Ivo Pevalek (Novigrad Podravski, 1893 – Zagreb, 1967) was a Croatian botanist, naturalist, scientist, scholar, university professor and dean. In 1924, he was appointed associate professor at the Faculty of Forestry in Zagreb, later receiving tenure in 1927, where he founded and headed the Institute for Botany. He is one of our best and internationally most recognised researchers in the field of flora, with a special interest in algae, fungi and tufa-forming plants. He proposed the establishment of the Plitvice Lakes National Park (back in 1920, he held a lecture in Berlin on the need to protect the nature of the Plitvice Lakes).
Given that he used his authority to contribute to the maximum possible conservation of the Plitvice Lakes in many ways, and considering they were declared a national park mostly thanks to him, a memorial plaque was put up near the barrier on the Galovac Lake as a sign of gratitude and recognition of his work. He is credited with promoting nature protection.
In 1975, the “Ivo Pevalek” Science Station was opened, and in 2003, the newly built “Dr. Ivo Pevalek” Scientific Research Centre was named after him.
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