Eco Hvar

Caring for Hvar's Environment

Published in Environment

What inspired ECO HVAR for the environment

Caring for Hvar's Environment

 

The Island of Hvar is clean, relative to other places. Visitors always appreciate that, and many comment on it, although it is no more than they expect. After all, Hvar’s success as a tourist destination has depended on its reputation for clean land, sea and air.

By and large, the island’s good reputation is justified. But there is room for improvement. When I first started walking around the island’s countryside, many years ago, I was struck by two things. First, the amount of rubbish that was piled up here and there, although it was often hidden under bushes and undergrowth, and so not visible at first sight. Second, the surprising amount of herbicide that was used around the olive groves and vineyards. 

 

 

Two types of rubbish were evident, as everywhere in the supposedly civilized world: litter and rubble, the former spread by careless or uncaring individuals, the latter by irresponsible building firms. 

 

 

I am told that before there was organized rubbish collection across the island, it was the norm for household rubbish to be thrown into whatever space happened to be convenient, whether a neighbour’s dry well or some nearby ruined building. Now there are rubbish containers in every settlement, this problem has been lessened, although it is still in evidence here and there among islanders too set in their ways to change their habits.

 

Why do people, especially the young who are going to inherit this environment, drop litter? Take cigarette butts, for example. Most smokers are in the habit of discarding their fag-ends on the ground. Perhaps the thinking is that they are only small, so they don’t matter; or they will biodegrade; and/or they will do no harm. Many smokers also discard their cigarette packets on the ground, to join the more general litter created by the packaging from sweets, snack foods and drinks. The question of why this is happening becomes more complex when the littering is done by people, especially youngsters, right next to a rubbish bin.

 

When I lived in London, I routinely picked up litter as I walked my dogs through the local parks. I was sometimes thanked by people who witnessed this, especially by the park attendants. Here I do the same. I am not the only person to clear up rubbish from the environment. People who understand how important cleanliness is to Hvar’s future as a tourist destination are pleased and grateful. In recent years there has been an increase in actions to clean up beaches, paths and public places. The next major breakthrough will be to persuade people not to drop litter in the first place.

 

 

The use of pesticides surprised me as everyone I knew insisted that they farmed their land organically. It turned out not all of them were telling the truth. I have had interesting discussions with pesticide users over the years. Their reasoning ranges from “Well, it’s not really a poison” to “OK, it is a poison, but it’s the mildest possible and it’s perfectly safe” to “I have to use chemicals because it’s easiest and I don’t have time to do otherwise”. But the facts are that Hvar’s fields, notably the Stari Grad Plain, were cultivated naturally very successfully for centuries; the chemical pollution is damaging the soil, underground waters and the whole eco-structure of the island; and there is apparently a relatively high incidence of illnesses which might be attributable to pesticide use.

 

 

 

Of course, many people do farm their land without using pesticides. I hear that recently the dangers of pesticide use have been publicized on television. More people are turning to organic crop production, which is encouraging others to consider it. The wild flowers which brighten Hvar's countryside throughout the year are not only brilliantly beautiful, but essential to the island's ecology.

 

 

Hvar Island has stunning natural beauty and deserves to be clean. Any kind of pollution is unacceptable and harmful in all kinds of ways. ECO HVAR for the environment was conceived to help Hvar realize its potential as the cleanest island on the Adriatic.

 

© Vivian Grisogono 2013

Related items

back to top
You are here: Home environment articles Caring for Hvar's Environment

Eco Environment News feeds

  • UK June heat record broken for third day in a row as ministers urged to act

    Plans to protect people fall ‘far short of what is needed’, government told, as MP warns of heatwave deaths

    The UK government is facing increasingly urgent calls for action to protect people against the intensifying effects of the climate crisis, as the highest maximum temperature record for June was broken for the third day in a row.

    With the country in the grip of the worst heatwave ever recorded in western Europe – a direct result of global heating – the chair of parliament’s environmental audit committee warned ministers of the urgent threat and said the UK was falling “far short of what is needed”.

    Continue reading...

  • Too hot for work: why extreme heat is a threat to Europe’s productivity

    High temperatures make some workplaces dangerous, with economists warning disruption will dent growth

    Monique Mosley is used to sweltering conditions at the food factory in Yorkshire where she works, but June’s record-breaking heatwave has made conditions unbearable. “We make hot filled food products and it’s common that we see temperatures in the high 30s,” she said. “Thanks to our union, our employer is offering extra breaks, but not every workplace is the same.”

    The latest heatwave to grip the UK and much of western Europe has presented significant challenges to employers and their employees, from sweltering offices, disrupted commutes and school closures to dangerous construction sites where workers are at risk of dehydration, heatstroke and other injury.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘Chock full of incredible animals’: marine expedition uncovers 31 new species in two weeks

    Experts worked in ocean midwater off Brazil at near-record speeds thanks to cutting-edge tech

    A marine biology expedition in international waters off the coast of Brazil has discovered 31 new species in just two weeks.

