May 22, 2020 - Today, May the 22nd, marks the international day for Biological Diversity and Nature Protection. In a suburban village called Nemetin, near Osijek, members of Udruga Pobjede (Azil Osijek shelter) encountered Croatian forest workers tearing down the woods near the animal shelter in Nemetin, which happens also to be the only place of land where they can actually take their 300+ dogs for a walk.
Growing up in the 90s, one of the cartoons I remember most vividly is FernGully: The Last Rainforest, a 1992 film that follows Zak, a young slacker working for a logging team cutting down trees in the rainforest. Little do they know, but they're getting closer to a magical place called FernGully and its fairy inhabitants. Crysta, a young fairy with slight magical abilities, shrinks Zak down to fairy-size, and together they fight to save the home that is threatened by logging, and a polluting force of destruction called Hexxus.
That a cartoon could influence a then 5+-year-old to stop and reflect does seem a bit sci-fi for some full grown-up representatives of governmental institutions today and their blindfolded acts.
Reading the criticism pointed towards all the Croatian institutions nowadays may seem a bit like Groundhog Day – and we're condemned to relive it over and over again in Croatia. Only as opposed to the movie, this story is far from witty and resonant. If there were a competition for the lousiest Croatian institution that has done the most harm to its citizens and its ecosystem, it would very hard to decide. Let me cut the tension and come forward, this time my vote goes to the Croatian Forests d.o.o. The million-dollar question is, what could someone even expect from an institution that was using horses in summer 2019 to pull logs for days in the heat?
For those that don't know the story, here's something that might make you stop and think:
The horses were overwhelmed, logs were falling at their feet, as they were slipping on the road and endangering traffic. Animalex - The Association for the Legal Protection of Animals even published a video of a horse pulling logs that kept falling over. Those horses were working for Croatian Forests for days!
According to Article 5 (2) of the Animal Welfare Act, the use of horses (and other equines) for the removal of logs from forests and the removal of firewood is prohibited, except in hard-to-reach areas where this is not possible without the use of such animals. Citizens who were there are witnesses that the space was not inaccessible. The only response Croatian Forests d.o.o. issued back then was that the terrain is inaccessible. Of course, this was not true and it's clear that the inaccessibility of the terrain is just an excuse:pulling logs with horses is faster and more profitable for them.
And this is exactly the scenario that keeps repeating itself and the gift of Croatian Governmental institutions that just keeps on giving. Whatever they want to do, they can do it without any needing to fear any consequences. If someone dares to ask, then their rulebook states that they must cram that person full of noncombustible data, and choke them with ''facts'' to the degree that they feel stuffed. Then they'll feel they're actually thinking; they'll get a sense of motion without actually moving. And they'll be happy, because facts of that sort don't change.
Afterward, they might even shamelessly boast on their official website boasts that 90 percent of their income comes from the sale of wood.
Fast forward to 2020:
Today, May the 22nd, 2020 is the International Day for Biological Diversity and Nature Protection, and in asuburban village called Nemetin, near Osijek, members of Udruga Pobjede (Azil Osijek shelter) recently encountered Croatian forest workers tearing down the wood near the animal shelter in Nemetin, which happens also to be the only piece of land where they can actually take their 300+ dogs for a walk.
These people aren't ignorant, they're very well aware that the forests should be maintained. They know that old, diseased trees need to be removed, and young shoots need to be planted, but there are still so many questions left unanswered and the members of Udruga Pobjede are now desperate. Why is Croatian Forests d.o.o cutting down this forest now at the time when birds are nesting, and so by killing the trees, they're also killing the birds. Are they even aware that when taking a walk there, it is not rare to see wild boar and other animals? Are they aware that these animals will have nowhere to hide from hunters and poachers? Do they know how much oxygen they will deprive Osijek of?
By cutting down these trees, they will take away the last little bit of joy these dogs that are taken care of by volunteers have. Is there really no other solution? Can't it be done gradually? Is profit the only value they know of?
For these dogs, and for the people that arrive there every single day to walk them, this forst is the only piece of land where they can feel free and a little bit less alone. As I took the time to write this as fast and as soon as I could, just how many trees were lost? The workers said the plan is to tear every single one down, leaving the people sad and devastated, and the dogs and other animals without shade and shelter.
