Land use - Why care? (Croatia)

 Land is an essential Croatian national asset and resource, and since the country is situated in three geomorphologic units (the Pannonian Basin, the Dinaric mountain system and the Adriatic Basin) it is characterised by geographical, landscape, architectural, geomorphologic and climate diversity. Highly indented coastline, over thousand of islands and islets, karst regions that occupy half of the territory, abundant freshwater resources that ensure drinking water supply, all situated in a comparatively small area, speaking geopolitically, all this is an exceptional wealth that needs to be preserved with special care and sustainable development planning.

It is essential to preserve still balanced spatial network of cities and towns, and wealth and diversity of biological characteristics, some of which are rare even on an European level (natural forests, uncontaminated fertile soil, and considerable reserves of quality drinking water).