
Special reserve of forest vegetation Lokrum island and Trsteno Arboretum of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts are located in the area of the City of Dubrovnik, which is attractive to tourists and records a continuous growth with an increase in the total number of visitors to both locations. This project connects the Lokrum Reserve with the Trsteno Arboretum in a new tourist product called the Historical Gardens of the Dubrovnik Area
The project ‘Historical Gardens of the Dubrovnik Area’ is a three-year project launched on 1 December 2018. It was applied for and accepted in a restricted grant procedure for the PROMOTION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL HERITAGE and co-financed by the Operational Program ‘Competitiveness and Cohesion’ for the period 2014-2020 of the European Regional Development Fund.
The beneficiary of this project is the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts with project partners: Public Institution Lokrum Reserve, Tourist Board of the City of Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik ART Association without Borders. At the level of all partners, the project is worth a total of HRK 18,289,422.37, with approved grants in the amount of HRK 10,932,344.70, which is 70 percent of the total eligible costs, which amount to HRK 15,665,291.44.
Project funds were used for renovation of the Pojate building at the Trsteno Arboretum in which Center for Education and Multimedia Presentation is located. Advanced system for monitoring environmental components was introduced at 6 micro-locations on the island of Lokrum. They include sensors for air quality, sea quality and smoke detection. They are connected to an information and presentation panel that displays basic information for visitors which included values of the island and current sea and air temperatures. Also, one sensor was installed to monitor the number of visitors with the aim of efficient use and management of protected area. Smart compactor for separate waste collection were installed at ten different locations on the island of Lokrum. Informative and presentation panels were installed on two locations at the Trsteno Arboretum, which show interpretative values of Arboretum. Thematic-educational trail has been established in the historic olive grove, workshops are going to be organized for six target groups at both locations, thus seeking to integrate areas into the life of local community as places of socializing, learning and relaxation. The project included the development of marketing and communication strategy and the branding plan for new tourist destination with development of souvenir prototypes for both protected parts of nature. The project included the development of the main project for construction of cable sewerage and optical network on the island of Lokrum.
The project contributes to creating new experiences for visitors and raising their awareness of the need and importance of biodiversity conservation and nature protection, and using modern technologies of interpretation and monitoring of environmental components enables cooperation with domestic and foreign scientific institutions and additionally responds to the contemporary demands of visitors for new experiences of natural heritage.