The main protected areas of Croatia are national parks, nature parks and strict reserves. There are 411 protected areas of Croatia, encompassing 9% of the country. Those include 8 national parks, 2 strict reserves and 13 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 , of which is sea surface. Each of the national parks is maintained by a separate institution, overseen and funded by the government ministry overseeing nature conservation. Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition provides centralized oversight, expertise and management of the Register of Protected Natural Values of Croatia, the work done in the past by the State Institute for Nature Protection.
National parks
All eight national parks are located in karst area.
# Name Image Area Website Established in 1 Plitvice Lakes 1949 2 Paklenica 1949 3 Risnjak 1953 4 Mljet 1960 5 Kornati 1980 6 Brijuni 1983 7 Krka 1985 8 Sjeverni Velebit 1999
Nature parks
# Name Image Area Website Established in 1 Kopački Rit 1967 2 Medvednica 1981 3 Velebit 1981 4 Biokovo1981 5 Telašćica1988 6 Lonjsko Polje 1990 7 Žumberak-Samoborsko gorje 1999 8 Učka 1999 9 Papuk 1999 10 Vrana lake 1999 11 Lastovsko otočje2006 12 Dinara2021 13 2026
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 Croatia Natural and Cultural Heritage of Croatia List of World Heritage Sites in Croatia
References
External links
Croatia - National parks