ZAGREB, 5 June (Hina) - A new platform, hrvatskadivlja.hr, has been launched this week to support biodiversity conservation in Croatia and engage the public in nature protection projects.

The site provides information on endangered and protected plant and animal species, their geographical distribution, and ecological traits.

"Croatia ranks third in Europe for biodiversity, placing us among the world's key hotspots for natural richness. The Wild Croatia platform offers practical tools for citizens to take part in conservation and restoration efforts," said Dubravka Sandev, president of the Croatian Botanical Society.

Nearly 40,000 plant and animal species and subspecies have been recorded in Croatia, many of which are threatened and live in degraded habitats. The platform addresses this crisis in line with new EU legislation obliging member states to restore damaged ecosystems.

The initiative brings together a range of partners, including the Zagreb Botanical Garden, WWF Adria, Rewilding Velebit, the Green Ring Public Institution of Zagreb County, and companies such as Bauhaus, the project’s main sponsor, and Go2Digital, which launched the platform.

One example of targeted protection is the Samobor knapweed (Centaurea samnitica), a rare plant found in only two locations worldwide, one of them near Samobor. Its conservation is being led by the Green Ring Public Institution, a project partner.

"Green habitats are not necessarily remote or inaccessible, they’re part of our everyday lives and identity. The Wild Croatia project can help raise awareness of that," said the institution’s director, Tatjana Masten Milek.

Rewilding Velebit, an organisation restoring natural habitats in Lika and the Velebit region, sees the project as an opportunity to expand its work into urban settings.

"We want to show that wild nature is not a threat but an ally. Through Wild Croatia, we’re bringing the concept of rewilding closer to people in cities," said Kruno Bošnjaković.