History
The Croatian Biospeleological Society (CBSS) has been founded in 1996 at the Croatian Natural History Museum in Zagreb.
The first president (from 1996 till 2001) was Branko Jalžić, higher technician at the Croatian Natural History Museum. Society's' president is Roman Ozimec since 2001.
The XIVth International Symposium of Biospelology held in Makarska, Croatia, from 19th-26th September 1999. was organized in cooperation with Croatian Natural History Museum and International Society of Subterranean Biology. More than 100 scientists from 18 countries participated with 84 presentations with their work published in book of Abstracts of the 14th International Symposium of Biospelology.
Ever since the establishment members of the CBSS undertook autonomous researches as well as cooperating with Croatian Natural History Museum, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb and many other speleological organizations. The first capital project of the Society was Inventory, Mapping, Education and Popularization for the Conservation of the Croatian Subterranean Fauna financed by Ministry of Environmental Protection and Physical Planning in year 2000. Since then Society conducted many international and national projects of great importance for subterranean biota research, popularization and conservation.
Biospeleology of Croatia was first presented at the end of 2001 in chapter Croatia in Encyclopaedia Biospeologica. An overview of the cave and interstitial biota of Croatia, a more comprehensive work, was published as supplement of Natura Croatica in year 2002.
In cooperation with Ministry of Environmental Protection and Physical Planning Society worked on Action plan for the Protection of Croatian cave biota. One of major results was biospeleological handbook Croatian subterranean fauna-Diversity and Threats published in year 2002.
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Physical Planning acknowledged results of the Society and importance of project Inventory, Mapping, Education and Popularization for the Conservation of the Croatian Subterranean Fauna and awarded it with the First prize for global contribution to ecology in 2002.
The exhibition "Tracing the footsteps of the Gromača caveman - Life in the Dubrovnik's subterranean karst" took part in the town of Dubrovnik at the beginning of the 2005. It was organized in cooperation with Dubrovnik City Municipality. The exhibition catalogue was published by the City of Dubrovnik - Dpt. of Environmental Protection and Physical Planning and Croatian Biospeleological Society and that was the first time CBSS became a publisher.
After many years of extensive research, Croatian Natural History Museum and CBSS published a capital paper "Catalogue of Cave Type Localities of Croatian Fauna" as supplement of Natura Croatica in 2006.
Finally, after many years Society was offered its premises from Trnje District. We operate at the address Lomnička 3 near Cvjetno naselje since the beginning of March 2007.