Eko-Gajna: community grazing, champions of sustainable food production and nature conservationArticle by Iris Beneš
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What is Gajna?
A typical Slavonian floodplain pasture enriched with wetland flora and fauna, located east of Slavonski Brod in the municipality of Oprisavci, Croatia.
A significant landscape since 1990 and part of the European ecological network (Natura 2000).
A Special Protection Area (SPA) for birds and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) for species and habitat types.
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The place where the first Grazing Community in Croatia was established for the joint management of the pasture.
The place of preserved traditional architecture (wooden barn, guardian tower, well, “Stan na Gajni”), traditional grazing practices, and a refuge for Croatian native breeds of domestic animals.
An exceptional blend of cultural and natural heritage in a landscape where grazing is a crucial ecological process for maintaining biodiversity by controlling invasive plant species.
Gajna is traditionally common land which the State formally took from villages in 1954. After the 1990’s it was State owned agricultural land, and formal lease was not possible due to the complexity of governance. First lease in 2015, in 2019, status changes again and it becomes Public Water Body. People from the village graze here undisturbed for the whole time but legal issues prevented them to secure their tenure.
Without human intervention biodiversity and carbon storage would decrease
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We often talk about the untouched nature, but habitats like this if left untouched, would soon be overgrown with invasive species and weeds that spread through flooding. When the encroachment of invasive species happens, the retention capacity is reduced, diminishing Gajna’s important role in flood protection for other areas. Invasive alien species cause not only ecological but also economic damage and negatively affect human health. A healthy and balanced wetland habitat is extremely important in carbon storage and, by extension, in the fight against climate change. Without a healthy habitat, pollinators that feed here, fish that spawn here, and birds that feed here would all be endangered.
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Grassroot NGO Brod Ecological Society-BED
Grassroot NGO Brod Ecological Society-BED initiated the declaration of protection in 1990, and the association was entrusted with the oversight of the measures and conditions for nature protection in the protection declaration act. The supervision was taken over by the Public Institution Natura Slavonica since its establishment in 2006.
Brod Ecological Society-BED was founded on May 19, 1989, in Slavonski Brod, one of the few civil society organizations in Croatia that has been active since. For the first 20 years, working exclusively on a voluntary basis, in the last 15, with small project team supported with broad base of members and volunteers.
BED is one of the founders and members of the Grazing Community of the Veterans’ Cooperative Eko-Gajna, alongside 16 family farms from the local community. The management program of this cooperative has included nature protection measures and conditions since 2012, and such specific restrictions are also present in the Lease agreement for Gajna as a public water body and in the Concession approval granted by the Public Institution Natura Slavonica. The combination of grazing, mechanical removal, and cattle trampling is the only way to keep invasive species under control, as species spreading through flooding cannot be eradicated in floodplain areas. The High Nature Value Grassland has its strict rules by which Gajna has been managed since 2019. The ability to share resources, such as pastures or water, is key to the resilience of agricultural systems and communities. Thanks to BED’s efforts, Gajna is currently the only place in Croatia that has preserved the traditional common pasture model and adapted this management to the existing legal framework. The legal battle fought by BED to regulate the status and eligibility for subsidies, in collaboration with the relevant authorities, lasted nearly a decade. Without BED, there would have been no possibility for collective lease of agricultural land in the State Agricultural Land Act.
Collaboration councils for protected areas
Collaboration councils for protected areas are not mandatory but rather recommended mechanisms, and only a few protected areas in Croatia have established such advisory and participatory bodies. Gajna is a common pasture, but also a public water resource, agricultural land, a protected area, national border area, so a body serving as communication among all sectors is essential to finding a balance. BED promotes synergy, interconnectedness, and constant communication among all involved actors, despite differing interests and agendas, because this is the only way to reconcile differences toward the ultimate goal – preserving natural and cultural heritage for future generations. The founder of the Collaboration Council is the Public Institution for the Management of Protected Nature Areas of the Brod-Posavina County – Natura Slavonica, with initiative and in cooperation with BED. The members of the Gajna Significant Landscape Collaboration Council are representatives from various institutions, associations, educational institutions, state agencies, the private sector, and individual farms linked to Gajna.
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Further information
A study on Croatia can be found here.
From the perspective of governing the commons you can read this study on the Commons in South East Europe
A Bi-lingual brochure showing natural and cultural heritage on Gajna can be found here.
News on Gajna can be followed on social media of Brod Ecological Society-BED website, or via email bed@bed.hr
Facebook: BED Brodsko ekološko društvo
Instagram: BED Brod Ecological Society
