Bonn, 27 May 2025 - From late-night bat surveys in Croatia to engaging in wildlife policy within the European Union, ecologist Zrinka Domazetović has spent the past two decades proving that conservation is as much about diplomacy as biology.

Less than a year ago, Zrinka took the helm of EUROBATS, the world’s only treaty devoted solely to bats, bringing with her a résumé that spans heading Croatia’s biodiversity service, leading delegations at CITES and the Bern Convention, and chairing the most recent EUROBATS Meeting of the Parties.

Now, as wind farm booms, geopolitical tremors and pandemic-fuelled myths impact Europe’s 55 bat species, Zrinka’s blend of field know-how and policy experience is set to steer the agreement through a critical period.

Read on to discover Zrinka's vision for EUROBATS and the future of bat conservation in Europe.

With over 20 years of experience in biodiversity conservation policy, what initially inspired you to pursue this field, and how has your journey led you to the role of Executive Secretary at EUROBATS?

Looking back on my professional career, it feels as though the pieces simply fell into place. Ever since late primary school I had planned to study biology, so I chose to attend university in Croatia’s capital, where I earned a master’s in ecology. While there, I became active in the biology students’ association, carrying out field research on bats and leading bat-conservation projects in protected areas—experiences that shaped the rest of my career.

Before joining EUROBATS, I spent almost twenty years at the Croatian ministry responsible for nature conservation. During that period, I realised that biodiversity protection is as much about people and relationships as it is about species and habitats. Whether at the local level or on the international stage, successful conservation depends on open communication, an understanding of different perspectives, cooperation, adaptability and, when necessary, compromise.

To keep the “real biologist” in me happy, I stayed active in bat conservation, devoting evenings and weekends to field research and public-awareness work. One advantage of studying bats is that, being nocturnal, they fit perfectly as an after-work activity. EUROBATS now brings my two passions together, and along with the team, we aim to advance both bat conservation and broader biodiversity goals.

Having recently assumed this position, how would you encapsulate the mission and significance of the EUROBATS Agreement?

Since the Agreement entered into force in 1994, EUROBATS has expanded to 39 Parties drawn from 63 range states across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Its purpose is to safeguard all 55 European bat species through legislation, education, targeted conservation measures and international cooperation, both with existing Parties and with states that have yet to accede.

Resolutions and guidance documents adopted by the parties cover the most important challenges in the conservation of bats and their habitats, such as managing the underground and above-ground sites they use for hibernation and as maternity colonies, forest management, traffic infrastructure projects, wind turbines, and light pollution. The resolutions also cover insulation and lining materials that can endanger bat colonies in buildings, bat rescue and rehabilitation, and other related issues. Although the resolutions are only formally binding on EUROBATS Parties, they also set standards for non-party range states, infrastructure and development-financing institutions, protected-area managers, species-conservation experts, policy advisers and developers.

As the only international treaty devoted exclusively to bats, EUROBATS sets the benchmark for bat conservation not just in Europe but worldwide. For example, experts from the Secretariat and Advisory Committee have presented the EUROBATS guidelines on bat-friendly wind-farm projects to colleagues in Australia and New Zealand. It is encouraging to see standards that formally bind the Parties exerting an informal influence far beyond Europe.

Brown long-eared bat © Martin Janča  Dreamstime.com

What do you see as the most pressing challenges currently facing bat conservation in Europe, and how does EUROBATS plan to address them?

The evolving geopolitical and financial landscape, both in Europe and worldwide, is drawing attention and resources away from biodiversity protection. This shift poses fresh challenges for future bat-conservation work. To meet them, the EUROBATS Secretariat will deepen cooperation with other multilateral environmental agreements, make the most of the resources already available and better demonstrate the value of bats and the ecosystem services they provide. Since its earliest days, the EUROBATS community has thrived on collaboration and the enthusiasm of its members, and we will rely on that same spirit to guide bat conservation through these demanding times.

One pressing challenge, intensified by Europe’s current geopolitical situation, is the surge in wind-energy development, particularly offshore, as part of the green transition and amid uncertainty over traditional energy supplies. Lengthy impact-assessment surveys and permitting procedures for onshore farms are sometimes viewed as obstacles. Yet, surveys for offshore wind turbines’ pre- and post-construction impacts on bat populations are even more complex than onshore assessments. To ensure wind-farm development does not harm bats, EUROBATS is updating its guidelines to address offshore turbines in greater depth and to outline clear avoidance and mitigation measures to reduce the impacts on bat species that forage and migrate at sea.

How important is public awareness and education to the success of bat conservation efforts, and what strategies do you envision to enhance it?

Although bats are still widely misunderstood and often regarded as unattractive or frightening, public awareness and education are vital to successful conservation. Their image has improved as people learn how each species contributes to complex ecosystems and how the loss of single species can have a detrimental impact on the whole ecosystem. Recognition is also growing of the services bats provide, as natural controllers of mosquitoes and crop pests, as pollinators and as seed dispersers. Yet the Covid-19 pandemic showed how damaging misinformation can be: sensational or inaccurate reports about the virus’s origins prompted unjustified bat culls in parts of Africa, Asia and South America.

Raising awareness on the importance of bats to ecosystems and promoting positive sentiments towards bats, as well as preventing the erroneous or misleading information that can endanger bat populations is at the heart of the EUROBATS community’s work. Since 1997, Parties and non-party range states have celebrated International Bat Night on the last full weekend of August with presentations, exhibitions, workshops and evening bat walks, often letting visitors “hear” bats through ultrasound detectors. These events spotlight bats’ role in nature and the need for their protection. At the same time, scientists on the EUROBATS Advisory Committee track academic and media coverage of zoonotic diseases and stand ready to issue evidence-based responses whenever inaccuracies threaten to stir hostility toward bats, as they did during the Covid-19 pandemic.

How do you envision the future of bat conservation in Europe?

The outlook for bat conservation in Europe remains bright, even amid today’s challenges. Europe sets the global benchmark for bat-protection standards, and we should seize every opportunity to share our experience and practices worldwide. EUROBATS plays a key role in assisting non-party range states and in demonstrating how international cooperation safeguards European bat populations across their entire range. These remarkable flying, echolocating migratory mammals surely deserve that commitment.