The second LIFE CROLIS Visibility Event was held on 10 December 2025 at the National and University Library in Zagreb for representatives of state administration, scientific and professional communities, and other interested members of the public.

On 10 December 2025, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition held the Second Presentation of the LIFE CROLIS project (Visibility Event), a key project for the establishment of the National Land Information System (CROLIS). The event took place at the National and University Library in Zagreb (Tena Hall, 4 Hrvatske bratske zajednice Street, CroAtrium entrance), from 10:00 to 14:30, and brought together representatives of the Croatian Parliament, the European Court of Auditors, the European Commission, state institutions, project partners, as well as domestic and international experts from various scientific fields working in land monitoring, forestry, agriculture, biology, ecology, mathematics, and related disciplines.

The LIFE CROLIS project, launched in October 2020, represents a significant step forward in strengthening the capacities of the Republic of Croatia to meet its obligations under European climate policies, particularly in the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector. The system enables high-quality and transparent reporting on carbon emissions and removals, in line with international and European requirements for higher levels of reporting.

On behalf of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, Mario Stipetić, Director of the Directorate for Climate Transition, opened the event with a welcome address. “Dear ladies and gentlemen, esteemed Member of Parliament, representatives of institutions, partners and members of the media, welcome to today’s Second Presentation of the LIFE CROLIS project, through which we are establishing the national land information system. The progress achieved in the delivery of this project represents an important step in strengthening the capacities of the Republic of Croatia to fulfil its obligations under European climate policies in the LULUCF sector,” said Mr Stipetić. He concluded: “We wish you a successful continuation of today’s presentation of the results achieved so far in the LIFE CROLIS project, with the hope that in 2027 we will be able to present a fully functional and sustainable National Land Information System – CROLIS.”

Mr Petar Šimić, Member of the Croatian Parliament, delivered an inspiring address on behalf of the President of the Croatian Parliament, Mr Gordan Jandroković, and the Chairwoman of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Ms Marijana Petir. He highlighted the importance of the LIFE CROLIS project as a tool for strategic planning of national policies, with particular emphasis on agriculture and the revitalisation of rural areas.

Ms Florence Fornaroli, Principal Manager at the European Court of Auditors, presented the findings of the Special Report (18/2023) on achieving the objectives of EU energy and climate policy, from the perspective of the multiannual financial framework and the results achieved. This topic is particularly relevant at a time when the EU’s climate target for 2040 has been agreed, when the Multiannual Financial Framework for the period 2028–2034 is being shaped, and when new policies, strategic documents and legislative proposals are being analysed and developed to ensure the achievement of that target and climate neutrality by 2050. Therefore, the observations of the Court of Auditors are extremely valuable in ensuring that European taxpayers’ money is spent wisely and in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and “value for money”.

Mr Jurij Krajčič from the Directorate-General for Climate Action of the European Commission gave a presentation on new policy updates in the land use, land planning and monitoring sector. Following the recently adopted legislative package, Mr Krajčič presented the current state and the role of the LULUCF sector in achieving European climate policy, as well as the important role of accurate land use data in the Common Agricultural Policy and climate policy – particularly the need for a comprehensive tool for planning and monitoring in the land use sector. The project results not only contribute to fulfilling legal obligations but also strengthen the scientific and expert base for decision-making in the field of climate policy. He particularly emphasised the importance of developing tools such as CROLIS for carbon removal certification, as well as for the implementation of future EU policies.

In addition to the presentations on the legislative framework and the current status of the project delivered by Ms Višnja Grgasović and Mr Domagoj Stjepan Krnjak, the lecture by Delfa Radoš was particularly well received. She presented CROLIS as a tool for the strategic planning of the development of the Republic of Croatia.

During the event, project partners presented the results achieved so far, including the development of a methodology for creating a historical time series of land cover data from 1968 to the present day. The work on the historical LULUCF period within the LIFE CROLIS project and its significance as a major step in the overall project implementation were presented by Marina Kukavica from EKONERG and Prof. Dr. Vanja Wagner from the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb.

Mr Tomislav Ciceli explained in his presentation the possibilities for applying the project results, such as the normalised digital surface model created on the basis of LiDAR scanning of the entire territory of the Republic of Croatia.

Mr Mladen Majcen from the Agency for Payments in Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development presented a comparative overview of the similarities and differences between the ARKOD and ARKOD+ systems, while Mr Goran Kovač presented the work of Croatian Forests on data collection and processing, the development of methodologies, and the implementation of tools for reliable reporting. He also presented preliminary data from the new Forest Management Plan for the period 2026–2035 and reported on observed trends in changes in forest and forest land areas.

In his concluding remarks, Mr Geoffrey Smith from Specto Natura Ltd, as a representative of the members of the project’s Advisory Board, provided a summary of its work to date.

On this occasion, we would like to thank all partners and collaborators for their contribution to this important project, which contributes to the achievement of the goal of establishing a unique and multipurpose system for monitoring land use and land cover in Croatia.

About the LIFE CROLIS project: LIFE CROLIS is a project co-financed by the EU LIFE Programme aimed at developing a national land information system that supports climate goals and sustainable resource management in Croatia. More information is available at www.lifecrolis.hr.

To date, the project has resulted in several expert papers presented at conferences on land monitoring in Croatia and the European Union, which can be downloaded from the project website.

A short press release about the presentation was published on the website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition.

Photos from the project presentation can be downloaded from our Facebook page here.

The presentations held can be downloaded here.

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