December 10, 2021 – The Institute for Marine Conservation awarded Brijuni National Park the Blue Park Gold Award for achieving the highest scientific standards in marine conservation and management, joining Brijuni to a growing network of 21 areas of Blue Park around the world designed to protect and regenerate the biodiversity of the oceans.

The Institute of Marine Conservation designed the Blue Park Awards to encourage governments to protect the marine world, preserve critical habitats, promote resilience to climate change, and preserve the beauty of our oceans for future generations. The objective of the program is to establish an effective network that protects and maintains the marine world and habitats on a global scale. Today, there are 21 marine protected areas with Blue Park status, reports HRTurizam.

“It is a great honor to receive the Blue Park Award, which focuses on MPAs [marine protected areas], recognizes their results “ashore” and encourages even more efficiency in ocean conservation. This award is dedicated to our employees, communities, partners and stakeholders who enable positive change, ”said Brijuni National Park Acting Director Marno Milotić.

Dr Lance Morgan, president of the Marine Conservation Institute, said they are pleased to see new areas marked Blue Park that will help accelerate protection of the most critical areas of our oceans. Brijuni National Park is a perfect example of an important and biologically diverse protection area, mainly because it contributes to resilience to climate change and protects several endangered species of turtles, marine mammals and important birds, a Morgan added.

With a long tradition of a particular area for the conservation of biological diversity, Brijuni is an essential and significant area for the Community within the Natura 2000 network.

The healthy ecosystems of Brijuni contain a rich marine world managed and supervised by many professionals and their partners. Therefore, the strategy of sustainable financing of MPAs is essential. As one of the few financially independent MPAs, Brijuni raises significant funds to implement nature conservation measures from visitor fees, tourism activities and visitor services.

“I look forward to sharing the story of this great new area with Blue Park status in cooperation with the managers who look after Brijuni. I hope it becomes a model for other MPAs around the world, ”said Dr Sarah Hameed, senior scientist and director of the Blue Parks program.

Brijuni National Park protects essential seagrass ecosystems, including one of the most extensive meadows of Posidonia on the west coast of Istria, an endemic algae species. Seagrasses support a high level of diversity in the marine world by providing food, shelter and habitat for many species of fish and invertebrates.

Migratory species on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, including loggerhead turtles, bottlenose dolphins and many birds, visit the region and use its rich resources. Seagrasses can prevent ocean acidification and sequester large amounts of carbon, thereby contributing to resilience to climate change.

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