AGM 2016

Published in Charity: Official

The Fourth Annual General Meeting of 'ECO HVAR' was held on 17th June 2017 in the Cafe Splendid, Jelsa.

MINUTES

of the Fourth Annual General Meeting of 'ECO HVAR', registered charity for the wellbeing of people, animals and the environment, held on 17th June 2017 at 18:00 in the Cafe Splendid, Jelsa.

Present: Vivian Grisogono, Charity President, Nada Kozulić, Committee Member, Debora Bunčuga, Raffaella Catani, Peter Elborn, Martin Sackmann, Sophia Sackmann, Mihovil Stipišić, Lana Zake.

Apologies for absence: Carol Adeney, Jo Ahearne, Goga Borić, Norbert Bossaert, Henk Buijs, Ingrid Buijs, Miranda Miličić Bradbury, Paul Bradbury, Luka Bunčuga, Marija Bunčuga, Steve Jones, Graham King, Mario Vranković, Maja Vukić, Ivana Župan.

The meeting was opened at 18:15 by Vivian Grisogono.

AGENDA

1. Welcome. Confirmation of the number of attendees, election of the Meeting Secretary.

2. Adoption of the Minutes from the 3rd AGM.

3. Review of Eco Hvar's activities during 2016.

4. Financial report for 2016.

5. Election of the Main Committee, at the end of its four-year mandate.

6. Outline of the Charity's programme for 2017.

7. Any other business.

ITEM 1. The President confirmed that sufficient voting members were present for deciding on proposed resolutions. Nada Kozulić was elected Meeting Secretary.

ITEM 2. The Minutes from the 3rd AGM were adopted unanimously.

ITEM 3. Vivian Grisogono presented a review of the Charity's activities during 2016:

      1. ANIMALS

i) We received over 20 inquiries relating to animals, mainly about stray dogs, abandoned dogs and cats, and poisonings. The inquiries came from Croatian and foreign visitors. We are glad to say that the local authorities cooperated in some of the cases, and that almost all of the stray and abandoned dogs were reunited with their owners or found new homes.

Advising on animal poisonings is difficult. the correct procedure is to preserve all the evidence, including the dead animals, preferably also with photographs, and report the incident to the town warden and the police. However, in most cases the evidence is no longer available by the time the poisoning is reported.

ii) There were a couple of cases of dogs wandering unattended in the street, having just arrived on the island and been parted from their owners. We took them to the vet to identify their owners from the micro-chip. When we reunited them with their owners, we advised that the dogs should always have a collar, preferably with the owner's phone number on an identity tag, and that they should be kept on a lead (as required by law) especially in places which were strange to them.

iii) We homed three previously rescued dogs through the Animalis Centrum Animal Shelter in Kaštel Sućurac. Benđi, Lina and Bobi went to new homes in Germany through the cooperation between Animalis Centrum and the German animal charity Streunerglücke.V. We were informed of their destinations and were sent photographs from their new homes.

      2. ENVIRONMENT

In January Eco Hvar joined in with the excellent initiative to replant Hvar with autochthonous black pines, organized by sister charity Sustainable Island / Održivi otok. (Latest reports have it that most of the saplings planted have taken.) We congratulate Irena Dorić and her team for their excellent project and faultless promotion of it.

The Easter period (Easter Sunday was on 27th March in 2016) is always a busy time for Eco Hvar, with continuing attempts to persuade devotees on the all-night Procession not to throw rubbish anywhere and everywhere. Eco Hvar provides rubbish bins round the Pitve church. As always, Eco Hvar was also active helping to clear the local paths around Pitve in the weeks before the event, and then cleaning up after the Procession and following the services on subsequent days.

On April 11th 2016, Jelsa's Mayor Nikša Peronja co-signed a document with Eco Hvar urging people to stop using pesticides.

Through the year, Eco Hvar continued the efforts to alert people to the dangers of pesticides by posting flyers on public notice boards and handing out leaflets detailing the possible ill-effects of using poisons.

