The coastal areas of Croatia have been in the process of transformation for more than three decades. Their social, recreational, and economic function is often not in the function of regional and local development. A special problem is buildings, often empty, unused, and left to devastation as an example of the complexity of the conversion process. Coastal areas in the Croatian part of the Adriatic are characterized by a very mild climate, attractiveness, and investment potential. These are features that enable development but at the same time represent a trap of transitional and post-transitional growth, with intensive exploitation, concreting and development. This brings negative development effects in the long run and loses its developmental meaning. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the social opportunities and economic strength of the devastated coastal area with special reference to former military areas. The aim of this paper is to determine the possibilities of protection against increasingly aggressive exploitation of space and capital construction, which results in the destruction of the environment. The special goal is to determine the development scenario of revaluation of space and real estate that is predominantly owned by state on the case study of the city of Pula.

Since the European Commission launched the Circular Economy Package in December 2015 named “Closing the loop: EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy”, many changes are expected both in European Union economy as well as in the Member States’ national economies. Due to new Package, a transposition of legislation is required as well as adjusting the business climate and citizens’ habits in order to fully implement the Package and experience the benefits of Circular Economy in Europe. The transition to a new economy pattern Commission perceived as essential due to new economic, global and environmental challenges. Assessing the waste management, the data showed that some member states already recycle almost 80 % of waste, while others are far away from achieving the Europe 2020 Strategy goals, including Croatia. The Circular Economy Package is nowadays part of EU Green Deal, one of the highest ranked strategic documents, which emphasizes the need for efficient use of resources by transition to the clean circular economy approach as well as to renew the biodiversity and to decrease the pollution. The authors analyse legislative framework and trends in green economy, with special attention on Croatia, and Primorje-Gorski Kotar county. This paper emphasizes the significance of the Circular Economy and its benefits and present the policy implementation capacities on the national and regional level to implement the circular approach to economic process.

The development, implementation and organization of a comprehensive waste managing system on the Adriatic islands is an important economic and political issue. Iti s an extremely powerful factor in the quality of life. The waste managing system on the islands is characterized by complexity and cannot be classified as a classic utility service, taking into account primarily the limited space. Environmental protection is dependent on waste managing. In Croatia, the specificity of the problem is the strong seasonality as a consequence of the growth of the tourism sector. There are organizational problems due to noncompliance with the waste management strategy and plan at the state level. The authors research obstacles, analyses specifics, and waste managing solutions on islands. The purpose of this paper is to define all processes and stakeholders in waste managing, to determine and to analyse the existing situation. The aim of this paper is to propose solutions in order to achieve the most efficient and effective waste disposal. A special goal of the paper is to determine the economic and environmental benefits of waste recycling on the example of the island of Lošinj, in relation to the current model of transport to the County Main Recycling Plant.

The paper presents the legislation of Croatia and the EU on the prevention of sea water pollution by wastewater from boats, yachts and other smaller vessels. The authors analyse the key legal determinants and explain their impact on the pollution caused by the discharge of wastewater from boats, yachts and other smaller vessels. The specifics of the Adriatic Sea with regard to potential pollution are determined and the previous experiences and effects on the environment are explained. It’s a fact that the national legislation is not effective enough in matters of marine environmental protection, which is why the authors propose changes and qualitative solutions. A review of previous research has shown that there are appropriate solutions and interest from boaters in terms of using appropriate receiving stations for the reception of wastewater from vessels and boats. A SWOT analysis was made where the strengths and opportunities for the establishment of an appropriate system of receiving stations were identified.