Rarely are things common to not just people, but all living things. Water is undoubtedly one of them. That molecule of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen forms the majority of the surface of our planet Earth as well being the main “ingredient” of all living beings. Despite that, only two percent of all water in the world can sustain life. Fresh, clean, drinkable, healthy – water.
Water is the most neglected nutrient in your diet but the most vital.
Kelly Barton
Irreplaceable and irretrievable, because of global pollution and the growth of the population, fresh water is fast becoming strategically important - a true treasure. It is also the treasure of Croatia, a small country in central Europe, inhabited since antiquity, with an uncommon shape and three very geographically different regions. To the north and northeast there are rivers, plains and mountains. Gorski kotar and Lika are covered in vast forests, karst mountains, and the water rich Dalmatian coast.
Natural beauty
Eight national ten nature parks can be found in the karst Lika and Gorski kotar areas. In this small area we find a wealth of diversity, too often ignored and not even more widely known. With the diversity of both animals and plants, Croatia is at the European top, unifying the beauty of the content, for example the green plains of the Irish isles or the dense forests of Scandinavia. This natural treasure is protected in special areas of over five thousand square kilometers. Among these areas the most important and rich in water are the national and nature parks Velebit, Krka, Plitvice, etc.
[Water is] the only drink for a wise man.
Henry David Thoureau
A long time ago these areas were used for Dalmatians as pastures – for sheep, goats and cattle. Until the 19th century these pastures would from time to time become sources of conflict among the people, foremost because of – the water. A Latin text carved in live stone tells us that even the Roman soldiers had to intervene when these conflicts for water erupted. Later, the Venetian doges and the Habsburg emperors shared the springs of the then divided Velebit.