We received various queries relating to the environment by email, ranging from a volunteer seeking a placement in a conservation project based in a former war zone, to a request to do something about tourists fishing illegally from a boat in Mljet National Park.

There was also correspondence with the local authorities.

On November 8th 2016, at the start of the political campaigning for the June 2017 local elections, we wrote to Mayor Nikša Peronja asking whether he had any public statement to make regarding the environment, specifically recycling, waste management and horticulture. To date no reply has been received.

Having received late information that the Jelsa park had been sprayed with pesticides sometime in the spring, on November 10th we wrote to Mayor Peronja, copying in 5 others with responsible positions in the local Council. In the same email we pointed out that rat poison was still being distributed in flimsy cellophane packaging, which must be against EU norms. And we asked when we could expect recycling facilities in our region. Toni Damjanić, director of JELKOM, answered the questions relating to his area of responsibility, pesticide use and rubbish management, including recycling. No other replies were received, the issue of rat poison was not addressed.

The correspondence and a subsequent conversation with Toni Damjanić revealed that there is a lot wrong with the use and control of pesticides in the Jelsa Council region.

The only good news was that JELKOM's stocks of the herbicide Roundup / Cidokor were returned following the EU ban of 1st October 2016. The bad news: JELKOM will continue using whatever poisons are allowed by law to control weeds in the public spaces under its control.

      3. EDUCATION AND RAISING AWARENESS

i) Media exposure. Eco Hvar's activities received publicity throughout the year in local newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija, with more in-depth articles appearing in 'Dobra kob' a national magazine covering hunting and the natural environment. We are deeply grateful to journalist Mirko Crnčević for his understanding of our aims and his excellent work in publicizing them to a broader public.

ii) Eco-actions. On April 7th 2016, Eco Hvar collaborated with the Local Action Group (LAG Škoji) and sister charity Dignitea in organizing a Seminar in Hvar conducted by Mrs Marija Ševar, a Senior Coordinator for Organic Agriculture. The seminar was well attended, and received good publicity on Radio Split and in Dalmatia's most widely read newspaper, Slobodna Dalmacija. We particularly thank Adela Duboković, Manuela Antičević and the team from LAG Škoji, and Katia Zaninović Dawnay, Nada Jeličić and all their helpers in Dignitea.

iii) Eco Hvar website. 46 articles were published during 2016: 3 providing useful information for property owners, 5 on animal topics, 11 on topics of general interest, 11 about pesticides and 16 nature articles (birds, insects, wild animals, plants). Readership figures ('hits') to mid-June 2017 are as follows: general interest and animal articles range between 1,000 - 3,000; pesticides, 3,000 - 7,800; nature, 5,000 - 24,800.

Putting these figures into context, the site's overall figures show over 61,000 for the welcome page, with between 40,000 and 50,000 for many of the articles dating back to 2014. We feel that these figures indicate that the site is achieving its purpose, and that people are continuing to access the informative material over time. In this context we thank Steve Jones and Marion Podolski for their invaluable contributions of original material, and Ivana Župan for her fine translations into Croatian, which are an indispensable part of the website's success.

The activity report was accepted unanimously.

ITEM 4. Financial Report. Nada Kozulić presented a resumé of the Charity's financial situation in 2016, which showed that of 11,833 kn at the beginning of the year, there was a balance of 6,719 kn left by December 31st 2016. The Charity's main expenses were for animal welfare, maintaining the website, accountancy, and bank charges. Donations were the sole source of income.

The financial report was accepted unanimously.

ITEM 5. Election of the Main Committee. The four-year mandate for the original Committee was coming to an end. Having moved away from the island, Secretary Miranda Miličić Bradbury announced that she would not stand for re-election. Proposals for the new Committee were Vivian Grisogono (President) and Nada Kozulić (Legal & Financial Adviser) would stand for re-election, while Debora Bunčuga was willing to stand for the position of Secretary.

