" Convention on Biological Diversity (Official Gazette - "International Treaties" 1/6/96); Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention) (Official Gazette - "International Treaties" 3/5/00);
" Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) (Official Gazette - "International Treaties" No. 12/99);
" Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and Wild Fauna and Flora 92/43/EEC (Habitat Directive);
" European Union legislation on conservation of wild fauna and flora by regulating the trade (No. 338/97 of 9 December 1996).

The Republic of Croatia is the signatory of all relevant international regulations in the field of nature conservation and in this manner the country has joined the international community in nature conservation at the global level. One of the fundamental regulations is the Convention on Biological Diversity that this country ratified in April 1996 (Official Gazette - "International Treaties" 6/96) and committed itself to conservation and improvement of the existing biological diversity and to a sustainable exploitation of its components.

The Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention) was ratified by the Republic of Croatia in 2000. This regulation defines all the measures to be taken by European countries for conservation of wildlife, especially those specified in annexes to the Convention, including the protection of their habitats. The wolf (Canis lupus) is listed in Annex II to the Bern Convention, i.e. included in the list of strictly protected species whose exploitation and disturbing and endangering of their habitats are banned. Exceptionally, the Bern Convention allows a deviation from the provisions stated in case that there is no other satisfactory solution available and that this exception will not have any fatal impact on the survival of the population in question. Such permissions are only granted if justified for conservation of flora and fauna, for the prevention of any serious damage to crops, cattle, forests, fish-ponds, water and other forms of propriety, in the interest of public health and security, air safety or other prevailing public interests and for the purpose of research and education, repopulation, reintroduction and the necessary reproduction.

Furthermore, exceptions are only permitted under the conditions of a strict control, on a selective basis and providing a restricted capturing, keeping and other reasonable exploitation of certain wildlife species in small proportions. In such cases the party is obliged to keep the Standing Committee of the Convention informed in detail about the exceptions made. In order to ensure the conservation of wolf habitats the parties to the Convention must include the areas of their spread into the ecological network of Areas of Special Conservation Interest (ASCI) or rather into the so-called Emerald Network. In these areas it has been made obligatory to take protection measures and apply management methods that aim at conservation of their natural values. The Bern Convention accepts the Action Plan for Conservation of Wolves (Canis lupus) in Europe, prepared by the Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe (LCIE), specifying also the recommendations for the wolf conservation action plan in Croatia.

The Republic of Croatia is a signatory of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna (CITES) (Official Gazette - "International Treaties" No. 12/99) that makes it obligatory to the parties to exercise control of international trade in endangered species by means of a system of issuing import and export licences and certificates. The wolf is listed in Annex II to the CITES, which means that this is a potentially endangered species whose international trade requires a strict control.

The Directive on Conservation of Natural Habitats and Wild Flora and Fauna No. 92/43/EEC is one of the fundamental regulations governing nature conservation in EU countries. The EU member countries are obliged to incorporate the provisions of this Directive into their legislation, and harmonization of legislation with this Directive is also an obligation of the Republic of Croatia related to the process of EU approximation. The wolf is listed in Annex II to the Directive which includes plant and animal species of interest for the European Community and whose conservation requires the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) as a part of the ecological network Natura 2000 (excepting populations in Spain, to the south of the Duero river, the population in Greece to the north of the 39th parallel and the population in Finland) and in Annex IV that includes animal and plant species of interest for the European Community which require a strict protection, with the exception of the above-mentioned populations.

The European Community legislation on conservation of wild flora and fauna species by regulating their trade No. 338/97 of 9 December 1996 governs the trade in protected animal and plant species of the European Union, or rather represents a legal foundation for implementation of the CITES in the European Union area. The wolf is listed in Annex A to this legislation that includes species which are endangered, extinct or rare to such an extent that any level of international trade would endanger their survival.

The European Parliament approved the Resolution (Doc. A2-0377/88, Ser.A) of 24 January 1989 calling for the European countries to undertake immediate actions aiming at conservation of wolves and accepted the Proclamation on Wolf Conservation, inviting the European Commission to provide support to conservation of wolves.

