimes up to 40% - by ash, alder, elm, white elm, black and white poplar. Th e common oak and broom forest from a phytocoenological point of view can be divided into several sub-associations, but for the region under investigation particularly important are the following three: Genisto elatae-Quercetum roboris caricetosum brizoides Ht 1938, Genisto elatae-Quercetum roboris caricetosum remotae Ht 1938 and the Genisto elatae-Quercetum roboris carpinetosum betuli Glav. 1961. Th e sub-association Genisto elatae-Quercetum roboris caricetosum remotae represents the optimum development of this community, in which the celebrated Slavonian oak thrives, while the sub-association Genisto elatae-Quercetum roboris caricetosum brizoides represents a transitional phase towards the oak and hornbeam forest on the ridge and is very subject to

34 Chapter 4

changes and to decline. Th e third sub-association with hornbeam is relatively less frequent, in conditions in which the oak stands are disturbed, and are on the point of transition to the community with common hornbeam (Carpino betuli-Quercetum roboris).

It must be mentioned that a marked intrapopulation variability of Common Oak has been determined in the Sava River fl oodplains. Th is variability is related to the onset of leafi ng - early forms such as praecox and late leafi ng forms entitled tarda, tardissima and tardifl ora were noted - as well as to the appearance of Common Oak in pond habitats entitled palustris.

4.3 Forests of Th e Ridges

In the geomorphologic processes of the fl oodplains, over time certain elevated portions became diff erentiated, lying outside the range of inundation, and in which the ground water was considerably lower than in the previously described communities. Th ose places are occupied by forests of the elevations or ridges. For this reason, here, along with the common oak, the hornbeam grows, and sometimes it is even joined by the beech, which has survived here since the end of the Ice Age. Th e oak and hornbeam forest, Carpino-betuli-Quercetum roboris, Raus 1969, diff ers considerably in composition from the oak and broom forest: there is a good deal of hornbeam and common maple, and many shrubs and herbaceous plants of the kind that we fi nd in hilly and mountain forest habitats.

Hornbeam is the best indicator of standing and groundwater, because it tolerates short-lasting transient fl oods but not standing water or a high level of ground water. It appears only up to the medium water level of groundwater of 2 to 3 m, and this kind of water level is to be found only on the ridges. Common oak appears in the phytocoenosis in a large proportion and has an essential infl uence on its development and economic value.


Oak-hornbeam forest with beech is a subassociation that appears as a relict community in the lowland areas of Croatia together with typical common oak and hornbeam forest. It grows only on the ridges outside the reach of the fl oodwater, where the beech has remained since the sub-Boreal, for in this period it dropped very low into the plain and occupied the current common oak habitats. Mixed oak, hornbeam and beech forest was created during secular changes of climate, and once upon a time occupied much greater extents in the Pannonian lowlands.

4.4 Woodland or Forest?

It has to be stated that the lowland riparian hardwood forests of the Central Sava River basin are the most complete and largest remaining complex of those oak and ash stands in the world, important for the understanding of the history and evolution of the genes of the genera of Quercus and Fraxinus. Th e mosaic of all the development phases of the lowland riparian hardwood forest ecosystem with marked intrapopulation variability of Pedunculate Oak is unique. So far, not a single property that primarily represents just such an ecosystem in the Palaearctic realm has been inscribed on the World Heritage List. Th e only World Heritage property which lies in the Udvardy biome of temperate broad-leaf forests and contains a forest ecosystem of common oak is the property of Beloveshskaya Pushcha / Bialowieza National Park. But the oak stands of that property consist of Querco-Carpinetum and are outside the riparian zone. It must also be stated that the site belongs to the Boreonemoral Biogeographical Province. Properties with marked riparian forests can be found only in other biogeographical realms, such as in the Afro-Tropical realm in Niokolo-Koba National Park, in the Indo-Malayan realm in Th ungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries and in the Neotropical realm in the Darien and Los Katios National Parks and in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve.

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Th e recently inscribed Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians are the only property representing a forest ecosystem within the Udvardy Middle European Forest Biogeographical Province. But there is no property on the World Heritage list representing the riparian oak, oak-ash and ash forest plant communities. A similar statement can be made for the 180 Balkan Rivers and Streams WWF Global Ecoregion, which is represented only by two mountain forest areas, the Durmitor National Park and the Pirin National Park.

So, in the case of Lonjsko Polje Nature Park conservation management has to balance between both the great natural values of the riparian hardwood forests and the unique cultural features that are connected with these forests. In other words: this is the art of balancing between woodland as wilderness and forests as essential part of the organically evolved cultural landscape. For the woodlands are also places where the traditional animal husbandry system appears, particularly the use of mast as fodder for pigs, as discussed in another chapter of this publication. Th e forests in their spatial organisation still refl ect the historical political features: the former general division of the area into two parts Civil Croatia and the Military Frontier as well as the division of the woodlands of the Frontier into imperial forest complexes and forests given to the communes of the former frontiersmen after the Frontier had been incorporated into Croatian-Slavonian crownland in the second half of the 19th century. Finally, the area is of great importance for the history of forestry. It was here that the forester Josip Kozarac wrote his famous short novel Slavonske šume [Slavonian Forests] and followed a forest management approach based on the natural plant communities.

When it comes to the natural values, experience has shown that conservation management in the Central Sava River basin has to give a higher priority to the maintenance of the unfragmented large complexes of riparian hardwood forest than to their qualities as wilderness.


Th e sheer size of these large woodland complexes in combination with the fl ood dynamics guarantees a high level of naturalness, even though the forests are managed and used. Th e appearance of bird species indicating primeval forest structures and large undisturbed woodland complexes are an indication of this. Th e size and the fl ood dynamics allow the running of ecological processes, the appearance of almost all structures and stages of a riparian hardwood forest ecosystem and avoid both the intensifi cation of forest management and an increase of disturbance. In this discussion one must also consider the importance of the principle of the right moment and sequencing in conservation management. At the beginning it was more important to solve, in alliance with the forest service, the issue of the naturalness of the fl ood dynamics, and this demanded strenuous eff orts to reach a consensus with the water management agency. To open a second front with the forest management authority would have been fatal at that moment.

Traditional Pasturing – A Cultural and an Ecological Keystone Process

5

Traditional Pasturing – A Cultural and an Ecological Keystone Process 41

With its authentic organisation and traditional system of land use, Lonjsko Polje Nature Park constitutes a unique example of an organically evolved landscape with a preserved medieval system of the common pasturing typical of the whole of Central Europe until the second half of the 19th century. Th is traditional animal husbandry system is run with indigenous breeds of horse, pig, cattle and goose. In the Palaearctic zone there are other examples of traditional animal husbandry systems, such as the Hortobagy National Park and Fertö-Neusiedler See. However, these are of the steppe type of animal husbandry, and hence the systems are essentially diff erent in both composition of species and in use of the habitats. Th e rearing of these animals is mainly in the hands of the administrations of the conservation areas, while in the fl oodplains of the Sava River it is mainly in the hands of the local people, which is an indication of the existence of a live continuous cultural landscape.

At this point, one has to say that nowadays conservationists and scientists focus mainly on traditional animal husbandry systems or remains of them that appear in extreme habitats such as high mountains, dry southern slopes and karstic or steppe areas. It is reasonable that experts should draw their conclusions on the basis of their investigations in those areas. Th e point is that these systems, or their remnants, are still in place because they occupy poor and extreme locations. Th ey have always been economical and ecological “border” areas. Nobody has been interested in occupying them for other land use purposes. Th is was not the case with traditional pasturing systems in the highly productive alluvial lowlands that once dominated the Central European landscapes. With the industrial revolution and with the intensifi cation of agriculture this dominant picture disappeared more or less completely, and has been replaced by industrial zones or industrial agriculture, particularly along the central courses of the great rivers. Th e lowlands lost their alluvial character because of drainage and river regulation.

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Today, there are some remnants, for example in Northwest Germany. But even these remains have gone out of continuous use, and what one can see there are elements testifying to the former system like ancient, solitary oaks. And so, what has survived and remained today as partly working systems are the pasturing systems on the “border” areas run mainly with animals naturally adapted to dry mountain habitats, like sheep and goats. But what Europe in particular has lost are the former “core” areas of animal husbandry with animals that are naturally more adapted to the alluvial grass- and woodland habitats like horse, pig, cattle and goose. As a consequence, there is a temptation to forget about these “core” areas of animal husbandry. Th is is why the existence of the traditional pasturing system of the Central Sava River basin is so important. It is the only example that has remained in alluvial lowlands in such a complete manner, still generated, in addition, by the local population.