The proposals were accepted unanimously. The Committee thanks Miranda for being a key person in the formation of the Charity.

ITEM 6. Programme for 2017 An outline of proposed activities was presented by Vivian Grisogono:

i. Animals

- to continue our cooperation with the Animalis Centrum Animal Shelter in Kaštel Sućurac.

- to continue to explore the possibility of establishing an animal shelter on Hvar.

- to explore the possibility of providing temporary shelter to animals in need, including abandoned or lost dogs, hunting dogs, but also as a 'dog hotel' for owners who have to leave their pets behind when they go on a trip.

- to establish an enclosed place where dogs can be exercised, possible including one or more dog-friendly beaches.

ii. Education and raising awareness

- to organize further lectures and seminars on environmental issues.

- to continue to provide informative articles through the Eco Hvar website.

iii. Eco-activities

- to organize activities, including picnics and walks, raising awareness and enjoyment in the natural environment, especially for children and young people

iv. Promoting organic agriculture

- to continue lobbying and raising awareness of the dangers of pesticide use.

v. Cooperation with other Charities

- to continue collaboration with parallel Charities both locally and further afield in Croatia.

- to continue to foster links with international Charities sharing similar aims.

The proposed Programme for 2017 was accepted unanimously.

ITEM 7. Any Other Business.

Raffaella Catani informed the meeting that a group making an anthropological study of Hvar islanders had recently come to follow up earlier findings. Debora Bunčuga explained the background: the study began some 12 years ago, and the results so far have revealed an unexpected high incidence of health problems, particularly diabetes, and there is a strong suspicion that pesticides are an important factor, and the study, conducted by a Zagreb institution, is continuing. As a health worker, Vivian Grisogono welcomed the research, as she has been very disturbed by the incidence of hormonal disturbances, including thyroid problems and premature menopause (affecting two 16-year-old girls in the same class in one instance), cancers, and neurological problems such as Parkinson's disease, all of which are known to be possibly associated with pesticide use. Debora also informed the Meeting that Dr. Tomica Carić had begun a research project on health risks associated with pesticides for his thesis years ago, but had been unable to complete it because of difficulties accessing the necessary data. The Zagreb research group has now expressed interest in completing the work, which would be of enormous benefit to the local community.

Concerns were expressed about the building developments around Stari Grad. Peter Elborn described the inconvenience which has been caused through closing the public path to Maslinica because of works traffic. Lana Zake reported that local people were being deprived of amenities such as bathing beaches and moorings because of the expansion of tourist facilities. While hoping that the building developments will bring employment and benefits for the local community, the Meeting expressed some fears about their possible environmental and social ill-effects.

Peter Elborn suggested that it might be possible to organize an English essay project focussing on nature and environmental issues through the British-Croatian Society in the UK, with the best entries being mounted as an exhibition in the Croatian Embassy in London. (Peter is an active official with the BCS and has helped to organize innumerable successful events and exhibitions promoting Croatia in the UK.) It was agreed that this could be an excellent educational project to motivate young people to promote their beautiful environment Photography is a well-developed extra-curricular subject in the island's schools, so a photo-essay project could be a popular and rewarding exercise providing many benefits for the island, not least in promoting eco-friendly tourism.

All present at the Meeting agreed on the importance of involving children and young people in learning about the environment. It was particularly interesting to hear Lana Zake's description of her different experiences with young students from the Agricultural College who attend her farm for work experience. Lana is an architect by profession, also a fully accredited commercial organic farmer with many years' experience and a deep awareness of the difficulties facing organic agriculturalists on Hvar. Everyone agreed with Lana's belief that youngsters should learn the connexion between agriculture and the food they eat, in order to understand the importance of what is done in the fields.