As a signatory of the regulations mentioned this country has committed itself to take all appropriate and necessary legal and administrative measures at the national and international level so as to ensure conservation of the wolf and his natural habitat, or rather to ensure a stable population which at the same time represents a genetic container and a potential source enabling this species to populate other European countries from which it has disappeared.

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•  Nature Protection Law (NN # 162/03),

•  Rule Book on the Protection of Certain Mammalian Species (Mammalian) (NN # 31/95),

•  Rule Book on Compensation Fees for Damage Caused by Unlawful Actions on Protected Animal Species (NN # 84/96),

•  Law on Hunting (NN # 10/94, 29/99, 14/01),

•  Animal Welfare Law ( NN # 19/99),

•  Veterinary Science Law (NN # 70/97, 105/01, 172/03),

•  Rule book on Dog Marking (NN#162/03)

•  Rule book on treatment of animal carcasses and waste of animal origin and its destruction (NN#24/03)

•  Livestock Breeding Law ( NN # 70/97, 36/98),

•  Law on State Subsidies in Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Breeding (NN # 87/02),

•  Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy with Action Plans for the Republic of Croatia - NSAP (NN # 81/99)

Nature protection regulations

Based on the 1994 Nature Protection Act and the special Ordinance on the Protection of Specific Mammal Species (Official Gazette No. 31/95), the wolf has been a protected animal species in Croatia since 9 May 1995. Under the Ordinance on the Amount of Compensation for Damage Caused to a Protected Species, any person who kills a wolf is liable to a fine of 40,000 kunas.

In October 2003 a new Nature Protection Law was adopted, which has integrated all the obligations of the Republic of Croatia towards international agreements where Croatia is a party or a signatory. The new Law anticipates 2 categories of protected species, according to the Bern Convention model - (i) strictly protected species, whose protection regime is equal to the protection regime as per the 1994 law, with possibility of exceptional interventions under the conditions and in the ways defined by the Bern Convention; (ii) the second category includes protected species, i.e. those that may be used, with certain protection or control measures involved (e.g. game). The National Nature Protection Institute is currently conducting a review of species and their categorisation.

The Law anticipates the Republic of Croatia as a promoter and supporter of scientific research in the field of nature protection. Protected species research actions require permission by the competent ministry.

According to the recent Nature Protection Act of 2005 threatened or rare wild taxa are also designated strictly protected or protected taxa. These wild taxa are listed in the Ordinance on Designating Wild Taxa Protected and Strictly Protected (Official Gazette No. 07/06). Pursuant to the Ordinance mentioned the wolf is a strictly protected wild taxon, which means that any deliberate capturing, keeping and/or killing and disturbing the wolf (especially at the time of reproduction and raising the young), its breeding, trading, importing, exporting, transporting and seizing or acquiring in any way and taxidermal preparation is forbidden. An exception to the abovementioned provisions is only allowed for scientific and research purposes with the authorization given previously by the Ministry of Culture.  Similarly, in case of a justified public interest, and if the exception will not be harmful to the survival of the species, the Ministry may allow activities with the aim to prevent causing any serious damage to the livestock and other forms of the property, to protected public health and safety or for the purpose of other prevailing public interests.

The Law also prescribes that nature protection requirements need to be issued by the competent government authority in the process of natural resource management plans development. These requirements are defined on the basis of expert thematic papers developed by the State Institute for Nature Protection. If the manner or scope of the natural resources use immediately endangers the favourable state of a species or a habitat type, the minister in charge may restrict or temporarily suspend the use until the threats have been removed, with the consent of the minister in charge of managing the natural resource in question. In an event of such restrictions being imposed, owners and authorised persons are entitled to compensation proportionate to the loss of income. The compensation amount is defined by mutual agreement.

In June 1999 the Croatian National Parliament adopted the National Strategy and Action Plan for the Protection of Biological and Landscape Diversity of the Republic of Croatia (NSAP) (Official Gazette No. 81/99) which, among other things, imposes the obligation to prepare action plans for the protection of endangered species.

In this regard the cooperation of all stakeholder groups involved in a total of 9 workshops (six held in the context of the project and three preceding the project) resulted in the Wolf Management Plan for Croatia officially adopted by the competent Ministry of Culture on 7 December 2004.

