Special Zoological Reserve Varoški lug is located southeast of Vrbovec along the watercourse of the river Glogovnica. It hosts old stands of Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) and Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), home to almost all representatives of Central European fauna. It is furthermore of special value as the habitat of the Black stork (Ciconia nigra) and the White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla).
Varoški lug was declared a Special Zoological Reserve in 1982.
At that time, the Proposal Program for the protection and improvement of the Special Zoological Reserve was drawn up, and it includes the following measures: protection of water regime, protection of forest vegetation and animal species, protection of the reserve and scientific research in the reserve. Most of the forest is managed by Croatian Forestry Ltd (Hrvatske šume d.o.o.).
Special Zoological Reserve Varoški lug spans 811 ha.
Despite the forests of the reserve being under the special protection regime of Natura 2000, the State company Hrvatske šume d.o.o. has logged 290.5 hectares from 2009 to 2020, which amounts to over 30% of protected forest reserve!
During 2019, we visited the entire area of the Reserve and recorded and mapped the observed devastation of entire sections managed by Croatian Forests Ltd. At the end of 2020, we received a shocking aerial shot from our activists, which undoubtedly evokes the beginning of the complete clear-cut of another section. Just a few weeks later we received another aerial shot in which we noticed that in just a few weeks the entire forest of the 26-acre section had been completely clear-cut.
After reviewing the collected documents and recordings about this, we immediately informed the European Commission, but also the MEP and Co-chair of the European Greens Thomas Waitz, who immediately after our personal report visited the devastated area of Varoški Lug.
During this visit, he confirmed the veracity of the Green Squad’s claims regarding the alarming deforestation in the Republic of Croatia, including forests under the special protection of Natura 2000.
In addition to visiting the Special Ornithological Reserve Crna Mlaka and the devastated large forest areas of Mount Bilogora, Waitz also included the devastation of the Varoški Lug Zoo Reserve in an official complaint he formally sent to the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries.
The management plans under which the state-owned company Croatian Forests Ltd. has been conducting ecocide in the Special Zoological Reserve Varoški Lug for years have been approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, as well as the Forestry Inspection of the State Inspectorate of the Republic of Croatia.
For a more detailed analysis of deforestation, see HERE.
