Tuesday, 18 May 2021

Rovinj Sea Research Centre Celebrating 130 Years of Work

May 18, 2021 - The Rovinj Sea Research Centre turns 130 in 2021. It is the place in Croatia for oceanographic research and all things science related to the preservation of the sea and maritime life.

Established back in 1891 as Berlin's Aquarium Zoological Station, the research Institute is known today as the Rovinj Sea Research Centre (CIM), and last week it celebrated 130 years of work. An affiliate of the Ruđer Bošković Science Institute (IRB), that institute recently reported that CIM currently has 54 employees working in four laboratories, and the centre is heavily involved in numerous impressive scientific projects.

''This includes five projects of the Croatian Science Foundation (HrZZ), worth 5,855 635 HRK, three projects financed within the INTERREG cross border programme (worth 1,326 000 euros), three projects with European structural and investment funds (7,189 531 HRK), and two projects financed within the EU programme for research and innovations, OBZOR 2020, valued at 179,360 euros,“ says the IRB official website.

The section of the IRB page dedicated to CIM adds that the centre offers a multidisciplinary take on the research of the sea, offering both basic and applicable oceanographic research. This includes six areas of interest: processes and dynamics in the food chain, examining the dynamics of water masses, ecology (species and the interrelations of species in both clean and in polluted waters), sea organism research (ecological, physiological, and genetic features of organisms, and a pollution effects study), the monitoring of pollution and sea quality, and finally, the monitoring of eutrophication (a process in which the environment becomes enriched with nutrients which can trigger the development of algae and cause an imbalance in the ecosystem).

Set in the beautiful town of Rovinj on the Istrian peninsula because of the clear waters of the Adriatic sea, CIM is on a mission to preserve marine life and its biodiversity.

CIM truly has a rich tradition, having conducted international systematic research and monitoring of the marine ecosystem of the Northern Adriatic for over 30 years. ''This approach became a model for the regional organisation of the European systematic monitoring of the coastal sea,'' says IRB.

IRB adds that in this long tradition, the Croatian science programme of monitoring the Northern Adriatic played a huge role. Having begun fifty years ago, it developed into the Jadran Project, making Croatia one of the first countries in all of Europe to have developed a systematic approach to the monitoring of the sea.

''Additional confirmation of the tradition and scientific quality of CIM can also be seen in the recent joining of CIM to JERICO – the Joint European Research Infrastructure network for Coastal Observatory, making CIM a partner of some of the most famous European Institutes“, concluded the IRB's explanation.

Learn more about Beaches in Croatia on our TC page.

For more about science in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Wednesday, 5 May 2021

Ruđer Bošković Science Institute Combats Climate Change by Developing New Material

May 5, 2021 - With ecology being the key to survival, the Ruđer Bošković Science Institute combats climate change by developing a new material known as CuZn-MOF-74.

The pandemic is nasty, the nuclear holocaust is a scary thought, but greenhouse gases remain an omnipresent potential for the death of us as they trigger climate change on whose negative effects scientists have been warning us about for decades. 

Like the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency informs on its websitethese gases trap the heat in the atmosphere, which in terms raises the temperature we experience. 

The website lists the main types of these airier troublemakers:

CO2 (Carbon dioxide - enters the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil), solid waste, trees, and other biological materials, and also as a result of certain chemical reactions. It is removed by plants that use it for photosynthesis – a process that provides food for the pants and oxygen for other beings).

CH4 (Methane-emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil. Methane emissions also result from livestock and other agricultural practices, land use, and the decay of organic waste in municipal solid waste landfills).

N2O (Nitrous oxide - emitted during agricultural, land use, industrial activities, combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste, as well as during treatment of wastewater).

Last but not least:

Fluorinated gases ( such as Hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride are synthetic, powerful greenhouse gases that are emitted from a variety of industrial processes. Fluorinated gases are sometimes used as substitutes for stratospheric ozone-depleting substances. These gases are typically emitted in smaller quantities, but because they are potent greenhouse gases, they are sometimes referred to as High Global Warming Potential gases) 

Each of these gases can stay in the atmosphere for a very long time, and transferring these gases into something else is a challenge to beat. Fortunately, at least for carbon dioxide, we might be getting closer to the solution than we think.

pollution.jpg

Pixabay

Ruđer Bošković Science Institute (IRB) in Croatia reported on its website that they are at the brink of a new material that can selectively transform carbon dioxide into methanol alcohol. The green chemists in Zagreb were closely cooperating with colleagues from the Slovenian Chemical Institute (KI), and McGill University in Canada. The results of their mutual research, in a more further scientific detail, are published in a scientific article on the prestigious ACS Publications

But in the summarization, doctoral candidates Tomislav Stolar and Valentina Martinez, alongside dr. Bahar Karadeniz, under the lead of dr. Krunoslav Užarević (IRB), and dr Tomislav Friščić (McGill University) developed a bi-metal proposal coordination material known as CuZn-MOF-74. The layman speaking complex name is owned to the fact it's made from copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) using a mechanic-chemical method of making bi-metal metalorganic networks known as MOF-74. As TCN previously reported, that method is an environmentally sustainable synthetic strategy that is further elaborated in a scientific article in 2019.

