Terms of use

Terms of Use

Bioportal is a web portal of the Information System for Nature Protection, established, managed, and administered by the Institute for Environment and Nature (hereinafter referred to as IEN or the Institute) under the Ministry of of Environmental Protection and Green Transition (hereinafter referred to as MEPGT or the Ministry). By using Bioportal, the user agrees to these Terms of Use, understands them, and accepts them. The regulation of all legal relationships arising from or related to the use of databases is carried out in accordance with these Terms.

Bioportal is comparable to publications that make data publicly available on the Internet.

The content displayed on Bioportal is limited in scope (content-restricted and reduced spatial accuracy) for the broader public. Part of the content may be made available to the public without restrictions upon request addressed to IEN at zavod@mzozt.hr. Multimedia content can be viewed, but downloading it is not allowed. To use multimedia content, prior written approval from the author is required.

Data from Bioportal can be downloaded in .csv and .xlsx formats and via the WFS service.

All content displayed on Bioportal can be used and published without spatial or temporal limitations, provided proper citation and source attribution are given as indicated below. It is prohibited to use the content database for planning and implementing activities that do not comply with Croatian regulations, especially the Nature Protection Act (Official Gazette, numbers 80/13, 15/18, 14/19, and 127/19).

Additionally, content obtained through the aforementioned request can be used without spatial or temporal limitations. All forms of publishing the relevant content are allowed, except for scientific publications within two years from the observation date or, if unknown or applicable, from the creation date. Written approval from the author is required for publication in scientific journals during the specified period.

When using and publishing content downloaded from Bioportal, it is mandatory to cite Bioportal as the source. The recommended citation format is as follows: ‘Institute for Environment and Nature of the Ministry of of Environmental Protection and Green Transition (year): Bioportal - name of the thematic data layer. Available at http://www.bioportal.hr/. Accessed: access date.’

Furthermore, when citing individual data, it is recommended to include the original reference or the observer’s name according to professional standards, followed by ‘retrieved from the Institute for Environment and Nature of the Ministry of of Environmental Protection and Green Transition (year): Bioportal - name of the thematic data layer. Available at http://www.bioportal.hr/. Accessed: access date.

By accepting the General Terms, the user commits not to alter the original content downloaded from Bioportal (e.g., spatial data, observer information, species observations, habitats, speleological objects, population estimates, and conclusions)

IEN conducts continuous quality control of content and prepares it for display within Bioportal. IEN cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in the content, as well as incomplete or outdated data. IEN does not accept liability for any damages resulting from the use of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated data.

By accepting these General Terms of Use, the user confirms awareness that IEN, content authors, content contributors, or any other individuals associated with Bioportal are not responsible for any further analysis and/or interpretation of any segment taken from Bioportal. Users commit to using Bioportal content in accordance with the provided warning.

MEPGT or IEN reserves the right to modify the General Terms of Use for publicly available data and content