Eco Hvar - home for ecology on Hvar Island in Croatia

Welcome to the Eco-Hvar website

Welcome to the Eco-Hvar website!

Hvar Island on the Dalmatian coast in Croatia is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It has the makings of a paradise on earth. Islanders have long boasted of the clean air and sea, the pristine natural environment and the healthy lifestyle based on a good diet and outdoor living.

*Clear sea in Hvar harbour, July 2014. Photo: Vivian Grisogono*

Tourism is the island’s main economic activity. Hvar Town established the first professional tourist organization in Europe when the Hvar Health Society (Higijeničko društvo Hvar) was founded way back in 1868 under the leadership of Bishop Juraj Duboković. The Society’s aim was to attract guests to Hvar Town who could benefit from the climate, especially the mild winter, and the clean air. These ‘health tourists’ were well looked after by all accounts, with good food and healthy activities. They provided the foundation for Hvar’s enduring successful tourist industry.

The style of tourism has changed over the years. The basis of Hvar Island’s attractions remains the same. Many people still come to visit or stay here in order to enjoy the clean air, sea and countryside. No-one is disappointed in the natural beauty of the place. There are also other attractions, including the island's rich and colourful history and cultural heritage, not to mention the good food and high quality wines.

However, the island is not perfect. Certain aspects could and should be changed. There is a surprisingly high incidence of smoking- and diet-related illnesses on the island, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and lung problems. The doctors also have to deal with thyroid and hormonal disturbances, especially in young girls, and cancers in all age groups. The indications are that islanders need a better understanding of healthy lifestyle habits, also a clearer knowledge of the downside of using chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

For animal-lovers, the treatment of animals also gives cause for concern. There is no animal rescue facility on the island, and refuges for dogs and cats are urgently needed so proper care can be provided for homeless animals.

The registered not-for-profit charity Eco Hvar was founded in 2013 to help improve conditions for people, animals and the environment. You can read details of the charity's aims in each category on these links: Environment, Health, Animals. The overall ideal aim is to create a true earthly paradise on the exquisite Island of Hvar.

Eco Hvar is pleased to co-operate with like-minded organizations, and is a member of PAN Europe, and LAG Škoji, and a supporter of Zemljane staze - Earth Trek (Facebook page), Održivi otok ('Sustainable Island') (Facebook page), Dignitea (Facebook page) and Pokret otoka ('Island Movement')..

For comprehensive research and strategies for environmental protection, we follow and strongly recommend The Nature-based Solutions Initiative, which operates from the UK University of Oxford Departments of Biology and Geography.

The Eco-Hvar website contains original articles, information, references and links in keeping with the aims of Eco Hvar. All the material on the website is copyright, including the illustrations and photographs, and may not be reproduced or published in any form except with the copyright holders' written permission. However, you are welcome to copy or print out any of the articles for personal use only. For day-by-day topics of interest in keeping with Eco Hvar's aims, you can follow us on Facebook.

Media

For the Good of All!

Better Ways

Nature Watch

Highlights

About Animals

Forum items

Notices

Poisons Beware!

Donations

Donations can be made in euros, pounds sterling, US and Australian dollars and Swiss francs. All donations, however small, are very welcome. We acknowledge donations by email if we have the donor's address. Please let us know if you require a formal paper receipt.

PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW BANK DETAILS:

ECO HVAR BANK DETAILS

OTP banka d.d. Split, Domovinskog rata 61, 21000 Split;

Poslovnica Jelsa, 21465 Jelsa.

IBAN HR7024070001100727245; BIC OTPVHR2X
Account name: ECO HVAR

Account address: Pitve 93, 21465 Jelsa, Croatia

If the payment slip has a box for 'further details' or 'further information' you should enter the Charity's OIB: 14009858487, and state 'donation' or 'donacija'.

About The Site

The site contains articles and information on topics related to health, the environment and animal welfare.

While the focus is on Hvar Island in Dalmatia, much of the information is relevant to the rest of Croatia, and some to Europe, the United States and the rest of the world.

The main language of the site is English, but articles in Croatian are being added as quickly as possible. Some of the Croatian articles are translations, some original. Book reviews are in the language of the publication being reviewed.

To see all the articles archived in each category, click on the category name which is given below the title of each article (Environment, Highlights, Notices etc).

For further relevant news items and bits of interesting information, please refer to our Facebook page.

Thanks

We are very grateful to Željka Horvat Kozulić for kindly and expertly designing the ECO HVAR logo, also to Jelena Bunčuga, Petra Mimica, Bartul Mimica, Ivana Župan, Dinka Barbić and Josip Vlainić for their generous help in translating articles into Croatian.

Special thanks are also owed to Mihael Magdić of Orion Informatika i Trgovina, Varaždin, for his excellent and patient efforts in designing the website.