The catalytical properties of this material were tested KI in Ljubljana with the help of the scientists from the Institute: dr. Blaž Likozar, dr. Gregor Mali, dr. Ana Bjalić, and Anže Prašnikar.

The results have shown that this material has a modest catalyst (meaning it speeds up) activity to synthesize methanol, and post-reaction presented the scientists with a non-porous material which showed multiple enhancement of both catalyzation and selection for methanol synthetization.

„This research is a good example of multidisciplinary and international collaboration between strong research centers in the region. To me, as a young scientist, it's important that I can work on the current issues, such as transforming carbon dioxide into methanol, thanks to the guidance of dr. Užarević. There is a big potential for switching to sustainable chemical processes through the program of European Green plan, and research in that field should be the priority“, said the lead author Tomislav Stolar, a doctoral candidate in the IRB's laboratory for green synthesis.   

The IRB official website added that the search for an effective catalyzation to transform carbon dioxide into methanol is the focus of scientists worldwide. Methanol could also be then used as a fuel and replace the current fossil products.

Today you already have the term „Methanol Economy“ that predicts methanol will impose as the vital compound to store energy, as a fuel, and a source of carbon to synthesize valuable compounds. Efficient synthesis of methanol from carbon dioxide presents an example of sustainable chemical reaction of added value, and with great economic potential“, concludes the press release on IRB.

Apart from IRB scientists combating climate change, Croatia takes care of the environment, particularly national parks on whom you can learn more on our TC page.

For more about science in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Thursday, 29 April 2021

Croatian National Bank: Banks Still Do Not See Climate Change As Serious Threat to Business

ZAGREB, 29 April, 2021 - Most banks in Croatia still do not see climate change as a serious threat to their business, a survey carried out by the Croatian National Bank (HNB) showed on Thursday.

The survey was presented as part of an online conference called "The Role of Banks in Greening Our Economies", organised by the HNB and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The survey, carried out among 20 Croatian banks, showed that the banks did not see climate change as an immediate and serious threat to their business.

Only one bank said that climate change would have a generally significant impact on the Croatian banking system, 11 banks said that the impact would be moderate, while eight said that it would be insignificant.

Only two banks have a climate change-related strategy included in their overall business strategy, expressing concern about risks and anticipating possible changes to the regulatory framework. On the other hand, 15 banks said they were waiting for the regulators to take the initial steps in this regard.

Responding to the question about risk materialisation, 10 banks said that climate risks would not materialise in the near future, while 11 said they were not attaching major importance to exposure to climate change and environmental risks to their portfolio.

Physical risk includes the financial impact of climate change, and five sectors in Croatia are particularly vulnerable to it - tourism, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and energy distribution. More than a quarter of Croatian banks' exposures to non-financial institutions concern these sectors, mostly tourism, the survey showed.

However, none of the banks has so far assessed its exposure to climate and environmental risks, citing lack of reliable data and methodology as well as lack of qualified staff.

The sectors facing the biggest transition risk from climate change are transport and traffic, agriculture, motor vehicles, energy and oil products, and construction.

Only 9 banks offer green product to their customers

Most banks recognise opportunities brought by the transition to a low-carbon economy, with three-quarters of them saying they could benefit from this transition by financing green projects. However, only nine banks said they were offering a green product to their customers, such as loans for the energy renovation of buildings or the purchase of electric vehicles.

 HNB Governor Boris Vujčić said in his opening remarks that both the HNB and EBRD had acknowledged their responsibility for highlighting the role of banks in the climate transition. He recalled the Paris climate change agreement of 2015, which has been ratified by 189 countries, saying that it set ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent further global warming.

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Wednesday, 21 April 2021

Slovenia, Croatia, Italy Sign Statement on Protection of Adriatic

ZAGREB, 21 April, 2021 - The foreign ministers of Slovenia, Croatia and Italy signed in Brdo Pri Kranju, Slovenia on Wednesday a joint statement on the protection of the northern Adriatic, after plenary talks on joint cooperation in that area.