But it is not only from the cultural heritage aspect that this system is of outstanding value. Alongside the inundation, it is the traditional animal husbandry that generates the other ecological key process in the fl oodplains of the Central Sava. It causes the appearance of secondary wet grassland and freshwater habitats. Th ese key processes generated by both the traditional land use and the dynamics of inundation have created a unique mosaic of secondary and natural habitats, which makes the area the most complete integral fl oodplain ecosystem of the central part of a river basin in the whole of the biogeographical province. Th ose outstanding habitat conditions can be proved by reference to some globally endangered bird species. In Central Europe the corncrake is mainly considered to be an indicator of meadows and cultural landscape diversity. Lonjsko Polje Nature Park off ers both natural and secondary wet grassland habitats to the corncrake. Moreover, the extensively used inundated areas partly covered by willow shrubs are the last remnants of natural habitats where the corncrake in


Central Europe may occur outside the cultural landscape. Th us, it is an exceptional example able to be used as a habitat for this species. While the secondary grassland in the fl oodplain provides the ideal habitats of a cultural landscape, the large depressions with natural swamp vegetation off er suitable breeding areas particularly in years when inundation does not occur.

Th e unique simultaneous abundance of natural and secondary habitats is of the utmost importance for another endangered bird species, too. Lonjsko Polje Nature Park is one of the very few sites where the spoonbill has survived in the continental part of Europe1. It is the only recorded permanent colony of this species situated in an oxbow and the only recorded breeding area where the adult birds use the wet pastures for foraging during the reproduction period. Th is proves the claim for the outstanding habitat conditions as it is a unique site with the spoonbill as one of the key indicator species: it is here that the species is linked to both the alluvial natural wetlands and the secondary wet grasslands created by the traditional animal husbandry system, as the pig pastures are the preferred feeding sites during the breeding period2.

It is also here that the white stork attains the greatest nesting success ever recorded in the literature.

WWF states under the 180 Balkan Rivers and Streams Global Ecoregion: “Th e Balkan region hosts an extremely diverse and highly endemic (both at a local and regional level) gastropod fauna, with about 200 known species. For example, the Sava River alone

1 Schneider-Jacoby, M. (2002): Croatia, home of the last Central European Spoonbill population in alluvial wetlands. In: Report of the 68th EUROSITE Workshop 19-22 April 2002, Texel, Th e Neth-erlands, Wetland Management for Spoonbills and associated waterbirds, 68: 17 - 21.

2 Schneider-Jacoby, M., T. Mikuska, D. Kovaćić, J. Mikuska, M. Šetina & Z. Tadić (2001): Dispersal by accident – the Spoonbill population, Platalea leucorodia, in Croatia. Acrocephalus 22: 191 – 204

44 Chapter 5

harbours 103 species, of which 54 are endemic.”3 With its mosaic of secondary and natural, in particular grassland, habitats and its connection to the Sava River, the fl oodplains of Central Posavina can be seen as the largest remaining spawning area of the entire Sava River catchment area and the largest one situated in a central river part within the whole Danube catchment area. Because of its size and its position in the central basin part, it must be seen complementary in correspondence with the Danube Delta.

All these facts enforce the conclusion that the man-made habitats generated by the traditional pasturing system are of at least the same importance for biodiversity conservation as the natural fl oodplain habitats. Even more so, since pasturing has been identifi ed as an ecological key process and the key species which run this process are not wild but domestic animals. Central Posavina is an exceptional example of the in-situ conservation of endangered indigenous domestic breeds. It represents the place of origin of as many as two breeds: the Turopolje pig and the Posavina horse. For a further two breeds, the Black-Slavonian pig and the Slavonian-Syrmian grey cattle, it is a remaining part of the former breeding area. According to MASON and PORTER the Posavina horse was listed as an extinct domestic breed4.

Although endangered indigenous domestic breeds do not feature on the IUCN Red List, these breeds are, according to the Convention on Biodiversity, understood as part of the world’s biodiversity. But it is here in Central Posavina that the breeds may be seen not only as a

3 http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/ecoregions/balkan_rivers_streams.cfm of 16.12.2007

4 MASON, I.L. , PORTER, V. (1988): A Mason’s World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties. 1988. Th ird edition: ISBN 0-85198-617-X, p 179: «(Posavina) (N.W. Yugoslavia) .... Posavska; extinct before 1982 (R. Sava valley)». Changed in Fifth edition 2002 ISBN 0 85199 430 X, p 196: «Posavina (R. Sava, C and NE Croatia) .....Cro. Posavac, Posavlje, Posavska; rare»


part of global biodiversity. Rather, they are causal agents in increase biodiversity, generating habitats for a lot of endangered wild species whose abundance would be less under purely natural conditions.

Th erefore, one must conclude that traditional pasturing represents both an ecological and a cultural key process. Both processes are so intricate that the cultural landscape and fl oodplain ecosystem of the Central Sava River Basin fi ts neither into current natural heritage approaches nor into common cultural heritage approaches. Th is fact leads us again to the conclusions of Chapter 1: such a situation requires the capacity for versatility in the search for an appropriate management approach.

Traditional Pasturing – The Answer to Change and Unpredictability

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Traditional Pasturing – Th e Answer to Change and Unpredictability 49

6.1 Th e Reasons For Continuity

For the management of Lonjsko Polje Nature Park, it is essential to understand the traditional pasturing system. How does it work? Why does it work exactly in this manner? What are the reasons for the system’s continuity and survival?

As has been said before, the micro-relief is crucial in a fl oodplain. Th ere are safe places, but they are limited to the ridges along the watercourse. On this narrow strip of land man has to concentrate anything that is only slightly or not at all adaptable to inundation: housing and farm facilities, orchards and kitchen gardens as well as arable land. For the latter, it happened that maize harvest for example had to be done by boat. Th is piece of land was hardly large enough to produce a suffi cient quantity of vegetables or maize for the needs of the local people. Straw for example is a rare material in the fl oodplains, because of the paucity of arable land and because in comparison with wheat the old sort of maize can be harvested even if the land is fl ooded. So, people prefer to sow maize not wheat. Traditionally, people of Central Posavina eat maize bread not wheat or rye bread. A careful reader of this publication could remark that there is another strip of “safe” land along the tributaries of the master river. Th is would be astute, but these places are too far away from the settlements to be worthwhile for arable crop production. Th e huge area between the two ridges is too much exposed to change, unpredictability and dynamics to be used for such static systems as arable crop production. Man needs a fl exible system. An animal husbandry system allows mobility and adaptation. Th en, one can even use the remote ridges of the tributaries: livestock can move to them during a fl ood. Livestock will learn where the safe places are.

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6.2 Th e Basic Forms of Pasturing

Th ere are three basic forms of pasturing. Th e commons or gmajna occupy the area on the great fl ood-liable grazing lands used in common by the populations of the villages located close to the inundation areas.

Th e haymaking complexes or sjenokoša are on private or common areas of meadows which may be used for pasturing from March to May 1, while the fl ooding on the commons in the plain lasts. After May 1 the livestock has to be driven off . Th en the meadows are used for hay-making. Th e haymaking complexes may be used for pasturing again when mowing is fi nished. Although those areas may be private properties they are managed like the commons as long as they are used for pasturing.

Th e poloj is a type of pasturing used by villages that do not have commons and that, because of the small size of private pastures, resort to using the embankments, the edges of the roads, the copses and the inundation area between the old embankment and the Sava, referred to as “poloj”. Th is type is very typical in the villages that once belonged to the Military Frontier. From this it is evident that the principle of versatility intrudes even into property rights. But apart from these land use patterns, management features are necessary in the system. Th ey have to be simple and be conducive to sustainability.

6.3 Th e Management Features

Th e management features in the pasturing system are the shade and rest areas, the pig sties and the salashes. Th e most important features that have to be provided in the forest are the watering places, the feeding sites, the shade and rest areas and the pigsties.

For the dairy cows that are driven every day through the orchards and ploughed fi elds to the pasture, driving trails have to be provided.


Traditionally these trails are in the shade of trees, and hawthorn is used to make fences preventing the animals breaking through into the ploughed fi elds.

