Josip Movčan (February 9, 1924 – June 30, 2016) was a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

forester A forester is a person who practises forest management and forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Fores ...

best known for his long-time involvement with the

Plitvice Lakes National Park Plitvice Lakes National Park (, colloquially ''Plitvice'', ) is one of the oldest and largest national parks in Croatia. In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, for its outstanding and picturesque se ...

. Movčan was born in

Čakovec Čakovec (; ; ; ) is a city in Northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital, and close to the borders with Slovenia and Hungary. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmo ...

. He studied forestry at the

University of Sopron The main campus of the University of Sopron (, abbreviated SOE) is located in Sopron, Hungary. The school traces its roots to 1735.

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, Department of Forestry. Later he graduated at the Zagreb University, Department of Forestry. He specialised in exterior design, landscape planning and completed the course with honors. During 33 years he spent working in the

he was creating his attitudes towards the key problems in National Park; He carried out the project "modern system of organized visiting". He was constantly putting effort on behalf of creative and active protection. He was intensively involved in international events; twice organised European Conference of National Parks on Plitvice Lakes; three times a member of the Board of European National Parks Federation, a member of the National Parks World Committee (CNPPA -

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

). He held a report at the World Congress in Bali which was later issued by the

Royal Swedish Academy of Science The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting natural sciences and mathem ...

. In 1983 Movčan was elected vice-chairman of the

EUROPARC Federation The EUROPARC Federation, formally known as the Federation of Nature and National Parks of Europe, is an independent, non-governmental organisation which aims to work with national parks across Europe in enhancing protection. Founded in 1973 in Bas ...

. He stayed at the Plitvice Lakes National Park as the Protection and Planning Manager until 1991 when he was sent into exile and later retired. From 1992 to 1994 he was at NP "

Hohe Tauern The High Tauern ( pl.; , ) are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of Salzburg, Carinthia and East Tyr ...

" in Austria where he was working on the Management Plan. Movčan has received the following international awards: *Van-Tienhoven European Award, Bonn 1983 * Fred M. Packard Award, IUCN / Switzerland 1987 * Global 500, Rio de Janeiro 1992 *Primula d'oro /Uomo e Natura/ Napoli, Italia 1995

References

1924 births 2016 deaths Croatian foresters Croatian environmentalists People from Čakovec History of agriculture in Croatia {{forester-stub