CHARTER "GIFT TO THE EARTH" HANDED TO CROATIAN PRESIDENT MESIC

ZAGREB, June 5 (Hina) - The charter "Gift to the Earth", which the international organisation World Wild Fund (WWF) awarded to the Croatian national park of Northern Velebit, was on Tuesday officially handed to Croatian President Stjepan Mesic and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Zoning. The director of the WWF Mediterranean programme, Paolo Lombardi, who attended today's ceremony, organised on the occasion of Earth Day, thanked the Croatian government for recognising the importance of the programme and joining, together with the Green Action (Zelena Akcija), a campaign for the protection of Mt. Velebit's biological diversity. The charter makes Mt. Velebit part of a group of 60 other areas in the world which are included in this programme. The WWF has pledged to launch a plan of long-term protection of environment and sustainable development on Mt. Velebit and enable local residents to make income. The organisation will provide expert and financial assistance for the protection of species and eco systems and enable eco programmes to access international funding sources. Mt. Velebit is home to some of the best woodland habitats, with great diversity of subspecies, of which some are very rare, such as the Alpine subspecies of black pine, and is exceptionally rich in plant species - some 2,700, of which 78 are endemic. (hina) sb rml