The three committed organic growers, Raffaella, Lana and Mihovil Stipišić shared some of their experience and expertise with the Meeting. The example they provide is invaluable in showing other islanders that it is possible to cultivate crops of all kinds successfully without artificial pesticides and fertilizers. Mihovil described how his neighbours were sceptical at first, but then some 10 of them have taken up using plant-based pesticides, especially the field horsetail (equisetum arvense) spray which is exceptionally effective against fungal diseases.

The meeting formally ended at 19:30. Vivian Grisogono thanks all those who attended for their contributions, and the Eco Hvar Committee is also grateful to all the Charity's member-supporters who are encouraging and furthering the work in many different ways.

You are here: Home Charity: Official AGM 2016

Eco Environment News feeds

  • Much like Albanese’s own style, the 62% to 70% target range reflects a calculated approach designed to offend as few people as possible

    Buried in the small library of documents released alongside the Albanese government’s new 2035 emissions reduction target on Thursday was a stark illustration of the challenge ahead.

    As part of its advice recommending a target of 62% to 70% reductions from 2005 levels, the Climate Change Authority gave a speedometer of progress on decarbonisation to date. It showed in the five years to 2023-24, Australia reduced emissions by an average of 9 megatonnes (Mt). Last financial year, emissions reduced by 7Mt.

    Continue reading...

  • On a tiny Italian island, scientists conducted a radical experiment to see if the bees were causing their wild cousins to decline

    Off the coast of Tuscany is a tiny island in the shape of a crescent moon. An hour from mainland Italy, Giannutri has just two beaches for boats to dock. In summer, hundreds of tourists flock there, hiking to the red and white lighthouse on its southern tip before diving into the clear waters. In winter, its population dwindles to 10. The island’s rocky ridges are coated with thickets of rosemary and juniper, and in warmer months the air is sweetened by flowers and the gentle hum of bees.

    “Residents are people who like fishing, or being alone, or who have retired. Everyone has their story,” says Leonardo Dapporto, associate professor at the University of Florence.

    Giannutri island’s remote location made it a perfect open-air laboratory for the bee experiments. Photographs: Giuseppe Nucci

    Continue reading...

  • The people of Johnshaven have watched the sea edge closer and closer. Preserving the path is key to protecting their community

    • Photographs by Murdo MacLeod

    When Charis Duthie moved to Johnshaven with her husband in 1984, she could cycle along the coastal path out of the village. Now, she meets a dead end where the sea has snatched the land and is instead greeted with a big red warning sign of what is to come: Danger Coastal Erosion.

    “You can see gardens that were there and now they’re gone,” she says.

    Johnshaven, on Scotland’s North Sea coast, will attract more visitors if it has a well maintained coastal path

    Continue reading...

  • Increasingly erratic water cycle is creating food scarcity, rising prices, conflict and migration, says UN agency

    Only a third of the world’s river basins experienced normal conditions last year as the climate crisis drove extremes of drought and flood, sometimes both in the same region.

    The increasingly erratic water cycle is creating big problems for societies and governments and causing billions of dollars in damage, scientists warned.

    Continue reading...

  • St Dominic, Tamar Valley: So far in early autumn, an abundance of ash keys and plump acorns – and the apple and pear trees are heavily laden

    At last, Atlantic weather has set in, bringing much-needed rain to green the hard-grazed turf and fields of cut hay and silage. A few late swallows swoop between hedgerows along sky-reflecting Summers Lane, and dart beneath the gate of the adjoining pony-trodden field. Before the rain, a battalion of 50 swallows gathered on wires by Corneale farm, perhaps in anticipation of the journey home.

    After the unusually early harvest of cereals (completed by mid-August), the earth beneath the stubble is softened; maize puts on yet more growth and should provide lots of fodder when gathered next month. Livestock farms are self-sufficient in winter feed, but some straw for bedding has been bought from upcountry, costing up to £120 per tonne.

    Continue reading...