Th e basic purpose of the shade and resting place, the so-called plandište, is to protect the animals from summer heats and fl ies. Th e high summer temperatures are a big problem for the cattle and horses, particularly when connected with high relatively humidity, often the case in the park. An air temperature of 31oC and a relative humidity of 80% gives a Temperature Humidity Index (THI) of 84. Since the optimal THI value for cows is 70, this will produce heat stress. Long exposure of the animals to this kind of stress can have fatal consequences. Cows and horses can stand low better than high temperatures. Critical temperatures start only below -10oC, and problems with maintenance of temperature of the terminal parts of the body (ears) and increased food consumption start only when the temperature falls below -15oC (cold stress). For this reason the animals need to be provided with a shade place where they can be protected and cooled during the greatest heats of the day.

Pigsties are traditionally built of wood and are thatched with reed or straw. Th ese structures are highly picturesque, i.e., their traditional form, constructed with natural materials, gives them the worth of traditional features, and cultural value in the arranging and preservation of the cultural landscape.

A typical forest pigsty is open at the front, and located in such a way that the open side faces SE, where there is usually a fenced outlet. Although the other sides of the pigsty are closed, little openings are left so that the sow can control the surroundings, and the swineherd can control the pigsty without disturbing the pigs. Th e fl oor is covered with hay because there is not enough straw, but experience also shows that hay is actually better, rotting more slowly.

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Usually two types of pigsty are built, according to purpose: a divided pigsty for sows with piglets and an ordinary working pigsty with somewhere to sleep, gather and working (gelding the boars for example).

Pigsties can be built on ridges in the stands meant for pig forest grazing, only of natural materials. Th e bearing columns of untreated wood have to be dug into the ground at least one metre and the height of a sty must be 2 m. Reed and sedge are used for the roofi ng. Th e walls are wood planks of 2.5 cm thick, closed completely up to 50 cm high, after which a space is left between the boards, providing 50% of it open (if the boards are 10 cm wide, then the gap between them should be 5 cm). On the SE of the sty (open side) there is a fenced outlet, of an area at least twice as big as that of the sty itself. Such sties fi t very well into the landscape of the Park, are optimal from an ecological point of view, and are also very functional and allow the herdsmen to manage the large herd easily.

Th e salash is a kind of bothie, a separate part of the land, where the herdsmen once lived with the animals, and hence drove the herd everyday to the forests to pasture. Th ere are no more salashes in Lonjsko Polje and one of the aims should be the reconstruction of a typical salash.

6.4 Pasturing

Putting the livestock out to graze starts in early spring when the pastures are dry enough to be walked on. Th e criterion for driving the Posavina horses on the pastures is even lower. It already starts when the snow has disappeared from the grassland. If there is a high spring water level, then the animals are fi rst grazed on the haymaking complexes, until May 1 at latest. Th en the complexes have to be left so that they can recover by mowing time. Mowing begins on July 1 and lasts until August 15. Most of the meadows are mown


only once a year. Th e inundated and muddy meadows were always mown last and the hay was used only for horse fodder. Th is kind of hay does not make good feed for dairy cows. Th e large livestock is in the pastures the whole summer, right until late autumn and the fi rst frosts, or until the fl oods, which come in October or November. But fl oods can occur earlier too, at the usual time of grazing. Th en the country people and the animals have to avoid the fl ooded pastures and shift to the non-fl ooded haymaking complexes again; after the mowing, private meadows become commons, and can be used for the pasturing of the animals. Th is also holds true for the ploughland once the harvest has taken place, where the swine are allowed to glean in the stubble fi elds.

In villages that possess large commons, the dairy cows are the whole day out on the pastureland during the grazing period. Th e village people take turns in looking after the cattle. Th e basis for the number of days spent herding, which every peasant has to do, is the number of cattle he has on the common pastureland. A full-time herdsman is today only employed on the Osekovo pastureland. But there is always another villager available for help.

Th e pasturing of pigs is diff erent and is divided into fi eld and forest grazing (fi eld implying grazing on non-forest areas). Pigs do not use only the oak stands for foraging for acorns but other woodland habitats. In early spring the pigs usually start going out into the non-forest areas of pastureland; here they are able to fi nd enough animal protein in the water-fi lled micro-depressions. Before the large animals that are sent out to graze go onto to the pastures, the pigs have rooted through the whole of the area, thus increasing its productivity by helping along the annual plant species. After the large animals go out to the pastures, the pigs, according to the traditional rule, have to leave the non-forest pastureland and move into the woodlands, for by their rooting they would destroy the important grass layer for the cattle. Although few today stick to

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these ancient rules, the pigs themselves move into the wetter forest areas when the pastures dry up in the summer. In the late autumn the pigs glean from the stubble fi elds. At that time the herdsman has to switch over to the herd management system whereby he drives all of his pigs on one place, forming one large herd that the he has to supervise all the time. Th is type of management is very time-intensive for the herdsman and needs his full attention. Th us, wherever possible he will favour the other type of management, the so-called jato management. In the local dialect jato means something like fl ock. Th e very term indicates that the large herd composed of all the pigs owned by a swineherd is normally separated into several jatos which are the basic unit for the system. Such a fl ock is led by a dominant senior sow and its average size is up to 50 pigs which are the off spring of 6- 8 old experienced and related sows. Th e dominant senior sow keeps the fl ock together and preserves the territory; she is so experienced that she knows the safe places in the wood that are not covered by water during inundations. She also hands down the swineherd’s lure call to the piglets. Th is call is in fact the main communication tool for the herdsman to fi nd a fl ock in the thicket of the huge riparian woodlands. Th e call is particularly important after a big fl ood, when the fl ocks had to leave their territories and move to the ridges. Th ere they mixed up, so that they have to be found and re-established.

Jato management has a lot of advantages in comparison with herd management: the dominant sow takes over the herdsman’s job of supervising and driving the pigs. Th e system makes the most of the natural social behaviour of pigs. Th e herdsman can look after more pigs if he uses the jato system: even in the diffi cult terrain of the fl oodplain, a swineherd can manage 8-10 fl ocks which make up 400 – 500 pigs. For one person this would be impossible under the herd management conditions.


Figure 1. Wherever possible the large herd composed of all the pigs owned by a swineherd is normally separated into several jatos which are the basic unit for the so-called jato management.

Figure 2. In the late autumn the pigs glean from the stubble fi elds. At that time the herdsman has to switch over to the herd management system whereby he drives all of his pigs on one place, forming one large herd that the he has to supervise all the time.

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Th e common idea that pigs destroy forest and pasture vegetation has been challenged by Gugić (1994 and 1996)1. Gugić, researching the impact of forest pasturing by pigs on the rejuvenation of the lowland forests in Posavina, comparing the impact of wild pigs (density 33 individuals per 1000 ha) and domestic pigs (density 625 pigs per 1000 ha) came to the following conclusions:− Narrow leaved ash rejuvenates better and common oak worse

under a pig regime.− In a forest where there are domestic pigs, there are practically

no sicknesses and damage by game− Wild pigs burrow deeper than domestic: a 19-times greater

domestic pig population density produced only twice the amount of rooted up land than with wild pigs, which root up almost 10 times as much land area as the tame pigs.

Rooting activates the diaspores quiescent in the soil, because it gives them the light and warmth required for germination. Rooting opens up the close vegetation cover, giving one-year and pioneering species a chance for germination and development; otherwise they would not develop. Rooting even helps perennial species (Agrostis stolonifera)

Rooting establishes a microrelief that has a greater structural diversity. Some plants thrive better in shallow and some in deeper layers. Summing up the results of both these research eff orts it can be said that the traditional manner of keeping swine (forest and fi eld grazing) has a positive eff ect on vegetation, reduces the occurrence

1 GUGIĆ, G. (1994): Utjecaj šumske ispaše pitomih svinja na pomlađivanje nizinskih šuma u Posa-vini. – Šum.list 1 (94), Zagreb (Einfl uß der Waldweide von domestizierten Schweinen auf die Ver-jüngung der Auwälder in der Savaniederung).

2 GUGIĆ, G. (1996): Die Hudewirtschaft der Sava-Niederung (Kroatien). In: MATTHES, Heide-Dörte (Ed.): 2. Lenzener Gespräche. Landschaftspfl ege mit Nutztieren und nachhaltige Landbewirt-schaftung. Dummerstorf, 1996.


of sickness and retains and increases biological diversity. Some actually rather rare and in other places threatened plant species are maintained in the Park only thanks to the pigs like Mentha pulegium, Pulicaria vulgaris, Teucrium scordium, Marsilea quadrifolia and Gratiola ofi cinalis.