In 2010, the same people officially took over the shelter for abandoned animals in and in December 2011, they registered it as the 23rd shelter for abandoned animals in Croatia and one of the first no-kill shelters in the whole country. Thanks to this association, so many lives have been saved, so many dogs have found their “forever homes”, and so many injured and hungry dogs have been fed and taken care of. They are doing this every single day. They are willing to do whatever it takes to prevent the removal of the trees from happening. This time they can't do it alone – they need all the help they can get. And we need to act fast.
Ironically, when adopting the budget for 2020, the City of Osijek boasted a generous budget for the NGO sector. But given the COVID-19 situation, they abruptly decided to suspend all tenders for funds from the city budget for the NGO sector in order to "redirect" the money to mitigation - to deal with the economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. Of course, this is understandable as we're economically endangered, this includes the budgets for local self-government units. But how come there is no money for the work of associations for children and youth, no money for cultural activities - but they have the funds for such expensive horticultural interventions and the demolition of entire parks and woods? In the middle of an epidemic, is this really our top priority?
Nemetin is not the only place with this issue. People are shocked and have shared pictures of Markusevecka gora and Moslavacka gora, which look like a hurricane has passed through them.
30 kilometres away from Osijek, in Vinkovci, a similar story is unfolding. One woman, Mrs. Dajana Zucic, is standing almost alone in the fight against the felling of healthy trees in her neighbourhood. Trees are being cut down as part of a project, allegedly "works on the reconstruction of the drainage network" that will cost the lives of the neighbourhood's mature trees.
Mrs. Zucic has been trying to voice her and the neighbourhood's concerns about the project and has addressed the mayor; reported the situation to the Environmental Fund; reported it to DIRH; addressed the environmental inspector responsible for her area; contacted Nature Conservation Associations; founded a group; set up a petition; wrote and sent to the city administration an e-mail with daily photographs of the devastation; made a lot of phone contacts and had a lot of correspondence - all without any success. In the meantime, they received a response from the County Inspectorate for Nature Protection that they have carried out an inspection following a report and issued a statement that they have inspected all of the trees intended for felling and determined that there are no nests or cavities in the allocated trees in which strictly protected bird species might live.
Too little, too late. It’s going to be like a tornado swept right thought Antun Mihanovic street in Vinkovci. The trees are priceless to the neighbourhood and they think everything could be done differently. Doing it in this way is utter devastation. Most of the trees in this neighbourhood are linden trees, and in most of those trees - birds, nests and even birds of prey like owls can be found. Has Vinkovci even considered bird habitats and nesting periods? Taking into consideration that they are used to getting away with anything, probably not. The fate of these trees and the final appearance of the "public pedestrian area" is being decided by Cestorad and Vodovod Vinkovci. In only fifteen days, the complete park has been torn down and no one has been held accountable for it.
It's time to do something and to send a signal against the destructiveness of short-sighted politics.
As devastating as it may be, it is an indisputable fact that the legislation in Croatia has been significantly improved, primarily due to Croatia's accession to the European Union, but there is still a lot of work to do. Because it is our obligation to contribute to the common good of our society, we need to act now. We need to aim at an economic recovery model that gives back to our society more than it takes away from it.
I'm sure – at least one person reading this will call us tree huggers who don't have anything smarter to do, and correct us, claiming that there are bigger problems. If you recognised yourself in this sentence, this article is then especially for you. We all need to be bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?
“It doesn't matter what you do... so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away.”
Don’t silence your inner voice. You're doing yourself a disservice if you aren't guided by your moral compass. Be honest both with yourself and with all your actions consecutively.
If there's something that makes you uncomfortable, maybe it's not a matter of aligning your emotions with the status quo, but vice versa.
I'm sure for some, there is no burden too heavy and no fight to big, but in this, the people and the dogs need our help – our voices – and it's time to come together for sustainable and fair Croatia 2.0 - beyond the deadly logic of capitalism. Together we can save the forest in Nemetin, and maybe what is left of the trees in Vinkovci – and try to establish a system that is responsible and in which no living being is exploited for profit.
AZIL Osijek before
Do you know how crucial the protection, restoration and conservation of nature are in Europe's recovery from the economic crisis, and how important nature is for people's mental and physical well-being? It is also important for society’s ability to cope with global change, health threats, and disasters.
And it is precisely this coronavirus pandemic that has raised our awareness of the connection between human health and the ecosystem. We urgently need to bring nature back into our lives and protect, restore and preserve biodiversity, which should be a priority as the ecosystems are the most important part of responding to the global health and environmental crisis, and they remain an important aspect to ensure the long-term survival and well-being of our societies.
AZIL Osijek after
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