BAY OF BAKAR 
Lidija Semak 
University of Zagreb, Geodetic Faculty 
Kaciceva 26 
HR-10 000 Zagreb 
Croatia 
Commision IV, Working Group 6 
KEY WORDS: 
ABSTRACT 
Environment, Pollution, Design, Database, GIS 
The paper emphasizes results of working at the project which deals with the environmental geographical information 
system for the area of the Bay of Bakar, Croatia. The Bay of Bakar is one of the most polluted area in Republic of Croatia, 
as a result of uncontrolled industrialisation in the period after the Second World War. Semantic model of environmental 
GIS with respect to natural, geographic and socio-economic characteristics, as well as cultural an 
area is projected. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
The study region is the Bay of Bakar, Croatia. This region 
was chosen because it has a very complex situation from 
the aspect of solution of the environmental protection 
problems. Regarding its natural properties, the Bay of 
Bakar is one of the most picturesque bays at the North 
Adriatic Coast. It belongs to the area of Kvarner 
acquatorium, but there is also one part of the Bay of Rijeka 
involved. Being the monument of the first category of 
protection, a true beauty of nature, with cultural and historic 
heritage, today is one of two worst polluted and 
endangered areas in the Republic of Croatia, wich has 
been caused by uncontrolled industrial development in 60's 
and 70's. 
Bakar, a free royal town and a port, whose history reaches 
as far as the Roman times, when the area of today's 
Bakar was the site of the town Volcer, was cultural, political 
and economical center of Croatia during the centuries. In 
the Middle Ages Bakar was a very important town and 
county district. The 17" century brought the revival of the 
trade dealing with specialized export of iron goods, and 
significant maritime and shipbuilding development. In the 
18" and 19" centuries it was the biggest Croatian town 
and harbour. It used to have even more inhabitants than 
Zagreb and Rijeka together. 
The devastation of the Bay of Bakar started at the middle 
1970's. The depth of the sea has predetermined the usage 
of the area for special harbour activities, because it is 
possible to moor the ships of deep draught. The creation of 
modern harbour equipment for the manipulation with the 
Scattered cargo, has initiated the devastation and 
degradation of the Bay area regarding the spatial aspect, 
as well as the ecological and historical aspect. 
763 
d historical heritage of the 
After establishing the harbour position, the idea about the 
incorporating  paleo-industry into the Bay of Bakar was 
developed gradually, and then the coke plant was built. 
Industrial development brought new industrial equipments 
of “black industry’ and new pollutants into this area which 
has extremely valuable natural characteristics, traditional 
urban and historical properties. 
Today, Bay of Bakar is a typical industrial area with 
exclusively classical industrial ^ structure, which has 
relatively low technology and market flexibility and 
adaptability - production of petroleum products, coke 
industry, thermo-electric power plant, transshipment 
service ( harbour ) and production of chemicals. Besides 
permanently present sources of pollution, resulting from 
technological processes, there is a constant potentiality of 
accident with disastrous effects for people and environment 
( explosion, poisoning ). 
Bad impact of air and sea pollution on human health and 
complete life in this extremely polluted district is evident. 
INA Refinery, Coke Plant and Thermo-electric Power Plant, 
the biggest pollutants, transmit over 50 different 
substances which are dangerous for people and health and 
nature, and caused emigration of autochtonous population. 
Changes in demographic structure, air and soil pollution, 
pollution of the water and sea, noise of the factory 
ventilators, visual pollution and radio-active radiation which 
also caused specific poor state of respiratory system health 
of local population, are the reason why market price of real 
estates decreased drastically and the residential fond is 
almost ruined. Objects of architectural worth are 
abandoned and exposed to decay. 
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B4. Vienna 1996