Breeds of domestic animals as essential components of the pasturing system

7

Breeds of domestic animals as essential components of the pasturing system 61

Traditional pasturing has been identifi ed as an ecological key process in Lonjsko Polje Nature Park. Th e conclusion follows that domestic animals must not be seen as something apart from nature. Instead, they have to be recognised as key species, running the key ecological process. In addition, domestic breeds can be interpreted also as a key feature of the key cultural process of traditional pasturing. So, their position is janus-like, for on the one hand they are the substitute or perhaps even only developed versions of the tarpan, aurochs, wild boar and wild goose, and on the other hand they are the result of a combination of natural and artifi cial selection.

Th e domestic animals must have specifi c traits that enable survival in the extreme conditions of an intact fl oodplain. Parasites, the heavy soils and the appearance of both humidity and drought are such powerful factors that they limit every attempt to get the breeds heavier, bigger or more productive. In the case of traditional pig breeding, for example, there is no ambition even to increase the average number of piglets per litter. Th e number of 5 piglets per litter is seen as a guarantee that the sow will be able to raise all of the piglets in the woodlands and defend them against the fox or jackal successfully.

In the case of the Posavina horse, there were several attempts to get it heavier, particularly when the horse lost its function as a draught horse in the early 1970s and when meat production became the only purpose for breeding. All these attempts failed because of the natural conditions in the fl oodplain: the cross breeds were too heavy for the marsh soils and too strong for the available food.

Th is leads to the conclusion that the animals must be modest with respect to food and food effi ciency as the wet pastures are low quality feeding grounds for any breed that is selected on the base of modern systems of animal feeding.

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One of the most important criteria is the social behaviour and character of the animals. Th e Posavina horses, for example, promptly form into large herds organised in a natural manner while they are on the pastures. During this time they live in fact as wild animals on a wide area. Under such conditions it is essential for the breeder that the horse does not lose the connection to man even if the breeder is not present for a long time. In November when the horses leave the pastures or even earlier on the occasion of a very high fl ood, when they have to be evacuated from the pastures, the horses immediately have to change the wide open area for the cramped space of a small wooden stable in which they are tethered the whole time. All these situations – and one must add here the mosquitoes – ask for an exceptional character and social behaviour.

Th e phenotype of the animals has to be adapted to the natural fl oodplain conditions, too. Because of the heavy and muddy soils, the weight of the animals needs to be low. Th e hooves must have a face as large as possible to minimise sinking. Protection against mosquitoes is essential. In response, the Turopolje pig has woolly bristles, and the ears are fl oppy to protect the eyes of the animal. But at the end the ears are, as a compromise in selection, only semi-fl oppy because of another requirement – the necessity for the pigs to be able to swim. Floppy ears would hinder the view in such a manner that swimming could fi nally result in the animal drowning.

Th e discussion on “purebred” phenotypes of old indigenous breeds leads one to a possible misunderstanding in elaborating breeding programs for those breeds. Namely, the elaboration of a breeding program mostly involves the introduction of a studbook i.e. a written record of the genealogy of the animals. Th is consequently involves the transition from a more or less unintentional artifi cial selection to a breed standard. As the situation before the introduction of a standard seemed to be chaotic, standardisation is often over-restrictive at the start: the concept of purebred


breeding is contemporaneous with the actual process. In the case of the Turopolje pig for example a serious discussion arose at the very beginning, concerning the number of marks of dark bristles a “purebred” Turopolje pig may have. But this discussion on a pure trait of the phenotype was pointless at that stage. First of all, the original base stock simply was never treated as purebred, and secondly, the number of dark marks may be understood as a trait of distinction that enables the swineherds to distinguish their own pigs from those of others at great distances on the wide area of the commons.

In the case of the Posavina horse the introduction of a stud book evoked the intention to close the registry immediately. Such an approach excludes a large number of potential breeding animals of the original base stock because of traits of the new but strictly defi ned “purebred” phenotype only, although the entire base stock fi ts genetically in with the above mentioned conditions in the fl oodplains.

Another aspect appears with the standardisation of the breeding of Posavina horses. Since the Posavina horse has become popular in recreational horse riding, interested buyers demand horses trained under today’s standards in horse riding. But this involves expectations quite opposite to the original purpose of the breed. A farmer was primarily interested in breeding horses he could use immediately without intensive training for all purposes in agriculture. Th is goes particularly for a farmer in the fl oodplains who was often forced to carry out agricultural activities during the very short dry period between two fl oods. Th e number of horses per farm was therefore up to four times larger inside the fl oodplains than the average number of horses per farm outside the fl oodplains. Th e farmer would never have the time to train all his horses intensively in accordance to standards in horse riding or carriage driving. Th e ability of the Posavina horse to learn quickly and to follow the

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necessary commands immediately was an essential trait in the past, and is forgotten today. But it is this trait that really makes the breed and needs to be part of the breed standard.

As already mentioned in a previous chapter the Posavina horse was already listed as an extinct domestic breed. Later, when the Posavina horse population of Central Posavina was re-discovered in 1994, COTHRAN and KOVAČ concluded that the tested horse population fi tted the defi nition of a breed quite well. Th ey also stated that “the Posavina horse has a few variants that are uncommon in virtually all horse breeds ... and thus may be from the Tarpan”1. Th is indicates again a problem with standardisation and classifi cation: the Posavina horse has no easily recognised position. By its height it should be classifi ed as a pony – but obviously the horse is not a pony. It has also characteristics of both warmblood and draught horse – but again: it is neither the one nor the other. Th e conservation manager must recognise and accept this speciality in his genetic resource management. In this case he must be versatile with respect to the breed and obstinate against standards and classifi cations.

One must conclude that in the case of endangered indigenous breeds which came into being before the appearance of a breed standard, the main emphasis on phenotypic traits may suppress the consideration of genotypic and social traits which are mostly more essential for the in-situ conservation of the breed. Th e traditional animal husbandry system itself, its conditions for and demands on the breed have to be equally considered in the defi nition of the breed standard and the conservation of the breed.

Depending on the situation of the breed the conservation management of Lonjsko Polje Nature Park applies diff erent approaches to in-situ conservation under the common strategic goal to maintain both the breeds and the traditional animal

1 COTHRAN, E.G., KOVAČ, M. (1997): Genetic Analysis of the Croatian Trakehner and Posavina Horse Breeds. ŽIVOČIŠNÁ VÝROBA, Volume 42, Prague, 1997. ISSN 0044-4847. pp. 207-212.


husbandry system. As the original base stock of the Posavina horse was considered suffi cient, and completely in the hands of local breeders, the Park Service did not take over the breeding of animals but supported the breeders in their eff orts to organise themselves and to take on the competence for the stud book and the breed standard, which had been primarily in the hands of the state. Th e Park Service places its emphasis on the rehabilitation of the horse pasturing system.

Th e situation with the Slavonian-Syrmian Podolian grey cattle was completely diff erent. Th e remaining base stock was considered as critically endangered. Th e entire population was concentrated in one place and in the hands of one public “breeder” in the north-eastern part of Croatia. Th e Park Service decided to buy a suffi cient number of animals in October 2004 and to transfer them to another place. Th is was to reduce the risk of extinction by diseases and to decrease the coeffi cient of inbreeding. For the park area, one can state that the breed is still exclusively in the hands of the Park Service as it is of the utmost importance to minimise inbreeding at this stage. Th e achievement of this objective requires expertise and very careful selective breeding. Nevertheless, the Park Service has started to involve local breeders as conservation management has to consider that there is no experience with grey cattle amongst local breeders and as it is therefore important to involve interested volunteers from the beginning: the oldest bull was thus transferred to a private farm the owner of which can be termed the fi rst volunteer. Th is happened when the competent authority asked the Park Service to move the animal away and to eliminate it as almost the entire herd is of his progeny. Th e Park Service did not agree to the authorities’ demand to slaughter the animal as the old bull shows a lower coeffi cient of inbreeding than his sons. From the aspect of minimising the coeffi cient of inbreeding it makes very good sense to take the bull back to the herd when the progeny of another bull comes in place.

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Th e situation with the Turopolje pig is quite diff erent. Th ere are still a quite large number of local breeders with knowledge about the traditional system of foraging the pigs with mast from the oak stands. A testimony of this long tradition can be seen in the fi rst written trace of the breeding of pigs in Turopolje, which is an order of Croatian-Hungarian King Ljudevit [Louis] of 1352 to have the theft of pigs in Turopolje Lug investigated. In the mid-19th century Miško Lederer carried out an additional cross with pigs of unknown origin and thus created a pig that met the economic needs of that time. Since then the Turopolje pig has remained a fat type of pig. Th us, the local breeders began to crossbreed to get a pig of the bacon type. Th us, in the breeding area of the Turopolje pig, the remaining examples of this pig can be counted on the fi ngers. However, a not less worthwhile population of pigs that is today bred in Lonjsko Polje are various crosses of the Turopolje pig with the Duroc or Baniya pig with the Duroc. So, in-situ conservation of the Turopolje pig had to have the primary goal of rehabilitating the original Turopolje pig. Th e Park Service started with a very small population of fi ve sows and four boars, only. After reaching a suffi cient number of animals, the conservation management decided to hold two complete genetic copies in the Park’s breeding station. With the surplus of animals, the Park Service started a program for the rehabilitation of the Turopolje pig amongst local breeders, and this for three reasons: to minimise the risk of extinction by spreading the population, to maintain the knowledge of the traditional pig management and to create a critical number of animals bred for commercial use.

