Rural Area Transformation: From Cropland to Mine Fields – Zemunik Donji Municipality (Croatia) Case Study
Rural Area Transformation: From Cropland to Mine Fields – Zemunik Donji Municipality (Croatia) Case Study

Summary/Abstract: This paper analyses socio-economic and land use changes in the Zemunik Donji Municipality of the Republic of Croatia during the 19th and 20th centuries. It also provides an overview of the current suspected landmine areas and civilian casualties in this region and the influence of landmines on population numbers. The Zemunik Donji Municipality is an integral part of Ravni kotari, one of the most important agricultural regions in Coastal Croatia. Throughout history, people living in this region were mostly engaged in agriculture (both cropping and pastoral activities), through which they achieved prosperity. In spite of extensive processes of depopulation and abandonment of cultivated land during the second half of the 20th century in this and other parts of Coastal Croatia, the landscape of the Zemunik area has retained the characteristics of an agricultural region. As a result of the recent Croatian War of Independence, considerable change has occurred within the Municipality with abandonment of agricultural land, and fertile fields becoming landmine fields to pose a major obstacle to economic activity.

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