Neretva Delta

{{Short description|Delta of the Neretva river in Croatia}}

{{Infobox river

| name = Neretva Delta

| other_name =

| image = Delta Neretvy zblizka - v sadech rostou citrusy, kiwi, fiky,.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| image_caption = Neretva Delta, near the estuary, Lower Neretva

| map = {{Infobox mapframe |id=}}

| pushpin_map = Croatia#Dinaric Alps

| pushpin_map_caption= Neretva Delta

| mouth_coordinates = {{Coord|43.01971|17.44523|type:landmark_region:HR|display=inline,title}}

}}

{{Designation list

| designation1 = Ramsar

| designation1_offname = Neretva River Delta

| designation1_date = 18 January 1993

| designation1_number = 585{{Cite web|title=Neretva River Delta|website=Ramsar Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/585|access-date=25 April 2018}}}}

File:Neretva-Ebene, Kroatien.JPG

File:Croatia agriculture-1.jpg terrain.]]

Neretva Delta is the river delta of the Neretva, a river that flows through Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia and empties in the Adriatic Sea. The delta is a unique landscape in southern Croatia,{{cite journal|pmc=2121601|title=The Neretva Delta: Green Pearl of Coastal Croatia|author=Jasmina Mužinić |journal=Croatian Medical Journal |year=2007 |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=127–129 }} and a wetland that is listed under the Ramsar Convention as internationally important, as the wetland extends into the Hutovo Blato in Herzegovina.{{cite web | title = Neretva Delta | url = http://archive.rec.org/REC/Programs/REREP/Biodiversity/neretva/Neretva.html | work = Transboundary Cooperation Through the Management of Shared Natural Resources | publisher = Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) | access-date = 2012-05-15 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100614011904/http://archive.rec.org/REC/Programs/REREP/Biodiversity/neretva/Neretva.html | archive-date = 2010-06-14 }}

The total alluvial area of the delta is estimated at around {{convert|19000|ha|sqmi|abbr=on}},{{cite journal | url = http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=119578 | language = hr | title = Numerical model of stratified flow – case study of the Neretva riverbed salination (2004) | first1 = Igor | last1 = Ljubenkov | first2 = Mijo | last2 = Vranješ | journal = Građevinar | issn = 0350-2465 | publisher = Croatian association of civil engineers | location = Zagreb | volume = 64 | number = 2 |date=April 2012 | page = 103 | access-date = 2012-05-15}} while today the delta takes up roughly {{convert|11490|ha|sqmi|abbr=on}}.{{cite web | url = http://www.geografija.hr/clanci/626/delta-neretve-od-mocvare-do-intenzivne-poljoprivrede | first = Bojan | last = Todorović | language = hr | title = Delta Neretve - od močvare do intenzivne poljoprivrede | date = 2005-04-28 | publisher = Hrvatsko geografsko društvo | quote = Meliorativne zone Donje Neretve sa brutto i netto površinom (u ha) [...] ERCEG, J., 2003.: Stanje hidromelioracijskih sustava na slivnom području Neretve-Donja Neretva, stručno-znanstveni skup- "Stanje i održivi razvoj hidromelioracijskih sustava u Hrvatskoj-Preduvjet razvoja poljoprivrede", 28. i 29. listopada 2003., Zagreb. | access-date = 2012-05-15 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100618074717/http://www.geografija.hr/clanci/626/delta-neretve-od-mocvare-do-intenzivne-poljoprivrede | archive-date = 2010-06-18 | url-status = dead }}

A total of {{convert|1620|ha|sqmi|abbr=on}} of the delta are designated protected areas:

• ornithological reserves: Prud, Orepak, Podgredom
• ornithological and ichthyological reserve at the river mouth
• protected landscape: lake Modro oko

An additional 1200 ha of nature in the delta is not protected.{{cite web | url = http://www.metkovic.hr/ornito/ | language = hr | title = Ornitološka zbirka | publisher = City of Metković Tourist Board | year = 2001 | access-date = 2012-05-15}} In 2003, the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning organized a public discussion about the proposal to make the delta a nature park.{{cite web | url = http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/delta-neretve-uskoro-postaje-parkom-prirode/125864.aspx | language = hr | title = Delta Neretve uskoro postaje parkom prirode | publisher = Index.hr | date = 2003-03-19 | access-date = 2012-05-16}} In 2007, the experts from the State Institute for Nature Protection made another formal proposal for the Neretva Delta to become a nature park.{{cite web | url = http://www.dzzp.hr/dokumenti_upload/20100602/dzzp201006021157000.pdf | language = hr | title = Delta Neretve kao park prirode | publisher = State Institute for Nature Protection (Croatia) |date=February 2008 | access-date = 2012-05-15}}{{cite web | url = http://www.dzzp.hr/eng/protected-areas/procedure-of-protecting-new-areas/baseline-study-for-permanent-protection-253.html | title = Baseline study for permanent protection | publisher = State Institute for Nature Protection (Croatia) | quote = Name of the area: Neretva Delta; Category: Nature park; Year of expert base proposal: 2007 | access-date = 2012-05-16}} A public discussion process was started but quickly terminated by the Ministry of Culture, allegedly because of protests from the local government.{{cite web | url = http://www.metkovic.hr/vijest.asp?vijest=1248 | language = hr | title = Misteriozno otkazano javno izlaganje | publisher = www.metkovic.hr | date = 2007-06-01 | access-date = 2012-05-15}}