Th e latter makes an important aspect in the true application of the principle of sustainability. A traditional animal husbandry system that is run by conservationists exclusively for the purposes of conservation might not be sustainable. Conservation management must create and maintain an entire range of reasons for maintaining the system and must take cognizance of the essential economic, social, cultural and natural stimulating and limiting factors.


Picture 1. Th e Posavina horse is high-spirited, strong and hardy, and very modest and docile. Th is is a medium-heavy working horse, of harmonious build that “covers plenty of soil”. It has a noble head, broad forehead and expressed eyes. It has the characteristics of small “mouse’s ears”. Th e chest is broad, medium-deep and very long. Th e legs are relatively short, with dry joints and broad, very fl at hoofs. It is mostly brown, bay or dark bay, seldom black or grey.

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Picture 2. Th e Turopolje pig is a late maturing breed of the medium large and fat type. Th e basic bristle colour is white, with 5 to 9 black mottles, hand-sized. Th e bristle is curly and medium length, and the skin is not pigmented, except beneath the dark mottles. Th e head is longish with semi-fl oppy ears, medium length. Th e trunk is long, the back straight, and the sows have 10-12 regularly shaped dugs.


Picture 3. Th e Slavonian-Syrmian Podolian is single coloured, light grey, with a similar distribution of darker pigmentation. Th e horns are lyre-shaped and as a rule a little larger than in the Istrian grey cattle. Average length of horn is about 50 cm, and the distance between them is about 100 cm. Th e calf is born reddish yellow, but at the age of about a year it turns grey. It is a late maturing breed that completes its growth at the age of about six.

Adaptation to Flooding – A Cultural Keystone Process

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Adaptation to Flooding – A Cultural Keystone Process 73

In the previous chapters we have placed the emphasis on processes which are known as ecological key processes. Th e identifi cation of those processes was said to be of the utmost importance for the management of the property. However, in a cultural landscape like Lonjsko Polje Nature Park it seems to be obvious that the model of keystone processes could be applied in a similar way to the cultural features of the property. And indeed, one can identify cultural keystone processes that brought the landscape into being and have continued to create its elements, structures and functions, particularly if the landscape has evolved organically or continuously. Following up this idea, we already have identifi ed the traditional pasturing as a keystone process, which can be seen in both aspects, ecological and cultural. In the case of Lonjsko Polje Nature Park, adaptation can be said still to be playing an important role in the traditional life and wise use of the Sava fl oodplains. Adaptation has been always an important capability of human societies. UNESCO’s World Heritage List is a good source to check this statement. And indeed, there are several sites inscribed on the World Heritage List that demonstrate in principle human interaction with water in terms of irrigation, such as the Palmeral of Elche in Spain and the Qingcheng/Dujianggyan Irrigation System in China, in terms of encroachment such as Schockland and surroundings or in terms of land reclamation in the case of Droogemakerij de Beemster in the Netherlands. A few sites demonstrate in principle the human capability of adapting to the given geomorphological constraints, such as those of an insular environment in the Agricultural Landscape of Southern Öland in Sweden and of a mountainous setting in the Costiera Amalfi tana in Italy as well as the Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui-Xidi and Hongcun in China, and the Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama in Japan. However, the essential diff erence between Lonjsko Polje Nature Park and the above mentioned properties is that only here has humanity deliberately and consciously come to terms with the

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occurrence of the fl ooding, and has subordinated almost everything to this phenomenon: the organisation of the space, the architecture and the land management, while in other properties the idea has been to tame the river. Th ere is no property inscribed on the World Heritage List that demonstrates human adaptation to inundation. Moreover, the idea of adaptation to inundation has found a modern continuation in the implementation of a fl ood control system based on the deliberate use of fl oodplains as retention and detention areas (Brundic et al. 2001). Th is happened in the area of the property already in the late 1970s, and the project of that time can be seen as one of the very fi rst attempts of the implementation on a large scale of what is known today as the Room for Rivers approach. So, one can say that the cultural landscape of Central Posavina is an outstanding example of an area in which human beings have in the most complete manner adjusted their way of living to the fl oods. Th e long and continuous tradition of living with and not against the fl oods has created an extraordinary system that impinges on all aspects of human interaction with the environment, such as the vernacular building, the settlement pattern and the shaping of the landscape, the use of the land as well as the creation of indigenous domestic breeds perfectly adapted to the conditions of the fl oodplain.

Adaptation, in modern society, tends to be seen as a messy and imperfect process. It stands in the way of radical greenfi eld measures that bring sweeping changes and satisfying advances. Th e living landscape of Central Posavina, a classic example of adaptation, may serve to modify such perceptions and provide an object lesson in how to bend to natural rhythms and confi gurations, rather than deny them.

Hereby, the behavior after “disasters” is important. Each “post disaster reform” represents a great impetus for adaptation. Th e living landscape of Central Posavina can be also understood in this sense: it is the result of countless responses to the “disaster” of fl ooding.

Adaptation to Flooding – A Cultural Keystone Process 75

Figure 3. Housing in Central Posavina is a perfect example of adaptation. Th e traditional wooden houses are situated on the natural ridges beside the river – the safest place in the fl oodplains. Nevertheless, inundation may occur even here. For that reason, the houses are oriented parallel with the direction of the fl ow and strictly follow the line of the advance and retreat of the fl oodwaters. Th e external stairs enable the householders to take to their boats whatever the water level. As the house is of wood, it dries up quickly. Timber also absorbs humidity in the air much better than other materials. Th is is important particularly in summer and autumn. Th e meandering of the river may cause another problem, the curve coming uncomfortably close to the building. Th en, the house as a whole was simply moved backwards for some meters by oxen or horses.

The Other Way of Flood Control

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Th e Other Way of Flood Control 79

Th e common concept of fl ood control in the past was embodied in the construction of dikes along water courses wherever fl oods were causing problems. With this solution the water discharge was simply and as soon as possible diverted downstream. Today, this concept has become more and more questionable. Th e existence of a dike automatically induces a feeling of safety in the population. Th e formerly fl ooded area seems to have been made secure by the dike and occupation of such an area starts immediately. But in fact, the feeling of safety may be delusory, since dikes are always constructed under economic constraints. Th ey are designed for a certain maximum water level. But what will happen if the real water level exceeds the design maximum? What will happen if the dike breaks? Th e damage could be catastrophic and more expensive than the benefi t deriving from the existence of the dike. Such concepts do not lead to sustainability, if respect for natural limitations is considered an integral part of the principle of sustainability.

In times of climate change it is even questionable whether it is wise to discharge water as soon as possible. In the event of drought, water will not be available because it has already been drained. If there are heavy rainfalls the drainage structures may not be able to clear all the discharge anymore and fl ooding will take on the appearance of a disaster.

In the Central Sava River basin, this concept of fl ood control was never accepted. One of the reasons for this lay in the existence and purpose of the former Military Frontier. A keystone of the military strategy of the Habsburg Monarchy in the defence system against the Ottoman Empire was the deliberate use of the natural barrier of the Sava River and its fl oodplains. A second reason inheres in the vision of the experts who designed the 1972 Central Posavina Flood Control Plan. Although it was primarily planned, in the framework of this project, to reduce the existing natural retention areas by almost six times, the real innovation in fl ood control design

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was the fact that an area of some 50,000 hectares was to remain a retention capable of being brought into play for fl ood control. At that time, it was unheard of to leave areas of potential arable land as wetlands, and it was diffi cult to convince international donors like the World Bank to support this project. But things have changed. When Croatia asked for a new loan at the end of the millennium, the World Bank had already fundamentally changed its environmental policy and now requested the elaboration of an Environmental Impact Assessment. Th e conclusions of this assessment confi rmed the position of the park management which requested the fl ood control system to take into consideration the entire current retention area of the Central Sava Basin, simultaneously rejecting the construction of further channels, dikes, dams and fl oodgates, except where absolutely necessary.

