Eco Hvar

Insect spraying: the campaign

Because we at Eco Hvar are very concerned about the shortcomings of the mosquito liquidation programme on Hvar and around Croatia, we have petitioned the Minister for Health to re-consider the methods used.

Insect spraying: the campaign
The Minister for Health is responsible for the Regulations governing the prevention of infectious diseases in Croatia. Control of supposedly dangerous insects and animals such as rodents is compulsory. Every local authority is obliged to carry out appropriate measures. The methods of control are a matter for the discretion of the local authorities. Having observed the situation for several years, we at Eco Hvar have concluded that the current methods used on Hvar and in many other areas of Croatia are faulty, ineffective, and potentially dangerous in ways that are not being recognized by those responsible for the programme. You can read the original text in Croatian and the responses to the campaign from the Minister and others here.
 
This is the English translation of our letter to Minister Kujundžić, which was accompanied by a statement detailing our causes for concern backed by scientific and official reference sources supporting our assertions:
 
"Pitve, 23.08.2017.
prof.dr.sc.Milan Kujundžić, dr.med.primarius, FEBGH, Minister of Health,
Ministarstvo zdravstva
Trg Svetog Marka 2
10000 Zagreb, Hrvatska

Dear Sir,

Re: Insect spraying

Our Charity Eco Hvar has for some years been observing the practice of insect spraying, which is a legal requirement.

One question which arises is whether it is really necessary to eliminate insects in order to prevent illnesses such as Dengue and West Nile Fever, when these illnesses are extremely rare in Dalmatia.

Furthermore, we have been gathering details of the insect suppression programme over these years, as much as we can, and we are of the opinion that this requirement is being carried out in an way which is neither fitting nor transparent, whether on Hvar or in other parts of Croatia. The method used is inappropriate for people, the environment, animals, and beneficial insects (eg bees). This applies particularly to the substances which are being used by the firms authorized to carry out insect suppression.

Attached are the conclusions which we have come to, together with some of our reference sources.

We are sending this letter and the attachments not only to the institutions listed, but also to the wider public domain, through the channels for public information and the civil society associations.

Yours faithfully,

Vivian Grisogono MA(Oxon)

President, Eco Hvar

This letter and the attachments are sent in both written and electronic forms

c.c.
- Minister Dr.sc.Tomislav Ćorić, Ministry for the Protection of the Environment and Energy
- Minister Tomislav Tolušić, Ministry of Agriculture.
- Mr. sc. Jasna Ninčević, dr. med., spec. epidemiologije, Director, Public Health Institution for the Split-Dalmatia County
- Croatian Public Health Institution, Department for Ecological Health
- Dr.sc.Ivana Gudelj, Director of the State Institution for Environmental Protection
- Blaženko Boban, Prefect for the Split-Dalmatia County
- Mayors of Hvar Island"

The reply from the Minister is on the Croatian page, together with a reply from the Minsitry of Agriculture and initial correspondence with the Split-Dalmatian Institute for Public Health: http://www.eco-hvar.com/hr/opasni-otrovi/236-dezinsekcija-kampanja-za-promjenu

There was no evidence of willingness to take our complaints and observations seriously.

 
 
back to top
You are here: Home For the common good Poisons Beware Insect spraying: the campaign

Eco Environment News feeds

  • ‘Jaw-dropping’ El Niño bursts through temperature record months before peak

    ‘Godzilla-level’ phenomenon is supercharging the climate crisis and will have a huge impact on communities across the world

    The “jaw-dropping” El Niño currently heating up the planet has burst through the highest temperature ever recorded for the phenomenon, several months before its expected peak.

    The latest data shows the temperature rise at the heart of El Niño in the Pacific Ocean has now reached 3.05C. That is higher than the 3.02C set in late November 2015, the previous high set in the 150 years of modern records. This temperature is measured against the average of 1991-2020.

    Continue reading...

  • How Saudi oil scientists ended up working on the world’s most important climate reports

    Guardian investigation reveals fossil fuel links of IPCC authors, with experts declaring the body’s conflict of interest policy ‘not fit for purpose’

    On her first day as an expert author on the world’s most important climate reports, Prof Julia Steinberger knew nobody else, so she sat down at a stranger’s table for breakfast.

    “Hi, I’m Julia. I’m from the University of Lausanne,” she said. The man across the table replied: “I’m Mustafa Babiker. I work with Saudi Aramco.”

    Continue reading...

  • Millions of dollars in funding but still no plan: can Quebec save its caribou from extinction?

    The Canadian government has committed C$25m to try to rescue the caribou in the province – but there is no agreement on how best to save the keystone species

    The caribou of Quebec are at breaking point. The province, home to 15% of Canada’s population of woodland caribou, has seen numbers crash to about half of what they were a decade ago. For years, local First Nations people, researchers and environmental groups have criticised the provincial government’s lack of action on protecting caribou, an animal considered a keystone species by Indigenous peoples.

