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 poisons be aware Insect spraying: the campaign

Eco Environment News feeds

  • Firework noise limit should be drastically cut to protect wild animals, UK government told

    Ministers urged to go further than proposed cut to 110 decibels to ease acute stress on birds and others animals

    Campaigners are calling on the UK government to protect the welfare of wild animals by cutting the maximum noise level of fireworks sold to the public from 120 to 90 decibels.

    The Center for Wild Animal Welfare (CWAW) has said lowering the limit to 90dB – which is about one-eighth of the loudness of 120dB – would help to protect millions of wild animals from acute stress by reducing the area over which a firework disturbs surrounding wildlife.

    Continue reading...

  • Great Britain’s worst-ever bluetongue season ‘a major animal welfare crisis’

    British Veterinary Association president tells MPs surge in cases putting farmers under severe pressure and stress

    The worst bluetongue season on record has been a major animal welfare crisis in Great Britain, MPs have been told, putting farmers under “severe emotional stress”.

    Bluetongue, a viral disease that affects sheep, cattle and goats, can cause fever, lesions, stillbirths and death. The tongue may go blue and protrude from the mouth.

    Continue reading...

  • How penguin poo is making Antarctic snow melt faster

    Researchers find the birds’ guano feeds algal blooms that absorb significantly more solar energy

    Penguin poo is making the Antarctic snow melt faster, a study shows. As temperatures rise, penguins are waddling closer to the south pole, with potential for this previously unrecognised phenomenon to affect a wider area.

    Snow algae are tiny single-celled plants that make a home in some of the coldest places on Earth. When nutrients are scarce, the algae produces red pigments to protect itself from the sun and slow growth.

    Continue reading...

  • Kashmir’s potato pits are vanishing – and generations of knowledge could be buried for ever

    Farmers in Gurez store their harvests underground to last the Himalayan winter. As the practice fades, local varieties and handed-down skills are disappearing too

    Hajra Begum rolls a potato in her hands, checking its skin for cuts, soft spots and signs of rot. After a day harvesting in her family’s field in Chorwan, a remote mountain village in Gurez, Indian-administered Kashmir, she is sorting the crop for winter storage. Some of the potatoes will feed her family through the cold months; others will be saved for planting in spring.

    “It should be perfect for planting,” she says. “If you keep a bad potato, you will waste the whole next year.”

    Continue reading...

  • Country diary: This small bridge is becoming the site of so many stories | Derek Niemann

    Frome, Somerset: Dippers and fritillaries and pink campion … there is a deep satisfaction in accumulating associations with a regular haunt

    Enchantment surely fills the eyes of first-time visitors who come upon this little stone bridge over the stream. Do they marvel at the judgment of hands in building, wedding rock with rock, face against face? Do they arrive on a brighter morning than this, one on which sunbeams chase each other under the arch and cast sparkling reflections of water on the underside? Does their pulse quicken watching the brook breaking out of its tunnel and skittering over the pebbled bed, hastening through even in times of sluggish drought?

    Me? I see a bird that isn’t there.

    Continue reading...

  • UK ministers told not to engage formally with Indian mega-zoo after lobbying

    Guardian and Mongabay reveal approaches to officials and MPs on behalf of Vantara zoo ahead of UK-chaired Cites meeting on endangered animal imports

    British government ministers were told not to engage formally with Vantara, the controversial mega-zoo run by the Indian billionaire Anant Ambani, after lobbying efforts by the private animal sanctuary in the run-up to a UK-chaired meeting on the trade in endangered species, according to documents.

    This week, the UK heads a 32-country committee meeting in Geneva of Cites, the United Nations body that regulates trade in endangered species. The meeting will examine how India has responded to compliance concerns about imports of endangered animals.

    Continue reading...

  • Brazil publishes first global ‘roadmap’ for phasing out fossil fuels

    Cop30 host sets out steps to break link with coal, oil and gas as it aims to move focus from negotiating to implementing

    All countries can start to break their dependence on fossil fuels now without needing to wait for new technologies or economic changes, Brazil’s government has said ahead of a global climate summit.

    Brazil, the host of last year’s UN climate conference, set out the world’s first global “roadmap” for phasing out fossil fuels on Tuesday, showing that countries could boost their economies and pull people out of poverty while breaking the link with coal, oil and gas.

    Continue reading...

  • From the archive: The trials of Robert Habeck: is the world’s most powerful green politician doomed to fail? – podcast

    We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors

    This week, from 2023: A year ago, Germany’s vice-chancellor was one of the country’s best-liked public figures. Then came the tabloid-driven backlash. Now he has to win the argument all over again

    By Philip Oltermann. Read by Sam Peter Jackson

    Read the text version here

    Support the Guardian today: theguardian.com/longreadpod

    Continue reading...

  • ‘Music is the most powerful way of connecting to what’s happening’: can this album change your mind about the climate crisis?

    With globe-spanning artists – including Charlotte Church doing angry electropop – the Flow project is hoping to make an impact at this month’s Cop31

    Amid tense and long-winded negotiations, and with the future of the planet at stake, emotions can often run high at Cop climate summits. But last year, when the annual conference arrived in Brazil, one UN official was unexpectedly moved to tears by five women singing about the power of water.

    “She gave me a massive hug after the event and said, ‘We need to bring music into Cop,’” says Nikita Llerena, the project manager for Flow, a music collective that’s hoping to bring art to the centre of the climate movement. What started as a handful of musicians meeting over Zoom last year has grown into a full-length album that unites female artists from around the world, including Charlotte Church, Maxine Peake and Nadine Shah. This month, members of the collective will return for Cop31, in Turkey, where they have been promoted to a slot at Global Cultural Action’s opening event.

    Continue reading...

  • The Amazon’s canary in the coalmine: what a tropical fish can tell us about climate upheaval

    Scientist Adalberto Luis Val’s pioneering research on the tambaqui fish is revealing the effect of climate disruption in Brazil, with global implications for biodiversity and food security

    As a boy in rural São Paulo, Adalberto Luis Val used to stare into the lake where his father took him fishing and wonder how all those creatures swimming below stayed alive. One day, he netted a few, put them in a jar, and brought them home to observe. The next morning, they were all dead. Val was devastated but intrigued.

    “I needed to know how fish are able to live,” he says.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds

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