Eco Environment News feeds

Britain will find ‘common ground’ with US on energy policy, says Miliband

Energy secretary says countries must work together during conference at which US delegate called net zero ‘dangerous’
Britain will find “common ground” with the US on energy and the economy including on nuclear power, despite differences over climate policy, the UK energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has pledged.
He was speaking at the close of a two-day, 60-country conference in London on energy security, hosted by the government and the International Energy Agency (IEA), at which the US delegate Tommy Joyce attacked net zero policies as “dangerous” and “damaging”, and said it was in the interests of “our adversaries”.
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Will Cop30 in Belém help or harm the Amazon?

Trees are being cleared for rainforest mega-event – but state governor says a ‘new history’ is under way
Fake metal trees have been set into the concrete ground of the Amazonian host city of this year’s climate summit, prompting scandalised contrasts with the once-living vegetation that has been cleared in preparation for Cop30 in Brazil.
But in an unlikely convergence of views, both the centre-right state governor and leftwing social movements insist this is a storm in a plant pot compared with the darkening geopolitical threats to the world’s biggest diplomatic gathering, which will take place in November in Belém.
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‘It shapes the whole experience’: what happens when you build a city from wood?

Transforming a former industrial area in Sweden will bring psychological benefits for future residents and reduce construction’s climate impact
Although activity is high, it is surprisingly quiet inside the construction site of a high school extension in Sickla, a former industrial area in south Stockholm that is set to become part of the “largest mass timber project in the world” according to the Swedish urban property developer Atrium Ljungberg.
Just a few months remain until students enter the premises, but there is no sound of drilling or pounding against concrete walls. The scent of wood is unmistakable, and signs of the material can be spotted everywhere – from glulam (glued laminated timber) columns and beams in the building’s frame to cross-laminated timber (CLT) slabs in the floors, ceilings and staircases. CLT, made by gluing together layers of planed wood into panels, offers strength and rigidity comparable to concrete but is significantly lighter and quicker to build with.
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Only three people ever prosecuted for covering up England’s illegal sewage spills

Employees of water firms who obstruct investigations into spills could face jail under new rules that come into force on Friday
Water company bosses have entirely escaped punishment for covering up illegal sewage spills, government figures show, as ministers prepare to bring in a new law threatening them with up to two years in prison for doing so.
Only three people have ever been prosecuted for obstructing the Environment Agency in its investigations into sewage spills, officials said, and none received even a fine.
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Weather tracker: thunderstorms lash Italy in aftermath of Storm Hans

Authorities warn of mudslides during intense rainfall, as Kenya is hit by deadly flash flooding
- Europe live – latest updates
After Storm Hans battered northern Italy in the runup to Easter, severe weather continued to lash much of the country this week. Since Tuesday, the conditions have triggered potent showers and thunderstorms, and yellow and orange weather warnings have been issued.
With winds generally remaining light this week, the greatest concerns surround the risks from intense rainfall, as slow-moving heavy showers can deliver a prolonged downpour to a fairly localised area. The authorities have warned people to avoid high-risk areas such as roads with steep embankments amid a threat of flash flooding and mudslides.
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UK going ‘all out’ to to be a clean energy superpower, says Keir Starmer – video

UK prime minister tells energy summit his government is determined to transition energy system from fossil fuels to renewables
- Britain will accelerate push to net zero, Starmer tells energy summit
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‘People can’t imagine something on that scale dying’: Anohni on mourning the Great Barrier Reef

The Anohni and the Johnsons singer is collaborating with marine scientists for two special shows at Sydney’s Vivid festival that will show the reef’s plight
Anohni Hegarty is about to go to the Great Barrier Reef for the first time. “I feel like I’m going to Auschwitz,” she says nervously. “On the one hand, I’m so excited to go because the landscape is so beautiful, and I know there’s going to be so much that’s gorgeous. And yet, I’m also scared.”
In a week, the British-born, New York-based avant garde singer of Anohni and the Johnsons is flying to Lizard Island, a paradise of powdery sands on the reef, 1,600km north-west of Brisbane. Its luxury villas and bluest of blue waters are a stark contrast to the grim nature of Anohni’s assignment: documenting the current state of the world’s biggest coral reef.
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Is it still worth getting a home battery in Australia if I can’t install solar panels on my roof?

