How Biodiversity affects the Cultural Diversity in Croatia

Croatia is one of the richest European countries in terms of biodiversity (R. Jasminka (Ed.), 2009). Croatia is a country that is full of life; in fact the number of known species in Croatia is around 38,000 though the estimated number is far higher from 50,000 to over 100,000. This is a very significant number for a relatively small country (R. Jasminka (Ed.), 2009). Croatia has many national forests and most of the country is taken over by the vast amount of trees and animals or by land that faces the ocean. Within all of this nature Croatia has a very diverse group of species which enhances the cultural diversity that is present in Croatia. Below is a photo that shows just a few of the inhabitants that Croatia has, received from

www.delcampe.net.

The culture that is present in Croatia has been molded by the Croatian history. Many of the traditions that take place in Croatia now are from traditions in the passed that are celebrated and honored. The people of Croatia have their own language that is a little different from other languages in Europe and almost all Croatians (95%) claim to be Roman Catholics even if they do

not practice religion. Their religion is a huge part of the culture in Croatia; the many holidays that are celebrated are based around the Catholic tradition (M. Gilliand, 2014). Through this religion any people experience culture and with the new age there seems to be differing cultural norms. For example, it used to be normal for people to get married and continue living in the parents house of the husband. This worked because of the limited living space that is present in Croatia and because they were better able to take care of their parents as they aged. Now however, people get married and wish to live somewhere on their own which can sometimes be difficult because it is breaking the family bond which is very important in the Croatian culture.

Along with religion Croatias culture is based on the different ways that the people of Croatia make their money. Agriculture has always been a big part of the Croatian culture and is one of the many ways that Croatians earn their living. With such a diverse group of species in Croatia they have cattlemen, sheep herders, agriculturalists, and they have many businesses that are in charge of shipping animals or agriculture to different countries for trade ("Compendium cultural policies," 2013). Right now Croatia is exporting cattle to the Middle East and calling it Baby-Beef. The picture below shows and example of this cattle, I got it from

www.croatiaweek.com. Another big part of the Croatian economy is based on tourism. Because of this, there are many national forests in Croatia that are filled with different species and are used as tourist areas. On this website under the Geography and Environment tab there are photos of one of their more popular forests, the Plitvice National Forest. This national forest is home to thousands of different species, some yet to be discovered. It is a very sought after national park to discover when going on tour in Croatia. This park is so beautiful because of the diverse life groups that

are present here. There are hundreds of different types of fresh water fish along with the reptiles, amphibians, flowers, and even the fungi. The national parks are great places for these species to thrive ("Compendium cultural policies," 2013). However, even with all of these species living in the country of Croatia and making it a place full of biodiversity there are many species that are in danger of becoming extinct. There are many mammals that are critically endangered and if these were to become endangered it could throw off the production of agriculture in Croatia, it would also cause danger to the idea of tourism. For example, many people come to see the Bottlenose dolphin that is present in Croatia just off the coast, the picture shown below is a man who is kayaking in Croatia and looking at these dolphins. This animal is one of the top 6 most endangered mammals in Croatia, without this species Croatia may became less attractive for tourist visits costing them their economic security and ultimately a change in their way of doing

things or their culture ("Wwf global," 2014) .

Looking at Croatia through they eyes of the biodiversity and the cultural diversity that is present is very interesting. It is also fascinating to see the relationship between the two and the vast amount of different species that area actually found in Croatia.

Works Cited Gilliand, M. (2014, January 1). Culture of Croatia. Countries and their Cultures. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Croatia.html#b

Biodiversity of croatia. In (2009). R. Jasminka (Ed.), BIODIVERSITY OF CROATIA SECOND REVISED EDITION. Zagreb: State Institute for Nature Protection. Retrieved from http://www.dzzp.hr/dokumenti_upload/20120515/dzzp201205151608230.pdf Wwf global. (2014). Retrieved from http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/maps/ Compendium cultural policies and trends in europe. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/croatia.php