ZAGREB, July 16 (NNN-HINA) — Activists of the non-parliamentary party called Green Action on Tuesday held a performance in Zagreb’s main square to protest government plans to issue licences for gas and oil exploration in new locations.
The activists warned that 75 percent of Croatia’s territory might fall under gas and oil exploration concessions.
They also demanded the resignation of Environment Protection and Energy Minister Tomislav Coric due to plans to award gas and oil exploration concessions for 16 new sites stretching from eastern Croatia through the Zagreb and Lika-Senj Counties to Dalmatia.
They said that some of the areas covered by concessions were protected areas under the Natura 2000 project.
The Natura 2000 covers a network of protected areas covering Europe’s most valuable and threatened species and habitats. It is the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world, extending across all 28 EU countries, both on land and at sea. The sites within Natura 2000 are designated under the Birds and the Habitats Directives.
–NNN-HINA
