Much has been said in the Croatian media about the ambitious plans for the construction of the Sljeme cable car, which was supposed to replace the old, now defunct, cable car.

The old Sljeme cable car (Sljemenska žičara) operated between 1963 and 2007, when it was permanently closed. And practically since its shut-down, Mayor Bandić has been announcing the construction of the new, improved cable car which would take citizens of Zagreb and the tourists to the top of the Medvednica mountain, located just to the North of Zagreb. Last year the old pillars were removed, and this year the works on the construction of the new cable car have started, although not nearly as fast as it was announced. The price tag for the construction is also reported to be several times larger than in other similar projects, such as Sarajevo cable car, and Croatian media have reported that it's impossible to find who designed the new path for the cable car, which differs significantly from the old path.

And now Matej Mišić, a representative in the City Council asked how it was possible that the new credit line is needed for this construction. He says that the project is 12 years old and that it's unbelievable that the funding has yet not been secured, so instead of financing the project from the city budget, a new line of credit needs to be taken to get the money. Mišić wondered what that says about the finances in the city, as he commented Bandić's statement that ZET (public transport company in Zagreb) will take the loan of 450 million kunas to finish the Sljeme cable car. Mišić added that he doesn't know of a single cable car anywhere in the world which costs 560 million kunas (80 million euros!), which is what the total costs are presumed to be. The initial costs were supposed to be around 29 million kunas, but four times more has been spent in the first six months of the construction. Mišić points out that with this price-tag Zagreb should be getting a cable car to the top of Medvednica and all the way down on the other side of the mountain, in Bistra.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 15th of April, 2019, this past weekend, as part of a socially responsible project, the popular JYSK retail chain held a voluntary action to plant 10,000 European beech seedlings in two zones in the Medvednica Nature Park in Sljeme, above Zagreb, which have been most adversely affected by the weather's elements over last few years.

"We got together on Sljeme so that JYSK's volunteers, together with citizens, planted 10,000 beech seedlings donated by JYSK as part of our action. We're renewing the area in two zones of the Medvednica Nature Park, which died a couple of years ago after stormy weather.

''In addition to helping financially as a company through such projects, we want to help and in a different way to keep track of nature for the next generation,'' said Vesna Kukić Lončarić for JYSK Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

The project was realised in cooperation with Croatian forests (Hrvatske šume), and the afforestation was carried out in the area around PD Risnjak within the Medvednica Nature Park. Despite the unfavourable weather conditions and even some snow, the afforestation action was supported by numerous citizens interested in the conservation of the environment who planted as many as 10,000 seedlings in the aforementioned locations. Among them was the famous Croatian singer Mirela Priselac Remi.

"We welcome JYSK's initiative and we'd like to thank them for their activities as part of their socially responsible business towards the forests. Such actions contribute to raising awareness among all citizens of the need for forest conservation and they are endangered by climate change and the irresponsible behaviour of individuals,'' she stated.

''Without the forests, there's no clean air nor is there any clean water, and such young and healthy forests as are sprouting here are our best allies in alleviating the consequences of climate change. There are multiple uses of forests, and only with responsible management can we manage to preserve them,'' said Damir Miškulin from Croatian forests.

For this project, JYSK collected funds from the sale of 50 percent of recycled plastic bags during the first three months of this year, which were donated for the purchase of seedlings for the purpose of afforestation. JYSK's objective is to raise public awareness of the importance of our forests and their development with a positive example, and continue to implement such projects throughout the year and throughout the whole of the Republic of Croatia.

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A project for Medvednica, a mountain located in Central Croatia just north of Zagreb, will see trees planted. Medvednica nature park is a popular destination, located close to Zagreb with its highest peak being the much loved Sljeme.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 8th of January, 2019, the JYSK retail chain has launched a project which will see the shopping giant collect all the funds made from the sale of plastic bags containing 50 percent recyclable material from January the 2nd to March the 31st, 2019, and putting them to good use for the purpose of preserving the environment in the Republic of Croatia.

In close cooperation with Croatian forests (Hrvatske šume), the funds collected from the sale of the bags will be intended for the purchase of as many as 10,000 beech seedlings for the purpose of the afforestation of two zones of the popular Medvednica nature park near Zagreb. The goal of this praiseworthy and highly socially responsible project is to raise further awareness of the importance of the need for forests and of their development.

"As a large international company which is in daily contact with thousands of customers, suppliers and associates, we're aware of our roles in the development of socially responsible business, creating a new value for all participants. Our wish is to raise public awareness of the important issues and we're confident that we will encourage many to behave more conscientiously towards nature,'' said Vesna Kukić-Lončarić, JYSK's country manager for Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia.

JYSK has initiated a project on the basis of a new directive of the European Union which was introduced in Croatia on January the 1st, 2019. It is a measure to reduce the use of non-recyclable plastic bags. In addition to the effect the retail chain wants to have over regular citizens, JYSK wants to encourage its own employees to actively engage in afforestation in Croatia, and plans to plant the huge number of aforementioned beet seedlings after the end of the fundraising cycle, which will be in April 2019.

"We're pleased that JYSK has recognised the importance of forest care in Croatia. Planting on surfaces that have suffered several times after stormy weather is crucial to restoring the balance of nature. We hope this will also encourage other companies to launch similar initiatives,'' said Damir Miškulin, head of the Zagreb branch of Croatian forests.

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