The Public Institute of Krka National Park, as manager of the protected area of Krka National Park,
has ordered the drafting of a Safety Study for the park area, and in accordance with the accepted bid (CLASS: 480-08/18-20/07, REG NO: 16-18-6 of 5 September 2018) concluded the contract with the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, Šibenik station (CMRS).
The service contracting procedure was carried out in line with the contract awarding a grant for the project “Unknown Krka – hidden jewels of the upper and central course of the Krka River” (KK 06.1.2.01.0003) within the framework for the Call for project proposals for Promoting the sustainable use of natural heritage in national parks and nature parks, Operation Programme for Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014–2020. This project was co-financed by the European Union from the European Fund for Regional Development.
The Safety Study in Krka National Park, including the edge areas of the park, was drafted with the aim of preventing risks on walking trails and maximally securing and protecting visitors, and also those persons entrusted with protecting the values of a certain locality. The document includes predicting risk elements on marked trails and surrounding trails, necessary prevention measures, eliminating possible risks, and defining behaviour patterns in the case of an accident.
Given the significant visitation of Krka National Park, it was necessary to conduct an analysis and assess the safety level of walking trails and other visitor infrastructure, in order to avoid or minimize the possibilities of accidents in the park area. During the safety analysis of walking trails and visitor infrastructure, both subjective and objective factors that impact visitor safety were considered.
In addition to the expert assessment by CMRS, the opinions and experience of rangers at Krka National Park and the local population were also taken into consideration. The information and recommendations received served for a more realistic and detailed assessment of the state of safety in the park. The study also analysed the development of trails of particular interest, and the overall passability of walking and technical trails, with the aim of connecting them and creating new tourism programmes that can be implemented safely.
The Croatian Mountain Rescue Service is a national, vertically organised, volunteer, expert and humanitarian society of public significance, and its fundamental objectives are accident prevention, rescue training, rescue and first aid in the mountains and other inaccessible areas and in extraordinary circumstances, where rescue and first aid require special expert knowledge and technical equipment. The organisation is dedicated to protecting human life, health and property. CMRS is the only national services of its kind, and it is made up of local mountain rescue stations, each with its own organisation. CMRS performs activities of interest for the Republic of Croatia. The expert knowledge and experience in search and rescue of the CMRS members forms the basis for the drafting of this study.