    A recently announced agreement between the federal and Quebec governments has raised hopes that the province will finally be compelled to release a protection strategy. The federal government has committed C$25m (£13m) to the province for caribou over five years, with an additional C$15m for the First Nations communities on whose land the herds live.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘Incredibly encouraging’: healing the scars of traditional anchors in Dorset’s seagrass meadows

    Eco-moorings help to restore seagrass in just five years, boosting sealife such as seahorses, eels and crabs

    One of the UK’s most precious underwater habitats – Dorset’s seagrass meadows – is recovering thanks to “eco moorings” designed to prevent the seabed being ripped up, a study has revealed.

    Scars caused by traditional anchors in some areas of seagrass in Studland Bay have almost entirely vanished, which is boosting the number of seahorses that thrive in the submerged meadows.

    Continue reading...

  • China’s stranglehold on rare earths must be ended, says hopeful supplier to EU

    Rafael Moreno, whose company has opened demo plant in Brazil, says market is ‘nervous’ as Trump-Xi summit looms

    The head of a mining company hoping to supply the EU with rare earths in two years’ time has said it is “paramount” to end China’s stranglehold on the supply of the raw materials used in everything from cars to wind turbines and military jets.

    As Donald Trump and China’s president, Xi Jinping, prepare to meet on Thursday in their second summit of the year, Rafael Moreno said it was also “imperative” that they do a deal for Beijing to ease up, once again, on its threat to ban exports of rare earths.

    Continue reading...

  • Weatherwatch: wildfires driven by global heating destroy UK bird habitats

    Hot and dry summer created conditions for fires in Scotland and England that tore through vital wildlife areas

    Major wildfires this summer in the Cairngorms, along the Suffolk coast and in the New Forest have destroyed huge swathes of important bird habitats, affecting the populations of some of our most threatened and specialised species.

    The first to break out, in mid-July, destroyed much of the RSPB’s Abernethy reserve, home to declining species such as black grouse and capercaillie, as well as scarce songbirds including Scottish crossbill and crested tit. Fortunately it was brought under control before it reached the village of Nethy Bridge, whose residents were briefly evacuated.

    Continue reading...

  • Country diary: The biggest burst of partridges I’ve seen on the farm. We must be doing something right | Colin Chappell

    Brigg, Lincolnshire: As my attention turns to drilling next year’s cash crops, I create a disturbance out in the fields

    Sometimes a moment of surprise has years of experience behind it. Last week as I was out in the oilseed rape fields applying a cocktail of microbe food (molasses, humates and fish paste), I had quite a shock when up went a large flock of grey partridges, a covey of 26. Twelve would be considered large, with red-legged partridges only ever appearing in pairs, but I’ve not seen 26 grey here in my lifetime.

    This is testament to our nature‑friendly approach to farming, including this year planting specific margins to encourage sawfly larvae, crickets, weevils and ground beetles. These insects form the entire diet of grey partridges (and yellowhammers) during their first two weeks of life. In addition, rather than just planting overwinter cover crops and “catch” crops to mop up loose nutrients and protect the soil from the elements, I now add millet, the seed of which is a boost for older birds. The idea is to create a mosaic of habitats that connect through the landscape.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘The physical toll is visceral’: How Indonesia’s fire haze affects millions - visual guide

    Intensified by this year’s super El Niño, fires in Borneo and Sumatra are emitting toxic air for swathes of the population in Indonesia and its neighbours

    For months, parts of Indonesia’s Borneo and Sumatra islands have been ablaze. The fires are sometimes lit illegally as a cheap way to clear land for plantations of oil palm, of which Indonesia is the world’s largest producer.

    So prevalent is the technique that it even has a special term: slash and burn.

    Continue reading...

  • Bear-y good neighbors: humans and animals are learning to live together in an expanding LA

    People are increasingly crossing paths with the wild animals as homes ring the outskirts of forests, sparking a new era of coexistence

    Every year, as summer draws to a close and fall begins, California’s bears get hungry.

    Black bears have long roamed the state, hunting for acorns, ants and pine nuts by the bucketload to pack on calories before hibernation. But increasingly, for every berry and root, there’s an even greater temptation: our trash and the detritus of human existence.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘Do you have to be dead?’: US coalminers plead for benefits as black-lung disease cases surge

    Trump says he digs coal – but pneumoconiosis cases are at a 50-year high, and sick miners are mired in benefit delays

    For 38 years, Josh Armes worked as a coal miner in West Virginia and Virginia.

    After retirement, Armes, 74, of Grundy, Virginia, was diagnosed with black lung disease, medically known as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), caused by breathing in coal dust over long periods, which irreversibly damages the lungs.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds

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