Some households aren’t suited to solar – but do batteries make environmental or financial sense on their own?
- Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint
- Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.com
Many people want to reduce their carbon footprint but for various reasons can’t install solar panels. Some roofs face the wrong way, others are overshadowed or subject to heritage restrictions, and apartment blocks often lack space.
Landlords are also often reluctant to install solar systems in rental properties since the benefits flow to the tenants rather than the property owner.
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‘A sweeping catastrophe’: 20 years after Hurricane Katrina, a photo exhibit honors Mississippi victims

Hurricane Katrina: Mississippi Remembers captures the grief and resilience of survivors in the Magnolia state
Twenty years ago this August, the United States Gulf coast was irrevocably changed when Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest and costliest storms to ever hit the country, made landfall. Making landfall as a strong category 3, the storm, which was so vast it stretched the length of the Mississippi Gulf coast all the way into Alabama, hit the Mississippi-Louisiana coastal border before continuing northward.
Since then, superstorms fueled by the climate crisis have become relatively commonplace in the country, but the impact of Katrina endures to this day. Immediately following the storm, the country and world were enthralled by tragic stories out of New Orleans, where the levees failed to a catastrophic effect and the local, state and federal responses were disastrous. But Mississippi, which received the maximum impact from the storm surge, was largely left out of the national narrative around Katrina.
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Meet the new American refugees fleeing across state lines for safety

Americans have often moved between states for opportunities. Now they’re being forced to uproot themselves to escape hostile forces under Trump
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Eco Health News feeds

Supported housing in crisis, groups tell Starmer

Supported housing for vulnerable or disabled people is in crisis, a letter to the prime minister says.
'My peanut allergy nearly killed me - now I eat them every day for breakfast'

Just a few years ago, Chris Brookes-Smith could have died from eating peanuts - but taking part in a clinical trial has changed his life.
Exhausted hospital staff putting patients at risk, says watchdog

NHS safety body wants a focus on staff fatigue as it warns of mistakes and impaired decision-making.
'I've had 100 operations and will never stop' - inside China's cosmetic surgery boom

Face-scanning apps, social media influencers and toxic beauty standards are fuelling China's cosmetic surgery boom.
Millions of vapes seized in illegal trade crackdown

Single-use vapes are among the main driving forces of the black market, the BBC is told.
'One-of-a-kind' girl born with heart outside chest has pioneering surgery

Vanellope, now seven, undergoes more surgery to reconstruct a "cage" around her heart, using her ribs.
The Supreme Court ruling gives clarity - but now comes the difficult part

The judgement provides a clear framework for what equality laws mean, but it remains to be seen what will change.
'Why I want an IVF baby to screen out gene that made me go blind'

Blind influencer Lucy Edwards on choosing IVF which will screen out the gene that made her who she is.
Plan for GPs to keep millions out of hospital

GPs will work more closely with specialists to support patients closer to home, the government says.
Disposable vape use falling in UK ahead of ban

The number of people vaping in the UK has stalled, while disposable vape usage has fallen, a study suggests.

Eco Nature News feeds

What on Earth is ‘eDNA’?

From “blue carbon” to “ecosystem services,” environmental jargon is everywhere. In an explainer series, we try to make sense of it.
Earth Month: Reimagining conservation for the benefit of all

To make conservation work for all, it must be more compassionate, conscious and inclusive. Here are a few stories about how Conservation International is reimagining conservation to be more inclusive.
Earth Month: Shaping an economy built on nature

For much of modern history, humanity’s growth has come at the expense of nature. At Conservation International, we’re flipping the economic equation that renders nature worth more dead than alive.
Earth Month: How we’re keeping the ocean healthy

The ocean has long provided humanity with food, livelihoods and a stable climate. Yet it is increasingly hot, acidic and polluted. In honor of Earth Month, here are a few success stories from Conservation International.
Earth Month: Helping nature help the climate

For years, Conservation International was one of few voices clamoring for action on one crucial issue: To prevent the worst of climate change, we must protect nature. Our efforts have paid off.
In Hawai‘i, new effort to bring invasive species to heel

If you can’t beat ’em, wear ’em? Conservation International, designers turn fish into fashion.
Ahead of pandemic talks, this doctor has nature on his mind

Human health, animal health and environmental health are interconnected. A new article published in the Lancet argues for an approach to pandemic threats that embraces this idea.
Amid a vanishing savanna, new corridor a ‘big win’ for wildlife

Conservation International is helping recover a savanna habitat nearly twice the size of Manhattan.
Can tree farms save a forest? Brazil is about to find out

In Brazil's s Mato Grosso do Sul, native species are reclaiming thousands of acres once heavily grazed by cattle. A bold initiative aims to protect and restore nature to an area twice the size of Manhattan — and find new ways to pay for it.
What on Earth is ‘HFLD’? (Hint: It’s about forests)

From “blue carbon” to “ecosystem services,” environmental jargon is everywhere. Conservation International looks to make sense of it in an occasional explainer series. In this installment, we explore the role “HFLDs,” play in storing climate-warming carbon.

ECO HVAR: AIMS AND ACTIVITIES OF THE CHARITY

Environment

Health

Animals