LOKRUM ISLAND, SPECIAL RESERVE OF FOREST VEGETATION, is protected in accordance with the Nature Protection Act in the special reserve of forest vegetation category since 1948, and as such is the third oldest protected nature area in Croatia whose basic phenomenon is forest vegetation covering about 90% of the island.The vegetation cover is considered representative as all the growth series of plant communities of the southern phytogeographical area – Eumediterranean – are present on a very small surface area (72 ha), which is the main reason for the protection of this area of nature.
On the territory of Lokrum Reserve it is prohibited to:
- take from nature, capture, and disturb wild species
- feed wild animals
- damage and/or destroy signs and/or information boards and/or didactic equipment
- use an open flame, light a fire, and smoke
- use unmanned aerial vehicles without an authorization
- leave the marked footpaths and the area intended for visiting, except when conducting research for which a permit has been obtained
- visit without a ticket
- dispose of waste outside the designated and labelled spots
- stay before the arrival of the first and after the departure of the last boat of the Public Institution Lokrum Reserve, as well as during winter when the island of Lokrum is not open for visits.
According to the Regulation on the Ecological Network, the entire island of Lokrum, including the belt of sea of about 150 meters from the coast, is also an area of the Natura 2000 ecological network (HR4000017 Lokrum) – a conservation area of importance for species and habitat types (POVS) for a total of eight habitat types (Table 1.).
| Area code | Area name | Habitat type | Natura code |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 4000017 | Lokrum | Posidonia beds (Posidonion oceanicae) | 1120 |
| Reefs | 1170 | ||
| Rocks and steeps (scliffs) of the Mediterranean coast overgrown with the endemic species Limonium spp. | 1240 | ||
| Eumediterranean grasslands Thero-Brachypodietea | 6220 | ||
| Carbonate rocks with chasmophytic vegetation | 8210 | ||
| Submerged or partially submerged sea caves | 8330 | ||
| Evergreen forests of the holm oak (Quercus ilex) | 9340 | ||
| Mediterranean forests of endemic pines | 9540 |
The area of the island of Lokrum is also an integral part of the historic core of the City of Dubrovnik with the defensive walls and fortifications and the city moat, and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Lokrum Island and its waters are protected as a cultural good by the Decision on the Protection of the Historical Complex of the City of Dubrovnik and its Immediate Surroundings (Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia - Code Z-3818) based on the Act on the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Goods. Zones were established in accordance with the same Decision on the Protection of the Historical Complex of the City of Dubrovnik and its Immediate Surroundings, and the island of Lokrum with its waters was included in the “A” zone, described as a “complete protection of historical structures”.
