The main protected areas of Croatia are national parks, nature parks and strict reserves. There are 444 protected areas of Croatia, encompassing 9% of the country. Those include 8 national parks in Croatia, 2 strict reserves and 11 nature parks. The most famous protected area and the oldest national park in Croatia is the Plitvice Lakes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Velebit Nature Park is a part of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. The strict and special reserves, as well as the national and nature parks, are managed and protected by the central government, while other protected areas are managed by counties. In 2005, the National Ecological Network was set up, as the first step in preparation of the EU accession and joining of the Natura 2000 network.[1]

The total area of all national parks in the country is 994 km2 (384 sq mi), of which 235 km2 (91 sq mi) is sea surface.

Each of the national parks is maintained by a separate institution, overseen and funded by the government ministry of nature conservation and spatial development. The State Institute for Nature Protection provides centralized oversight and expertise.

National parks

All eight national parks are located in karst area.

 #  Name Image Area Website Established in
 1  Plitvice Lakes 296.9 km2 (114.6 sq mi)[2] www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr 1949
 2  Paklenica 95.0 km2 (36.7 sq mi)[3] np-paklenica.hr/en/ 1949
 3  Risnjak 63.5 km2 (24.5 sq mi)[4] www.np-risnjak.hr 1953
 4  Mljet 5.4 km2 (2.1 sq mi)[5] www.np-mljet.hr 1960
 5  Kornati 217 km2 (84 sq mi)[6] www.np-kornati.hr/en/
www.np-kornati.hr 		1980[6]
 6  Brijuni 33.9 km2 (13.1 sq mi)[7] www.np-brijuni.hr/en 1983
 7  Krka 109 km2 (42 sq mi)[8] www.np-krka.hr/en/ 1985
 8  Sjeverni Velebit 109.0 km2 (42.1 sq mi)[9] www.np-sjeverni-velebit.hr 1999

Nature parks

 #  Name Image Established in Website
1. Kopački rit 1967 www.kopacki-rit.com
2. Papuk 1999 www.pp-papuk.hr
3. Lonjsko polje 1990 www.pp-lonjsko-polje.hr
4. Medvednica 1981 www.pp-medvednica.hr
5. Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje 1999 www.park-zumberak.hr
6. Učka 1999 www.pp-ucka.hr
7. Velebit 1981 www.pp-velebit.hr
8. Vrana lake 1999 www.pp-vransko-jezero.hr/en/
9. Telašćica 1988 www.telascica.hr
10. Biokovo 1981 www.biokovo.com
11. Lastovsko otočje 2006 pp-lastovo.hr
12. Dinara 2021 mingor.gov.hr/vijesti/proglasen-park-prirode-dinara/8034

Strict reserves

Special reserves

There are 80 special reserves in Croatia:[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Jasminka Radović; Kristijan Čivić; Ramona Topić, eds. (2006). Biodiversity of Croatia (PDF). State Institute for Nature Protection, Ministry of Culture (Croatia). ISBN 953-7169-20-0. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Osnovni podaci". NP Plitvice Lakes (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 2009-03-28. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  3. ^ "About the Park". NP Paklenica. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  4. ^ "General info". risnjak.hr. Retrieved 2011-06-05.
  5. ^ "About national park". NP Mljet. Archived from the original on 2008-11-02. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  6. ^ a b "History of Kornati NP". www.np-kornati.hr. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  7. ^ "Geographic position". NP Brijuni. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  8. ^ "National Park Krka". npkrka.hr. Archived from the original on 2004-09-23. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
  9. ^ "About the park". NP Sjeverni Velebit. Archived from the original on 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  10. ^ "Other protected areas". Nature protection web portal. Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection (Croatia). Archived from the original on 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2012-05-15.

External links

Croatia articles
Protected areas of Europe
List of national parks of Europe
Categories