Protected areas of Croatia

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.

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)	http://www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr	1949
2	Paklenica		95.0 km2 (36.7 sq mi)	http://www.paklenica.hr	1949
3	Risnjak		63.5 km2 (24.5 sq mi)	http://risnjak.hr	1953
4	Mljet		5.4 km2 (2.1 sq mi)	http://www.np-mljet.hr	1960
5	Kornati		49.7 km2 (19.2 sq mi)	http://www.kornati.hr/	1964
6	Brijuni		33.9 km2 (13.1 sq mi)	http://www.brijuni.hr	1983
7	Krka		109 km2 (42 sq mi)	http://www.npkrka.hr	1985
8	Sjeverni Velebit		109.0 km2 (42.1 sq mi)	http://www.np-sjeverni-velebit.hr	1999

Nature parks

#	Name	Image	Established in	Website
1.	Kopački rit		1967	http://www.kopacki-rit.com/
2.	Papuk		1999	http://www.pp-papuk.hr
3.	Lonjsko polje		1990	http://www.pp-lonjsko-polje.hr/
4.	Medvednica		1981	http://www.pp-medvednica.hr
5.	Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje		1999	http://www.park-zumberak.hr/
6.	Učka		1999	http://www.pp-ucka.hr/
7.	Velebit		1981	http://www.pp-velebit.hr/
8.	Vrana lake		1999	http://vransko-jezero.hr/cms/
9.	Telašćica		1988	http://www.telascica.hr/
10.	Biokovo		1981	http://www.biokovo.com/
11.	Lastovsko otočje	100px	2006	http://pp-lastovo.hr/

Strict reserves

• Bijele and Samarske stijene
• Hajdučki and Rožanski kukovi

Special reserves

There are 80 special reserves in Croatia:

• 37 forest vegetation reserves
• 22 ornithological reserves
• 9 botanical reserves
• 2 ichthyological reserves
• 2 ichthyological and ornithological reserves
• 2 zoological reserves
• 2 sea reserves
• 1 geological and paleontological reserve
• 1 paleontological reserve
• 1 geographical and botanical reserve
• 1 botanical and zoological reserve

See also

• Register of Protected Natural Values of the Republic of Croatia
• Natural and Cultural Heritage of Croatia

External links

• Official website (Croatian) (English) (German) (Italian)
• Croatia - National parks