Th is new strategic approach has fundamental consequences. It avoids the occupation of the area of inundation by unsuitable forms of land use. It ensures the integrity of the fl oodplain ecosystem and allows the continuation of ecological key processes. It provides a suffi cient scope in water management to deal with equal success with drought and fl ooding. It is cheap. It allows to local people to continue the traditional land use in the rural area.

Th e Other Way of Flood Control 81

Figure 4. Th e development of the fl ood control system in Central Posavina may serve as an example of getting versatile. Th e map at the bottom left shows the almost natural situation before 1972 when the fl oodplains along the Kupa, Sava, Odra, Lonja, Sunja and Strug rivers comprised their natural range (areas in dark grey). With the 1972 Central Posavina Flood Control Plan (second map from the top) a signifi cant reduction of the surface of fl ooded areas was planned: the fl oodplains along the Odra River were to be completely drained, as were large areas along the Kupa River, along the left bank of the Sava River and along the Sunja River. Today, only 40% of the plan has been implemented (second map from the bottom) but the fl ood control system runs well. A by-pass channel evacuates high waters before Zagreb to the retention area of the Odra River. Th e channel stops here. Originally, the channel was supposed to continue and drain the Odra fl oodplains. Along the left bank of the Sava River, Lonjsko Polje was designated as a detention area. With the 2002 World Bank Environmental Impact Assessment, a solution has been found to satisfy the requirements of both nature conservation and fl ood control.

The Pillars of Managing Change

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Th e Pillars of Managing Change 85

10.1 Keystone processes

In ecosystem theory, terms like driver and passenger species appear: the drivers are also called keystone species. Th ey control the being of an ecosystem while the passenger species live in but do not have a signifi cant infl uence on the ecosystem. However, species may shift their roles, and that makes it diffi cult for the manager of a protected area to found conservation management on them. Even more, the concept of keystone species which is quite popular amongst conservation biologists, might narrow the manager’s view. It might drive him away from an integral, holistic and comprehensive management approach, which is necessary in systems ecology.

Particularly in a dynamic ecosystem like the fl oodplains of the Sava River, processes that result in high ecological complexity and the ongoing creation of discontinuous spatial and temporal patterns within the ecosystem are taking place. Actually, the ecological key processes bring the ecosystem into being. Th ey form the ecosystem-specifi c structures that shape the system’s morphology and diversity. A number of advantages attach to the decision to found the conservation management system of a protected area on the concept of ecological key processes rather than on the concept of keystone species. It requires the conservation manager permanently to question ideas like equilibrium, resilience, disturbance and stability, scale and boundaries of the ecosystem. It off er the manager the basis of decision-making: as long as the ecological key processes are able to run, there is space for negotiations on possible interventions in the protected area and change might be tolerated. But if an intervention impinges on the ecological key process itself, conservation cannot allow it any scope or space. On the other hand, the application of this concept also helps to avoid unnecessary or even harmful conservation measurements or interventions.

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Th e concept of ecological key processes does not only serve as the basis of decision-making. Th e ecological key process also represents the central theme for any conservation management activity concerning the protected area. Any activity needs to be in accord with the key process and should even contribute, if possible, to the continuation of this process. Th e following example may illustrate an application of this postulate: Lonjsko Polje Nature Park Public Service ordered a study on the identifi cation of fi ve traditional farm products originating from the protected area. In a second step, it is planned to start marketing activities for these products. Th e overall objective of this management activity is to improve benefi ts generated by traditional land use, particularly by the traditional animal husbandry system. Although the fi ve products were identifi ed by a scientifi cally proved methodology that included interviews with local producers, the Park Service intervened fi nally and accepted three but asked for two of the proposed products to be excluded, for they would not assist the ecological key process. Instead, the Park Service proposed that products ranked sixth and seventh should be included, as these products do contribute to the continuation of both key processes identifi ed for Lonjsko Polje Nature Park.

Putting the main emphasis on ecological key processes enables conservation management to make its decision-making and its management behaviour more transparent, comprehensible, consistent and versatile to both the park staff and the stakeholders but also to the broader public. It is much easier and provides greater management eff ectiveness to interpret the one or two ecological key processes to a ranger or a land user than a whole host of conservation measurements.


10.2 Zoning

Th e fl oodplains of Central Posavina are an example of the role of change within the concept of ecological key processes. Change is often understood as a threat or at least as something undesirable. Here it is important to recognise that such an understanding of change may arise from the application of conservation management tools and structures itself. Zoning, a favourite tool in nature preservation, for example, or even the establishment of a protected area itself may lead conservation management to a spatial fi xing of ecosystem patterns and processes. Th is may lead to problems in dealing suffi ciently with the ecological key processes, especially if the integrity of the ecosystem is not guaranteed by a suffi cient size of the protected area. To be provocative: unsuitable conservation zoning as well as an arbitrary design of the protected area itself may result in the fragmentation of an ecosystem, almost no diff erent in this from other human impacts. In Lonjsko Polje Nature Park, change caused by natural geomorphological and fl ood dynamics may occur everywhere, regardless of the zoning. Here change must be simply recognised as a permanent rearrangement of the system’s morphology and diversity. Change is, rather, an essential part of the process and accordingly it becomes an essential part of the Park’s integrity. Th e fact that, despite constant changes, all bird species ever historically recorded can still be found at the site today underlines the correctness of this statement. Th us, zoning that is designed simply on the basis of distinct levels of nature protection might be rejected as an unsuitable tool for managing change. Zoning in Lonjsko Polje Nature Park follows rather the traditional land use patterns, which are directly connected to the ecological key processes. Th e boundaries of a zone, although clearly and formally defi ned, must not be seen as absolute or permanent boundaries. Zoning must be guided by other management tools that are able

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to allow and create more fl exibility and versatility. Joint practical work with present land users for example is the tool of fi rst resort. It fosters cooperation between conservation management and stakeholders and increases the willingness to tolerate the application of conservation measurements even outside the zone for which those measures were originally provided. Another eff ective tool is the consistent incorporation of the same or similar conservation measurements into diff erent planning and ruling documents like the management plans of the present stakeholders, physical plans and the nature park regulations. It is not suffi cient to have a certain conservation rule only in one document as its implementation should have horizontal, vertical and also diagonal eff ects in governance.

10.3 Integrity

During the above discussion on zoning one term has been mentioned that is crucial in conservation management, especially under the aspect of managing change: according to Article 88 of the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, integrity “is a measure of the wholeness and intactness of the natural and/or cultural heritage and its attributes”. Th erefore, “a protected area should have suffi cient size and contain the necessary elements to demonstrate the key aspects of processes that are essential for the long term conservation of the ecosystems and the biological diversity they contain. … If a protected area constitutes a cultural landscape, relationships and dynamic functions present in this landscape essential to its distinctive character should also be maintained.” However, conservation management has to consider the concept of integrity even when, as a result of inadequate design, a protected area has not met the criterion of integrity. In that case it is a major management task to fi nd ways of having an infl uence on the entire


area in which the criteria of integrity would be met. Th e creation of a buff er zone could be an appropriate management tool. Th e buff er zone should include the immediate setting of the protected area, important views and other areas or attributes that are functionally important as a support to the protected area. But if it comes to a point at which the buff er has to have complementary legal and/or customary restrictions placed on its use and development, to give an added layer of protection to the primarily protected area, then diffi culties may appear when the national law does not provide a legal status for the buff er zone. Th is is exactly the case with Lonjsko Polje Nature Park. Th erefore, the Park Service started the process of creating a buff er zone “in the mind”. Th e main management tool to achieve this goal is joint practical work carried out by the Park Service and major land users. A forester for example who has gained positive experience in conducting forest management activities jointly with the park staff forest management in a forest stand within the protected area will be ready to apply the same or similar approach in a forest stand outside of it. Th is process leads gradually to the creation of a buff er zone “in the minds” of all the stakeholders. Such a buff er is not visible on paper, but is made visible in the fi eld.

10.4 Th e concept of serial sites

Th e concept of serial sites represents another tool to ensure integrity. It is an up-coming approach as yet, developed within the frame of the World Heritage Convention. However, it is obvious that the serial site approach ensures the integrity of a protected area in a more eff ective way than the concept of buff er zones, particularly in the case of river basin wetland habitats where it is more important to include intact component parts that are related, from the entire basin in addition, i.e. the upper, central and lower river course. Th e serial site approach can be expected to be a more eff ective tool in

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dealing with change as well. It off ers on one hand eff ective risk management through spatial dispersion and on the other hand it enables the conservation management to act over a broader scope by both providing distributed but related parts and tending to lead to the establishment of appropriate integrated management structures and tools.

