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Cattle breeders from Kijevo, Ježević and Civljane join Dinara back to LIFE project

Six cattle breeders from Kijevo, Ježević, and Civljane joined the Dinara back to LIFE project and will help us achieve the project goals through sustainable cattle breeding. Local farmers will contribute to the restoration of grasslands by regular grazing, and in order to get the best results, cattle breeders will do so with mixed herds. Dinara back to LIFE project will financially support livestock farmers in purchasing new livestock.

Dinara back to LIFE project aims to restore the grasslands on Dinara and to encourage sustainable use of grasslands. In the first two years of the project, the grasslands were restored by controlled burning and manual removal of overgrown vegetation. Since the beginning of this year, local cattle breeders with their livestock are participating in the restoration, introducing grazing as a restoration activity of the project.

Overgrowing of grasslands has long been a problem with many causes, the most significant of which are the departure of the population and the abandonment of activities such as cattle breeding. In addition, the complicated administrative process conserning the lease of grasslands make it even more difficult for those who want to work and lease grasslands in new areas. It often goes unnoticed, but cattle breeding is important not only because it feeds people, but also because those who still live on the Dinara and are engaged in animal husbandry, naturally contribute to the preservation of nature and biodiversity.

Through cooperation with livestock breeders, we at the project team want to promote not only livestock farming as a good business opportunity in the Dinara area, but also the way in which livestock farming can be made even better for pasture maintenance! Each animal grazes in its unique way, which means that certain animals eat some plants while bypassing the others. When there are herds on grasslands that consist of just one type of livestock, these grasslands are overgrown with plants this type of livestock avoids and does not eat. At the moment, grasslands lack animals such as donkeys and mules, present throughout history on Dinara, which also graze the types of plants that sheep and cows avoid.

Signing of contracts

Dinara back to LIFE project has earmarked €30,000 for cooperation with local farmers. The task of local cattle breeders will be to regularly conduct grazing of areas that are being restored by the project, using mixed herds that will include new Equidae. Funds provided by the project will financially help cattle breeders to purchase new livestock. The project team will monitor the impact grazing will have on keeping the grasslands from being overgrown as well as on the nesting of target bird species that depend on dry grasslands.

The cooperation of six cattle breeders from Kijevo, Civljane and Vrlika with Dinara back to LIFE project began last week with signing of contracts by which the project provides financial support to livestock breeders. For their part, the cattle breeders will conduct grazing in accordance to the idea of maintaining the habitat for project bird species. In addition to the project team and livestock signatories to the contract, the signing ceremony was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, the Mayor of Kijevo County and representatives of the City of Vrlika. Through-out the project, it is planed to sign five more contracts with cattle breeders and to assign electric shepherds. In order to comply with the recommended measures of the Civil Protection Headquarters, the event was closed for public, and the project team hopes that the circumstances will allow the next signing of the contract to be marked by a public event and joint celebration of new cooperation and opportunities.

This cooperation aims to motivate other cattle breeders to adapt their herds so that the impact of their grazing on the preservation of grasslands is as big as possible. The pre-condition for this cooperation is that the cattle breeders have their own grasslands or leased grasslands in the area that are important for the project to preserve the population of the target bird species.

Project name on a halter

This cooperation aims to motivate other cattle breeders to adapt their herds so that the impact of their grazing on the preservation of grasslands is as big as possible. The pre-condition for this cooperation is that the cattle breeders have their own grasslands or leased grasslands in the area that are important for the project to preserve the population of the target bird species.

All interested are invited to get information or get involved in the project at DinarabacktoLIFE@gmail.com.