Prelog is a town in Međimurje County, northern Croatia, that is highly committed to sustainable development and environmental protection. The city actively promotes green initiatives and projects that improve the quality of life of its residents and position the community as a regional role model. Ljubomir Kolarek, the Mayor of Prelog, spoke to us about current projects and plans for the period ahead.
Q: The City of Prelog received a new city park this year. Could you tell us more about the importance and implementation of this project?
A: This is a significant step forward for the City of Prelog, and something we have been planning for a long time. At the same time, this is only the first phase of the project, as we will soon begin the expansion and additional landscaping in the southern part of Prelog. The total value of the project amounts to €625,200.45, of which €350,000 was co-financed by the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund from the budget of the Republic of Croatia. Guided by the principle “think globally, act locally,” the City of Prelog implemented a project to restore green infrastructure. The project, titled Prelog GoGreen II – City Park South – Phase I, includes landscaping part of the southern city park, namely the restoration of a 25,427 m² habitat degraded by the construction of the Dubrava Hydropower Plant reservoir, and the partial return of this area to nature. Habitat restoration includes the planting of green infrastructure, namely afforestation with native plant species (a total of 467 plants), as well as the development of walking paths throughout the park, complete with communal infrastructure such as benches and waste bins. The goal was to create new green areas within the urban space, with the aim of increasing tree canopy coverage in the urban area of the City of Prelog and strengthening resilience to anthropogenic impacts. A neglected, degraded site overrun with invasive species has been transformed into a landscaped green space that is intended to become the new lungs of the City of Prelog. It is important to emphasize that urban regeneration through afforestation with native plant species will also indirectly support the reproduction of animal populations, particularly pollinators.
The importance of restoring biodiversity in this area is further underscored by its location on the edge of the Natura 2000 network, the Mura–Drava Regional Park, and the Mura–Drava–Danube Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, which is protected by UNESCO. Through this investment, we have restored at least a small part of the former natural environment—the well-known Drava forests—since nature restoration and enabling the revival of biodiversity represent a fast and cost-effective solution for carbon absorption and storage.
IN FOCUS:
- Celebrating Five Years of Siemens Energy Serbia: Shaping the Energy Future of the Region
- A Fruitful Autumn in the World of Innovation – Building Materials Of the Future
- An Innovation Connecting Glassmaking Tradition and Sustainability
Q: Prelog has joined the international City Nature Challenge project, which encourages citizens to document biodiversity in their city. How do you view this initiative?
A: It is an outstanding achievement that we were also involved in this project. In Prelog, we established cooperation with the public institution Međimurje Nature and, most importantly for us, schools from our area also participated. The project aims to engage residents in observing and recording the nature that surrounds them and to improve their understanding of urban biodiversity. Through the City Park South project, we have already been educating the youngest generations about biodiversity. As part of the Prelog GoGreen II – City Park South – Phase I project, workshops for school-aged children were organized under the guidance of Međimurje Nature – the Public Institution for Nature Protection. The workshops included 3rd and 4th-grade students from the Prelog and Draškovec primary schools. During these workshops, children were introduced to the importance of trees and the conservation of biological diversity. In the workshop titled The Value of a Tree, students, through play and exploration, gained insights into the many benefits a tree provides throughout its life cycle—from germination to death—including its most important role for human life: the production of oxygen. The value of a tree does not end with its death, as it becomes a source of food, medicine, and building material. In this way, students come to understand the importance of city parks, as well as forest ecosystems in general, for the survival of humankind. Through the workshop Our Wild Neighbors, students learned about many inhabitants of city parks, including various bird species, hedgehogs, squirrels, stag beetles, and more, thereby experiencing parks as small oases of biodiversity. The goal of these workshops was to encourage children, through new knowledge and experiences, to actively engage in nature conservation.
Q: The first RE-USE Center in Croatia was established in Prelog. After eight years of operation, how do you assess its importance?
A: Today, we live in a consumer society that generates increasing amounts of waste every day, much of which ends up in the environment or at landfill sites, which are among the largest sources of environmental pollution. Landfilling should be the final step in proper waste management; however, in Croatia, it is unfortunately very often the first and most prevalent method of waste treatment. A major problem is bulky waste, such as furniture, footwear, and clothing, as well as consumer goods (household items, books, toys, children’s, and sports equipment), which are discarded and end up in landfills. A large portion of these items is still usable but requires repair, refurbishment, or renewal, after which they can be reused. A facility that collects, receives, and restores such products is called a CPU (Center for Re-Use). Our CPU has been operating since 2017 and consists of a workshop-storage area and an exhibition section. It is important to note that we cooperate with companies and associations such as Naš Izvor, which specializes in processing waste leather, and Humana Nova, which focuses on processing waste textiles.
Q: Prelog is a leader in sustainable waste management in Croatia and beyond. Which practices would you highlight as an example for other cities?
A: I must once again express my gratitude to everyone involved in our waste management system, as every component plays a vital role. This includes our citizens, the local self-government units participating in our system, and the employees of the municipal utility company Pre-kom d.o.o. Prelog.
Prelog, along with Mursko Središće, Buzet, Osijek, Slavonski Brod, Krk, Ludbreg, Koprivnica, Grubišno Polje, Križevci, Đurđevac, Varaždin, and Virovitica, are the only 13 cities in Croatia that managed to exceed a 50 percent rate of separately collected waste last year. Prelog remains the most advanced among them, having achieved a 67.8 percent rate in the previous year.
Interview by Jasna Dragojević
The interview was published in Energy portal Magazine RESPONSIBLE BUSINNES