10.5 Dynamic Authenticity

If a protected area comprises a cultural landscape another dimension appears in managing change. It is the authenticity of the landscape. But as a cultural landscape is constituted as a result of both natural and cultural processes, authenticity has to be derived from both. Th is is very diff erent from defi ning the authenticity of an architectural or horticultural property the genuineness of which is of more a static character and is defi ned more by the form, design, location and setting of the property. A living landscape with its running ecological and cultural key processes is subject to dynamics in its natural and cultural features. Dynamics are often the “trainers” of traditional management systems and techniques. Without them, the system and /or the techniques lose their signifi cance and become a mere matter of conservation intent.

In the case of a wetland one has additionally to question whether a wetland can be seen exclusively as a landscape at all. Th e answer is: a wetland constitutes as the surface of intersection of two states, it is both a landscape and a waterscape. It is permanently shifting between both the two states. Th is permanent impermanence makes it almost impossible to catch the authenticity of a landscape without accepting change. Th us, change has to be recognised and accepted as an essential part of authenticity. Here, this authenticity has a dynamic character. It is more important in the conservation management of landscapes clearly to identify and describe the


cultural key processes with their key elements and functions than to focus on forms and settings in the sense of static legitimacy. Th is implies another requirement: it becomes a “have to” to determine a system of indicators by which it is possible to monitor authenticity dynamics. Logically, those indicators need to be related to the cultural key processes, elements and functions. Such a system allows conservation management to get more versatile in its decision-making.

At this point one can state that the ecological key processes, integrity and dynamic authenticity, represent the three pillars of managing a cultural landscape and ecosystem in conditions of change. Th ese pillars are strong enough to support the presence of the signifi cant attributes of the natural and cultural heritage but are fl exible enough to deal with change.

Figure 5. A wetland constitutes as the surface of intersection of two states, it is both a landscape and a waterscape.

From Visioning to Action

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From Visioning to Action 95

11.1 Visioning

Developing a vision is one of the most important steps in conservation management. Th e manager may have his own vision at the starting point of this process. But his vision obviously must not be the fi nal one. It is crucial to understand that the process of building a consensus among stakeholders has to end with a mutual vision. On the other hand, it is also crucial to understand that the three pillars mentioned in the previous chapter have to be the basis of any vision for a protected area. Th is is the doctrine for conservation managers. It is the art of conservation management to be able to convince the other stakeholders. Th erefore, visioning is a time-consuming and controversial process which requires both the conservation managers as well as the stakeholders to learn the expert language of the others, to refl ect their own points of view and to understand the points of view of the others. It is necessary to pass through the visioning process several times. With each repetition of the process the vision becomes more accurate, complete and precise. Finally, it considers the entire system and is consistent as well as in careful conformity with the requirements.

But what are the requirements? Th ey are the answers to three core questions of management:

What is running wrong? How could it work in the right way? How should it work in the right way?

Derived from this, the basic exercise of the visioning process is (1) to observe existing problems critically, (2) to fi nd appropriate solutions and (3) to point in possible directions of further development. As a fi rst step this exercise should be done with each stakeholder separately. Later, this exercise has to be done jointly. When it comes to the point of directing in possible ways of further development, the manager has even to look beyond the boundaries of the protected area. In the case of a riverine area like Lonjsko Polje

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Nature Park this is obvious since it may not at all be a matter of indiff erence to conservation management what is happening or is planned up- and downstream of the protected area.

Figure 6. It is crucial to understand that the process of building a consensus among stakeholders has to end with a mutual vision.

Th us, conservation management has to think about the creation of appropriate structures and techniques for generating the visioning process. Here one must note that there are two other important simultaneous processes that run at the beginning in the background. Nevertheless, both targeting and integrating become more important as the visioning process moves forward. Th e existence of several simultaneous processes needs a constant questioning of the chosen structures and techniques as well as the stakeholders’ profi le. In other words, there is no remedy except for the manager being ready for adaptation and change all the time. As mentioned earlier, in the beginning of the process it might be necessary to have roundtables


with each stakeholder separately. Later a stakeholders’ committee for the protected area is established where stakeholders can work jointly. Th is co-operation needs its follow-up in the fi eld. When the visioning has to become more accurate and precise, the stakeholders’ committee splits into working groups dealing with certain issues. Th ose working groups will come back to the committee with their results.

Figure 7. When the visioning has to become more accurate and precise, the stakeholders’ committee (SC) splits into working groups (WG) dealing with certain issues.

During this process the problem of positive group dynamics may appear. Th e members of the stakeholders’ committee understand each other more and more. Th ey get to be friends. Everything is fi ne, except that the members forget to bring the information from the stakeholders’ committee back to their own community of interests to see whether there is a consensus among their community on a certain issue of the visioning process. For that reason, it may be necessary to come back to roundtables with each stakeholder.

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Figure 8. Working with stakeholders is an iterative process.

11.2 Comparing

During the visioning process for Lonjsko Polje Nature Park, the need for elaborating a comparative analysis became important when the park was nominated as a World Heritage site. Such an analysis is a particular part of the nomination procedure under the World Heritage Convention. However, comparing a protected area in relation to similar sites might be an extremely useful exercise not only for nominated world heritage sites but for sites in general. It helps very much to discover the particular values of the site. It therefore makes the position and importance of the site clear to all stakeholders including of course the conservation management itself. A good comparative analysis off ers additional insights into what is really essential for future conservation management in a given


protected area, and it directs conservation management to similar sites. Th e latter might be important in increasing the versatility of conservation management, particularly when change appears. Th e identifi cation of similarities amongst related sites by comparative analysis might lead to the establishment of a serial site, an approach that has been recognised in the previous chapter as an eff ective tool of conservation management under conditions of change.

Figure 9. Th e Cycle of Finding the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). Although the concept of the outstanding universal value (OUV) is originally a matter of the World Heritage Convention, it is useful for the management of any protected area to pass the cycle as shown here: one may start the cycle with a draft statement of the value of the site. Th en, one should defi ne the authenticity of the property (in the case of a cultural landscape), and identify the conditions which may ensure the integrity of the site. With a comparative analysis a clear picture of both the site’s uniqueness and similarities with other sites will be reached. Th at enables one to justify the criteria of the site’s values. Now one needs to pass through the cycle again.

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11.3 Targeting

Since visioning is the process of fi nding the goal toward which one aspires, targeting is the process of determining the goal that one is attempting to achieve. Both visioning and targeting should be understood as mutually reinforcing processes: visioning should be used to stimulate creatively the determination of goals, and targeting should be used to get an achievable and accurate vision. In this context we have to look at the role of consultants. Consultants can be very useful if the park management has a clear picture of what the role of the consultant should be. But a consultant should never be hired to do the whole job.

Figure 10. Th e Role of Consultants. Consultants may play an important role in conservation management. However, at this point of the discussion, we must say some words on this issue. Th e management of a protected area may use consultants to ask for advice and expertise if the staff has no capacity to solve a certain problem in-house. Consultants may play a crucial role as neutral facilitators and mediators


when a problem appears between conservation management and stakeholders or when a process has to be set in motion amongst them. Consultants can be used to evaluate and audit processes within the conservation management or between conservation management and stakeholders. But consultants must not be used to superintend the co-operation between conservation management and stakeholders. Co-operation is exclusively a matter for the parties themselves. Even when the conservation management uses consultants for the above mentioned purposes of advising, facilitating and evaluating, the manager should avoid having the job done exclusively by the consultant. All parties involved have to be actively involved. Otherwise, it is very probable that the fi nal product has been produced only to be put into the drawer.

11.4 Integrating

It is in the nature of the three pillars of managing change to generate the process of integration. Th e appearance of change may additionally enforce this process. At the same time, this process, i.e. the set-up of integrated management structures and techniques must not be restricted to the protected area itself. Particularly in reference to the pillars defi ned as “integrity” and “keystone processes” it might be necessary to link up the protected area with an area or even areas beyond the park boundaries. In the case of Lonjsko Polje Nature Park the park management established not only a stakeholders’ committee – as an appropriate structure for integrated management - at park level. It also set up another committee for Central Posavina at the level of the central Sava river basin. Th is was because the central part of the basin comprises almost all the remaining inundation areas and plays therefore a key role in the fl ood control system that has been based on those retention areas. However, a reduction of the remaining inundation areas would simultaneously mean a reduction in the capability to manage change. For these reasons, the area of Central Posavina is of strategic importance for the integrity of the park’s natural and cultural heritage, the ecological key process of inundation as well as the cultural keystone process of adaptation to fl ooding. Because of this strategic importance, conservation

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management expected that exerting some infl uence over the central river basin would ultimately come to involve the management of the entire basin. With that, the establishment of serial conservation sites in alliance with the enforcement of the fl ood control system based on retention areas must be the strategic process that will integrate all the other elements.

