August the 30th, 2022 - Fifteen whole years have passed since the devastating Kornati tragedy took the lives of twelve out of the 23 firefighters sent to the island of Kornat to battle the wildfires that had broken out there on the 30th of August, 2007.

A series of horrendous wildfires broke out between June the 1st and August the 8th, 2007, and the period is even referred to as the 2007 Croatian coast fires. The fire which broke out on the island of Kornat, part of the heavily visited Kornati National Park, became the horrific scene of the worst Croatian firefighting accident in the history of firefighting in this country.

As Morski writes, twelve tremendously brave and selfless firefighters lost their lives either at the scene on the island of Kornat, or died later on when in hospital. The only survivor at that time was 23-year-old Frane Lucic from Tisno.

In Vodice, the commemoration of another sad anniversary of the Kornati tragedy began with a parade of local fire brigades. The pilots of the 855th firefighting squadron of the HRZ also paid their respects to the firefighters with a canadair flight over the town, writes HRT.

At the monument to the victims, a model of the helicopter that flew over the Kornati National Park on the fateful day, as well as the black box from that aircraft, which was subsequently lost, were placed.

''Our message that we wanted to showcase with this is that the black box was removed from the helicopter and was lost on the day of the accident and it has still not be found, fifteen years have now passed and the question arises as to why it even disappeared in the first place,'' said Matija-Karlo Valincic, president of the Vodice Fire Brigade.

Some of the families of the fallen firefighters who lost their lives to the fire that day still think that they were doused with kerosene from a helicopter. Officially, according to experts, the Kornati tragedy was caused by different versions of a "rare natural phenomenon" - an eruptive fire, the combustion of an inhomogeneous gas mixture and a fire with an eruptive effect. In the case against former fire chief Drazen Slavica, the court rejected the possibility that the firefighters died due to the effects of kerosene. In the meantime, Slavica has been legally acquitted and will now sue the state.

Despite the passage of time and the chances of getting answers seeming to get further and further away as the clock ticks, the families whose lives have been stuck in summer 2007 ever since the Kornati tragedy aren't giving up on their search for the truth and for justice. They have jointly submitted a constitutional complaint and requests to the European Court of Human Rights.

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October 24, 2019 - Thanks to the DestiMED project, the Kornati National Park and the Lastovo Islands Nature Park were able to measure the ecological footprint of their tourist offer, which is now available to Croatia’s other protected areas.

Not surprisingly, food turns out to have the most impact on the ecological footprint of visitors on the protected area itself.

Namely, HRTurizam writes that at the closing ceremony of the international DestiMED project held in Rome, the latest methodology for monitoring the ecological footprint of tourists in protected areas in the Mediterranean Sea was presented, and among the areas where the method was tested were the Kornati National Park and the Lastovo Islands Nature Park.

Using the standardized tools of the world's leading eco-footprint measurement organization, Global Footprint Network, as a starting point, partners in the DestiMED project adapted the eco-footprint methodology for environmental impact assessment. Not only was the ecological footprint of each tourist who participated in the latest eco-tourism offer measured, but concrete steps were taken to manage the environmental footprint in that offer. Specific components, such as food, lodging, transportation, and recreational activities, were taken into account.

The results indicated that food and drink had the most substantial environmental impact, especially in those packages that offered large quantities of meat products.

"The methodology for monitoring the ecological footprint we developed within the DestiMED project and the first of its kind in the world has helped protected areas and tourism professionals in the Kornati National Park and the Lastovo Islands Nature Park see where their tours are great, and where there is space for improvement when it comes to the impact on the environment and nature. Moreover, new and alternative business opportunities have been identified that are pushing us towards more sustainable local development,” explains Mosor Prvan of WWF Adria, DestiMED project manager.

By making better choices and promoting the best practices in tourism and recreation, protected areas can address the environmental impact of their tourism packages developed as part of the DestiMED project, while improving the quality of services offered to tourists, concluded WWF Adria.

In the future, the free online eco-footprint calculator will make the methodology applicable to all protected areas in the Mediterranean that are ready to create and test their ecotourism packages.

You can view the online tool here.

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As SibenikIN writes on the 12th of October, 2019, the popular Kornati National Park (NP Kornati) is undergoing research this weekend to identify the sources of waste pollution in the area of ​​that particular national park. Based on the results of the research, an attempt will be made to determine the proportion of waste that comes into the Kornati area carried by the sea's currents and waste generated in the area of ​​the park itself.

The research, which has been continuing over the weekend, started back in October 2017. As stated, based on the results of the research, measures will be defined to reduce the amount of waste generated in the park area, all with the aim of preserving and protecting the extremely valuable Kornati submarine areas.

The research is being carried out in cooperation with the Society for Underwater Sports - DPS Zagreb, and is being led by Ph.D. Martina Markov.

The exceptional biodiversity of Kornati's submarine is one of the reasons why part of the Kornati archipelago was declared a national park back in 1980. To date, more than 1,300 plant and animal species have been recorded in the Kornati submarine, including 366 types of algae, 3 sea flowers, 81 sponge species, 78 sea urchin species, 17 starfish species, 71 coral species, 145 snail species, 59 shellfish species, 77 crustacean species and 188 species of fish. With each new survey, the list is enriched with yet more, newly discovered species.

The greater part of the coastal zone is inhabited by the beautiful posidonia marine flowering plants, whose habitats are primarily NATURA 2000 habitats. The submarine cliffs there are characterised by coralligen - a habitat composed of red algae. Coralligen is home for an extremely large variety of species that are suitable for reduced light conditions - such as sponges, corals, and red and brown algae.

In the wider area of ​​the Kornati National Park, which includes the Žut-Sit group of islands and the Murter area, 147 different species of bottlenose dolphins have been recorded so far, and often sea turtles - such as loggerhead turtles - which are strictly protected animals.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for much more. If you're interested in both official and unofficial ways Croatia works to protect its environment, give Total Eco Croatia a follow.

A seagull tried to make an octopus his dinner, but the octopus wasn't in the mood. This unusual footage from NP Kornati showcases the struggle between bird and would-be prey.

Along Croatia's coast or on its many islands, you're likely to witness battles and very loud ''arguments'' by street cats wanting to get hold of the last fish, or maybe even witness seagulls falling out with each other, what you don't often see however is a showdown between a seagull and his ''almost dinner'', an octopus who simply had no plans to be a meal that day.

As Morski writes on the 18th of April, 2019, after some rather surprising footage from far away in Australia, where a seagull's attempt to make a grumpy octopus a meal turned very sour for the opportunistic sea bird indeed, another almost identical scene has been caught on camera, but this time much closer to home, right here in Croatia, from the beautiful NP Kornati in the Zadar region.

The video was initially taken back in October 2018, and author of the video and witness to this rather bizarre fight, Jure Jerat, says the rather unlucky seagull managed to come out of the fight a little bit better off than the Australian seagull did when he attempted the same ''assault'' on an octopus that just wasn't having it.

While we by no means endorse any type of blood sport here at TCN, this does make for interesting viewing, it certainly isn't something you see on a daily basis and it's difficult to say who we'd put our money on! Have a look for yourself and see who comes out on top in this extremely unusual argument between two very different species at Croatia's beautiful NP Kornati.

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Ever been to the Kornati islands?

The Tourist Board of Rogoznica has just released a new promotional video for 2017 titled "Rogoznica - The Heart of Dalmatia" which highlights the beauty of this Dalmatian tourist pearl that has become one of the leading destinations for family holidays in Croatia.