On May 22, the world will mark International Day for Biological Diversity, while Croatia will also mark Nature Protection Day, with Culture Minister Bozo Biskupic calling on everyone to invest additional efforts in the preservation of Croatia's endangered species and habitats as well as its native animals and plants.

"I'm calling on everyone to change our relationship to nature together, as a stable and progressive society is possible only in a world of preserved biodiversity," Biskupic said on Friday.

Croatia, which signed the Convention of Biological Diversity in 1997, is one of the richest European countries in terms of biodiversity, with new species and subspecies being discovered every year.

Croatia has about 37,000 known species but the estimate is much higher, from 50,000 to over 100,000. A total of 1,119 animal and plant species are listed as endangered.

On Saturday, to mark International Day for Biological Diversity and Croatia's Nature Protection Day, Zagreb's Maksimir Park will host an educational programme on the importance of the preservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The event will be organised by the Culture Ministry in cooperation with the State Nature Protection Bureau and the UN Development Programme.

There are 6,967.786 square kilometres of protected area in Croatia, of which, according to April 2010 figures, 11.37 per cent on land and 1.32 on sea, or 7.95 per cent of Croatian territory.

Croatia has eight national and 11 nature parks.