Uspostava ekološke mreže Natura 2000 i uloga INSPIRE direktive.

Natura 2000 is the European ecological network established to protect important habitat areas and to maintain the biodiversity of the European Union. The network consists of the Special Protection Areas (SPA) selected in accordance with the Directive on the Protection of Birds, and the Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) selected in accordance with the Directive on the conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora. During the EU accession process, the Republic of Croatia has had to harmonize the legal framework for the environmental protection and to propose sites for the Natura 2000 network. This paper describes proposed sites mapping process and gives a brief summary of the INSPIRE Data Specification on Protected Sites according to which the spatial data of the ecological network should be adjusted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]