  • Researchers from Imperial College London say 16,500 deaths caused by hot weather brought on by greenhouse gases

    Human-made global heating caused two in every three heat deaths in Europe during this year’s scorching summer, an early analysis of mortality in 854 big cities has found.

    Epidemiologists and climate scientists attributed 16,500 out of 24,400 heat deaths from June to August to the extra hot weather brought on by greenhouse gases.

    Continue reading...

  • Since our 2024 climate pledge, there has been a global pushback against green progress. This update reflects the urgent and growing challenges facing our planet – and how the Guardian is more focused than ever on exposing the causes of the climate crisis

    • In the past three weeks, more than 50,000 Guardian readers have supported our annual environment support campaign. If you believe in the power of independent journalism, please consider joining them today

    The Guardian has long been at the forefront of agenda-setting climate journalism, and in a news cycle dominated by autocrats and war, we refuse to let the health of the planet slip out of sight.

    2024 was the hottest year on record, driving the annual global temperature above the internationally agreed 1.5C target for the first time

    Winter temperatures at the north polereached more than 20C above the 1991-2020 average in early 2025, crossing the threshold for ice to melt

    The planet’s remaining carbon budget to meet the international target of 1.5C has just two years left at the current rate of emissions

    Humans are driving biodiversity loss among all species across the planet, according to the largest syntheses of the human impacts on biodiversity ever conducted worldwide

    Tipping points – in the Amazon, Antarctic, coral reefs and more – could cause fundamental parts of the Earth’s system to change dramatically, irreversibly and with devastating effects. We asked the experts about the latest science – and how it makes them feel

    Published our annual company emissions data, explaining what drives our emissions and where they have risen and fallen

    Created a digital course, as part of an initiative by the Sustainable Journalism Partnership, sharing examples from experts across the Guardian of how to embed sustainability into journalism and media commercial operations

    Contributed our time and knowledge to working groups in the advertising industry that are working on better ways to measure the emissions impact of advertising

    Continue reading...

  • Whiting residents worried after facility, which has had multiple problems, shut down temporarily after rain

    It was the biggest news story around the midwest as the Labor Day weekend approached earlier this month: the unexpected surging price of fuel at the gas station.

    But for residents of Whiting, Indiana, petroleum has been presenting an altogether bigger problem.

    Continue reading...

  • The warmest summer on record has brought a premature autumn – which could leave little food for overwintering birds

    According to the Met Office, autumn in the UK began on 1 September, yet in the hedgerows around my home there have been signs of the season’s arrival for many weeks now, after the warmest summer on record.

    Hawthorn trees, which usually produce their crimson berries from mid-September onwards, have been festooned since the second week of August; while blackthorns are drooping under the weight of huge, ripe, purple sloes.

    Continue reading...

  • DIY expert Jaharn Quinn has spent 20 years upcycling homewares. She shares where to look and what to bring when hunting for pre-loved pieces

    I have always loved thrifting and upcycling. There’s no greater feeling than discovering a hidden gem at a thrift shop and upcycling it into something new, especially when you save hundreds – sometimes thousands – of dollars.

    I love flipping through interior magazines, poring over gorgeous images on Pinterest and scrolling through home tours on social media.

    Compile your thrifting inventory. This should include the items you are especially looking for, such as a bedside table or a chest of drawers. It’s inevitable that you’ll get sidetracked – which is half the fun – but a list helps you focus when you start to feel overwhelmed, which sometimes happens.

    Always carry cash. It makes it easier to bargain.

    Pack plenty of blankets or towels in your car. These will protect the pieces you find and keep them cushioned from moving around in your vehicle too much.

    Pack a toolkit including antibacterial wipesto wipe down secondhand furniture, removing the dust and dirt to see what’s underneath; measuring tape to see what will fit in your car and home; a notebook filled with ideas, house plans and measurements plus a pencil to jot more down; paint swatches to check for colours that can easily be integrated into your home; and a screwdriver set in case you need to take furniture apart to fit it into your car.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds