Register of Protected Natural Values of Croatia

The Register of Protected Natural Values of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Upisnik zaštićenih prirodnih vrijednosti) has been created according to the Nature Protection Act (Croatian Zakon o zaštiti prirode) in 2005 (Ch. III/5, OG 70/05 with amendments in 2008, OG 139/08). The register is being administered by the Administration for Nature Protection (Croatian: Uprava za zaštitu prirode Ministarstva kulture) within the Croatian Ministry of Culture (Croatian: Ministarstvo kulture). The register serves as a reference database and unique official data source about protected areas in Croatia. The data in this register is public with the exception of special cases of confidentiality regarding the position of certain protected natural goods. The Nature Protection Act stipulates nine categories of protected areas.

According to the Register, within the Republic of Croatia 461 nature sites are protected in different categories, of which 12 are under preventive protection. The protected areas cover 8.51% of the total surface out of which 11.32% belong to the continental territory and 3.38% to the Croatian maritime area. The largest part of the protected surface are the nature parks (3.71% of the total state territory).Plitvice Lakes National Park is so far the only protected nature area that has also been added to the UNESCO World Heritage.

The Croatian constitution stipulates that the protection of natural heritage needs to be regulated according to the constitution and laws of the Republic of Croatia (art. 2).

As regards nature protection, the Croatian constitution stipulates:

Article 3 The protection of nature and the human environment belong among others to the highest values of the constitutional rights of the Republic of Croatia and are a foundation for interpreting the constitution.

Očuvanje prirode i čovjekova okoliša između ostalih najviše su vrednote ustavnog poretka Republike Hrvatske i temelj za tumačenje Ustava.

Furthermore, the constitution stipulates:

Article 52

The sea, the coast and islands, waters, airspace, mining resources and other natural treasures, but also land property, woods, plants and animals, other parts of nature, immovable property and items of particular cultural, historic, economic and ecologic significance, which are of interest for the Republic of Croatia according to law, have its particular protection.

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