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The Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe was founded in 1995 with the aim to solve the problems of large carnivore protection or rather conservation of large carnivore populations (the brown bear, the wolf, wolverine, the Euro-Asian lynx and the Iberian lynx) in coexistence with humans. This group prepared action plans for conservation of large carnivores approved by the Council of Europe at the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention held in November 2000. One of these plans was also the "Action Plan for Conservation of Wolves in Europe". In its Recommendation No. 74 (2000) the Council of Europe urges national authorities to incorporate recommendations of the Action Plan for Conservation of Wolves in Europe into their national plans for management of this species.

The following items were recommended to Croatia:

1.1 The Bern Convention adopts this Action Plan and the Country participate in establishing a Group of Experts on Wolf Management.
1.2 The Group of Experts produces a detailed European Wolf Management Plan and submits the Plan to be approved by the Bern Convention.
2.1 The Group of Experts identifies at large scale all areas of Europe where wolves or their potential wild prey are still present with viable populations.
2.2 The Group of Experts identifies all current and potential connection areas. Through this process, wolf recovery and management will be linked to the overall planning for the restoration of European ecosystems.
2.3 Each area (or group of areas at regional, national or sub-national level) is provided with a detailed Management Plan (National or Regional) drafted by national authorities in co-ordination with neighbouring countries.
2.4 The national and local public is involved in the process of area identification and drafting of the preliminary Management Plans.
2.5 The final European Wolf Management Plan, composed by all national and/or regional Plans is submitted to the Bern Convention for approval, and national legislation is adjusted accordingly.
3.1 Design a national PR campaign with the aim of informing the public opinion and making the wolf a political issue.
3.2 Prepare a document on the ways the Country and the EU are implementing the international laws and directives they have signed.
3.3 Organise logistics and funding for national and international networks of government and NGO representatives on wolf management issues.
3.4 Ask the European Union to review and correct the economic incentives policies to shepherds in areas with wolves.
4.1 Identify and establish national wolf management groups and empower them to design the national wolf management plan.
4.2 Co-ordinate the work at national level with that of the international Group of Experts established by the Bern Convention.
5.2 Evaluate the status of the food supply for the wolf in various regions and identify the needs for specific actions.
5.3 Evaluate the presence and impact of existing and planned infrastructure in zones where the wolf is present or recovering.
6.1 Assess the status of all recovering and small populations, including counting or monitoring wolf abundance, identifying wolf habitat quality and quantity (i.e., prey distribution and abundance).
6.2 Identify and manage source populations to ensure their continued existence.
6.3 Assess the attitudes of humans in wolf recovery areas.
7.1 Assess the feasibility and desirability of the management approach of removing selected problem wolves.
7.2 Assess and manage the problem of feral and stray dogs, and the existing legislation to control them.
7.3 Prepare a census of existing facilities with captive wolves.
7.4 Assess the genetic identity of local wolves.
7.5 Review and correct the economic incentives policies to shepherds in areas with wolves.
7.6 Establish a sound scientific programme for assessing and implementing the optimal use of Large Guarding Dogs.
7.7 Establish a permanent monitoring programme for damages caused by wolves and other predators.
7.8 Define the most suitable compensation scheme for each national/regional group of wolf areas.
8.1 Assess the quality of wolf hunting in its biological and social perspectives.
8.4 Establish strong and credible fines for illegal hunting of wolves and enforce them.
8.5 Implement more research on the impact wolves and hunters have on local prey.
9.1 Assess the feasibility for an economic exploitation of the wolf.
10.1 Identify opinion leaders and stakeholders in wolf management; set up local management boards and involve them in management planning and implementation.
10.2 Establish a permanent protocol of consultations with local people about the management actions to be implemented in their area.
11.1 Identify the need/desirability of an educational campaign at local or national level.
11.2 Design and implement an educational and information programme.
11.3 Design and implement a press campaign.
11.4 Identify and empower credible wolf managers to represent the case of the wolf in front of the public and the press.
12.1 Co-ordinate a programme of scientific research at European level, distributing research topics along with local priority.
12.2 Contribute to maintaining a close link among all researchers working on the wolf in Europe.
12.3 Contribute to the regular gathering of all necessary data to monitor the management and biological conditions of the wolf in all European countries.

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