Under the Danube-Black Sea Strategic Partnership Program-Nutrient
Reduction Investment Fund, the Government of Croatia has requested
and received $5 million assistance from the Global Environment Facility
(GEF) for an Agricultural Pollution Control Project (APCP) to implement
pilot actions for controlling nutrient discharge in the Danube River
Watershed. The GEF assistance is part of a larger $15 million World
Bank project aimed at supporting Croatia's efforts in protecting the
Danube Watershed from adverse agricultural practices.
The global environmental objective of the project is to reduce the
discharge of nutrients into surface and groundwater in watersheds
draining into the Danube River and Black Sea. The project will
implement priority actions identified in the Black Sea/Danube Strategic
Partnership - Nutrient Reduction Investment Fund, Black Sea Strategic
Action Plan, Danube River Strategic Action Plan and Danube River
Basin Pollution Reduction Program supported by GEF. The specific
project objective is to increase significantly the use of environmentally
friendly agricultural practices by farmers in Croatia’s Pannonian plain in
order to reduce nutrient discharge from agricultural sources to surface
and ground water bodies.