In this context, a few words should be devoted to the structure of the above mentioned stakeholders committees. Both committees are established on a purely voluntary-interest basis. Th ere was no provision in the law for their establishment. Th ey do not have any competence, but only serve as a forum where stakeholders can communicate problems, possible solutions or ideas on further developments. Th e committees are diff erent with respect to their composition and profi le. In this context one must clearly state that the composition and profi le of a stakeholder committee must not be the result of stakeholders’ analysis only. It is also, or rather, a matter of the current main purpose of its work. However, the purpose may change depending on the stage of achievements. Th e work of the committee established at park level is currently mainly orientated to solving confl icts amongst land users in the fi eld and involves therefore, especially, operational stakeholders like land users, municipalities, industries, tourist bureaus and scientists. At this stage, the committee established at the central basin level is searching for a more integrated management and tries to match water resources strategies with land use strategies. It is thus composed of strategic stakeholders like ministries, directorates, agencies, national associations and – with the International Sava River Basin Commission - even international organisations. Analysing the committees’ structure one can identify an essential principle: the committees are structured in such a manner that they involve the structures of governance of the next higher level. Th is is to prepare and ensure the link up to that level. As the Park’s committee mainly


deals with confl ict management at this stage, another principle has been applied here: although the competent authorities are regularly informed about the work of the committee, they are not represented in the committee. Th is is aimed at situations in which consensus is not achievable amongst the members of the committee. Th en, a competent but neutral authority has to mediate and make a decision.

11.5 Sequencing

Th e participatory process and the process of integration should be ideally guided by a process of sequencing and synchronization, particularly when it comes to the point of scaling the site up to the level necessary for successful conservation management and of integrating the site into the environs. Th en, a certain degree of sequencing is required, between planning and management activities on the upper scale and between management and user activities at individual site level. Activities need also to be synchronised, i.e. progressively initiated and completed, in time and through scales from the upper down to site scale and the other way round. Sequencing and synchronization in fact place the highest demands on conservation management as they require the ability to recognize and wait for the right moment, place and time to act correctly to achieve a certain goal.

The Twelve Principles of Managing Sustainability in Conditions of

Change and Unpredictability

12

Th e Twelve Principles of Managing Sustainability in Conditions of Change and Unpredictability 107

Th is discussion has been about the challenge of managing sustainability under conditions of change and unpredictablility in a protected area that contains the natural features of a dynamic ecosystem as well as the cultural features of an organically evolved landscape. As stated at the outset, this challenge seems likely to become of major importance in conservation management. On the one hand, climate change is introducing change even into ecosystems that have enjoyed long-term stability; on the other hand, global trends such as urbanisation are erasing the sources of biodiversity inherent in the old living landscapes.

Lonjsko Polje Nature Park manifests all these aspects of the challenge and may therefore serve as an outstanding example of the continuous acquisition of knowledge about managing under conditions of change and unpredictability. Th e experience gathered and discussed here leads to the identifi cation of twelve principles of conservation management:

12.1 Modesty

Sustainable land use systems respect and accept natural limitations. Th ey focus more on optimising success under the given conditions and limitations of the environment than on maximising success by obviating or erasing limitations. Th is might be also valid for conservation management itself. Th is is the principle of modesty.

12.2 Diversity of Motivation

A traditional land use system run by conservationists exclusively for the purposes of conservation might not be sustainable. Conservation management must off er an entire range of motives for running the system and must take cognizance of the essential

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economic, social, cultural and natural stimulating and limiting factors that generate and maintain the system. Th is is the principle of diversity of motivation.

12.3 Plainness

Management features and facilities are necessary in the system. But they have to be simple and conducive to sustainability. Th is is the principle of plainness. Very often the application of this principle leads to a necessary decommissioning of facilities. Th is might be valid too for facilities of conservation management.

12.4 Versatility

Change is often understood as a threat or at least as something undesirable. Conservation management must be aware that such an understanding may arise from the very application of conservation management tools and structures, too. But change must be simply recognised as a permanent rearrangement of system morphology and diversity. Change is, rather, an essential part of the process and accordingly it becomes an essential part of integrity. Th is is the principle of versatility.

12.5 Robustness

Th e ecological and cultural keystone processes, integrity and dynamic authenticity represent the three pillars of managing a cultural landscape and ecosystem under conditions of change. Th ese pillars are strong enough to support the presence of the signifi cant attributes of the natural and cultural heritage but are fl exible enough to deal with change. Th e three pillars have to be the basis of any vision for a protected area. Th ey give to conservation management the necessary fi rmness to be able to cope with and respond to change. Th is is the principle of robustness.


12.6 Congruity With Th e Keystone Processes

Th e ecological key processes represent the central theme for any conservation management activity in or related to protected area. Any activity needs to be at least in accord with the key process and, if possible, to contribute to the continuation of this process. Th is is the principle of congruity with the keystone processes.

In case of a cultural landscape the same principle has to be applied to the cultural keystone process.

12.7 Integrity

A protected area should have suffi cient size and contain the necessary elements to demonstrate the keystone processes. If a protected area constitutes a cultural landscape, relationships and dynamic functions present in this landscape essential to its distinctive character should also be maintained. If the protected area itself has not met the criterion of integrity it is a major management task to fi nd ways of exerting an infl uence over the entire area in which the criterion of integrity would be met. Th is is the principle of integrity.

12.8 Dynamic Authenticity

A cultural landscape is constituted as a result of both natural and cultural processes, and authenticity has to be derived from both. Old living landscapes must also be understood as the result of a long-term feed-back process involving both human ideas and experiences. Dynamics are often the “trainers” of traditional management systems and techniques. Without them, the system and/or the techniques lose their signifi cance and become a mere matter of conservation intent. Th e permanent impermanence makes it almost impossible to capture the authenticity of a landscape without accepting change.

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It is more important in the conservation management of landscapes clearly to identify and describe the cultural key processes with their key elements and functions than to focus on forms and settings in the sense of static legitimacy. Th us, change has to be recognised and accepted as an essential part of authenticity. Th is is the principle of dynamic authenticity.

12.9 Extensive Dispersion in Space

Th e serial site approach can be expected to be a more eff ective tool in dealing with change. It off ers eff ective risk management and enables the conservation management to act over a broader scope by both providing distributed but related parts and tending to lead to the establishment of appropriate integrated management structures and tools. Th is is the principle of extensive dispersion in space.

12.10 Immanence

Another eff ective tool is the consistent incorporation of the same or similar conservation measurements into diff erent planning and ruling documents like the management plans of the present stakeholders, physical plans and the nature park regulations. It is not suffi cient for a certain conservation rule to exist only in one document, as its implementation should have horizontal, vertical and also diagonal eff ects in governance. In this context, the creation of a buff er zone “in the mind” through joint practical work must be mentioned. Conservation management therefore becomes increasingly inclusive. Th is is the principle of immanence.


12.11 Extensive Cores

Nature conservation, and with that the protected areas, must be made extensive. Th at does not necessarily mean an extension of the entire protected area. It might rather mean that protected areas will play an active part as generative extensive cores in the development of the entire not-protected space. Th is is the principle of extensive cores.

12.12 Iteration

Visioning, comparing, targeting, integrating and sequencing are the most important processes in conservation management. It is crucial to understand that the process of building a consensus among stakeholders has to end with a mutual vision. On the other hand, it is also crucial to understand that the three pillars have to be the basis of any vision for a protected area. Visioning should be used to stimulate creatively the determination of goals, and targeting should be used to shape an achievable and accurate vision. Th e composition and profi le of an appropriate integrated management structure must not be the result of stakeholders’ analysis only. It is also, or rather, a matter of the current main purpose of its work. However, the purpose may change depending on the stage of achievements. Sequencing and synchronization in fact place the highest demands on conservation management as they require the ability to recognize and wait for the right moment, place and time to act correctly to achieve a certain goal. Th e existence of several simultaneous processes needs a constant questioning of the chosen structures and techniques as well as the stakeholders’ profi le. All of these factors need frequent and permanent revisiting for the sake of correction and adaptation. Th is is the principle of iteration.

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