    The researchers believe the speed at which the species were found and identified may be a record, in part because of the cutting-edge technology designed and built by the science and engineering team. For the first time on board a ship, the researchers were able to observe the living 3D cellular structure of microbial life thanks to a technological breakthrough nicknamed the Squid.

    Continue reading...

  • First major hydropower projects in Great Britain in 40 years given go-ahead

    Three pumped storage hydroelectric power station sites in Scotland on list of 16 long-duration electricity storage plans

    Great Britain’s first new major hydropower projects in more than 40 years are expected to move ahead after the energy regulator gave a provisional green light to three proposals as part of a plan to reduce the country’s reliance on energy imports.

    All three of the new pumped storage hydroelectric power station projects are due to be built in northern Scotland, where the region’s lochs will act as natural reservoirs to serve the hydropower stations.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘Slough is like an experiment’: Europe’s largest datacentre hub leaves town sweltering

    Emerging research suggests datacentres create a heat island effect, pushing up temperatures in the immediate vicinity by as much as 9C

    The community living next to the largest datacentre park in Europe say the scorching summer heat has grown unbearable.

    On days like Wednesday, said Nabeel Nawaz, the store manager of a Chaiiwala franchise in the centre of Slough, the heat is like something “pinching your body and burning your skin”.

    Continue reading...

  • Migrating swifts loyally return every year to nests in buildings, study finds

    Conservationists emphasise importance of protecting nesting sites used by ‘strongly faithful’ red-listed species

    Migratory swifts loyally return every year to their nests in buildings, according to a study, underlining the importance of providing the endangered birds with hollow nesting bricks if traditional nest sites are lost to renovations.

    The swift, which is on the red list of conservation concern, is one of Britain’s most threatened species, having declined in number by 70% since 1995 because of the loss of nesting sites, often when old buildings are re-roofed or given better insulation. While Scotland this year made the installation of swift bricks – a simple hollow brick – a legal requirement in new buildings, the government in England has repeatedly refused to oblige builders to include a £35 swift brick in every new home.

    Continue reading...

  • Country diary: Even in a heatwave, haymaking is a race against time | Nicola Chester

    Inkpen, Berkshire: Mow, tedder, rake and bale – it all has to be done before the next rainfall, which is increasingly hard to predict

    With the weather set fair and a heatwave under way, all around are literally making hay while the sun shines. Last year’s drought produced very little grass to make hay with, resulting in high prices and scarcity over winter. This year, the grass has received good amounts of both sun and rain – the ideal conditions.

    Foxglove Farm and Manor Farm are busy at it, but it seems Rolf’s may have sold its crop standing, for someone else to make and take. Other farms on lower-lying, lusher fields made their first crop during the late May heatwave, but the fields here on the higher chalk needed more time to grow.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘We feel like the peasants’: women and low-income families bear brunt of heatwave

    As temperatures soar across Europe, cities are struggling to adapt, further exacerbating socioeconomic divisions

    The heatwave afflicting western Europe is the worst ever, with the combination of heat and humidity fuelled by the climate crisis making scores of cities feel unliveable. While for some the adverse impacts amount to disturbed sleep and sticky days in the home office, low-income families are often worse affected by cities’ lack of adequate adaptation measures, with women at the sharp end.

    “[It] throws a grenade into every vulnerability you already have,” says Asad Rehman, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, pointing out that vulnerable or marginalised groups often bear the brunt of climate crisis-based hardship globally.

    Continue reading...

  • Adapting to the heat: four ideas from European cities

    From checking on older neighbours to greening spaces, some cities are stepping up efforts to keep people safe

    Extreme heat has seared Europe this week, with the UK smashing its top heat record for June for three days in a row, and France sweltering through its hottest day and night on record.

    As fossil fuel pollution bakes the planet, making heatwaves hotter and longer, some places are adapting better than others. What have European cities done to stay safe when it gets too hot?

    Continue reading...

  • ‘Make people dream’: how to build an economy for the common good

    Economist Prof Mariana Mazzucato says governments must ‘get back their mojo’ and believe they can change the world

    Good governments have a vision. They know what they want to achieve, can articulate why, and work out in public how to get there. They don’t just spout slogans about economic growth – because growth is meaningless unless we know what it is for. They understand that there is no trade-off between solving social problems and boosting the economy, and aim to do both, while avoiding rigid fiscal rules that defeat their own purpose by strangling public investment.

    If this sounds like a critique of what went wrong with Keir Starmer’s government, it is also a lot more. Mariana Mazzucato, a professor in the economics of innovation and public value at University College London, is a world-renowned economist, adviser to governments, chair of international commissions, prolific author, and PhD supervisor to at least one poet. She was the thinker who inspired Starmer to fashion his political project around five key “missions”, now largely forgotten in the mire of scandals, U-turns and infighting that beset his premiership.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds

Copyright © 2026 Eco Hvar. All Rights Reserved. Developed by Orion Informatika.