Speaking to the press after the signing, Anže Logar of Slovenia said that he, Gordan Grlić Radman of Croatia and Luigi di Maio of Italy endorsed conclusions on strengthening the three countries' cooperation in the protection of the Adriatic, which he said was the basic framework for strengthening cooperation in areas of common interest.

Last year Croatia and Italy announced the proclamation of exclusive economic zones in the Adriatic, including Slovenia in consultations on the matter. Slovenia, which under international law does not have the right to do the same, assessed that as a positive move by its two neighbours.

Early this February, the Croatian parliament proclaimed an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic, giving Croatia additional rights in relation to the Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone declared in 2003 to build artificial islands and exploit the sea, wind and currents in that zone in line with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

At a meeting in Trieste on 19 December, the three ministers adopted a joint statement in which they share a vision of the sea as a bridge uniting all the peoples in this area and a source of progress for all. They were agreed that the Adriatic, as a closed sea with intensive traffic and a vulnerable eco-system, needs an integrated approach to environmental protection and sustainable development.

For more about ecology in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page

 

Wednesday, 14 April 2021

International Conference On Climate Change Held in Kaštela

ZAGREB, 13 April, 2021 - An online international conference on climate change was held in Kaštela, outside Split, on Tuesday to raise public awareness of the need to strengthen Croatia's capacity to deal with this matter.

The conference was organised by RERA, the public institution for coordination and development of Split-Dalmatia County as one of 11 partners in the EU project "Change We Care" between Croatia and Italy.

Croatia and Italy are to prepare joint projects to alleviate the consequences of climate change and include them in the new EU programming period 2021-2027.

Branka Pivčević Novak of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development stressed the importance of developing the first national action plan on climate change, saying that the modernisation of the national meteorological network in Croatia was very important.

Speaking online from Italy, the "Change We Care" project leader Davide Bonaldo said the project envisaged evaluating the current situation and newer trends in physical and ecological processes along the Adriatic coast, making projections of scenarios in climate change conditions, and identifying measures to adapt to climate change in five pilot areas.

Those are Vransko Jezero lake, the Neretva river delta, the Jadro river and the Kaštela Bay in Croatia, and Mula di Muggia and the Po river delta in Italy.

The end goal of the project is to establish adaptation measures to deal with climate change, Bonaldo said, adding that local communities would benefit the most.

Climate change affects the low-lying coastal area, which is urbanised, as well as the cultural heritage and tourism, so the goal of this plan is the implementation of an integral approach to the management of the Kaštela coastal area in the context of climate change, said Professor Martina Baučić of the Split Faculty of Civil Engineering.

For more about ecology in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Friday, 26 March 2021

Grant Agreement Signed For Composting Plant in Metković

ZAGREB, 26 March, 2021 - A HRK 12.5 million EU grant agreement for the construction of a composting plant in the southern town of Metković was signed on Friday by Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Ćorić and the director of the local Čistoća waste management company, Tomislav Jakić.

The project, which will be implemented as part of the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020, is worth more than HRK 24 million, of which 50% is co-financed by the EU.

Ćorić said that the composting plant would serve Metković as well as Opuzen and neighbouring communities.

The plant's annual capacity is 5,000 tonnes and it guarantees that biodegradable waste in the River Neretva valley will be managed in the best way possible, said the minister.

Dubrovnik-Neretva County head Nikola Dobroslavić said that Metković was the most advanced local government unit in terms of waste management.

For more about ecology in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Monday, 15 June 2020

Think Green on Peljesac: Divers Remove Over 400 Bags of Waste Near Trstenik

As Morski writes on the 14th of June, 2020, the Think Green ecological action on Peljesac close to Trstenik came to an end after a couple of days of demanding work. There were nineteen clean up actions in a row and the main organisers of it all, as well as the holders of the Think Green project, are as follows: Diving Club Roniti se Mora, National Geographic Croatia, Mares, Hrvatske Vode, Jamnica, Garmin, ESET NOD32, Zagrebačke pekarne Klara, Pivovara Medvedgrad, Edivo, Grgić Vina, Konoba Vitaceae, Fast Food Z, Bezek, DC Blue Planet, OPG Branko Džajić, D'Oro Grill, Caffe bar Felix, Stijena, Pizzeria Riva, Poljanić, Septem pontes, Pons, Postir and Scubalife.

The seabed in Trstenik and Zaglavak on Peljesac was cleaned up by as many as 40 divers and several volunteers, who were joined by the locals from Trstenik. Incredibly, over 400 bags of plastic waste, dozens of car tyres and batteries, parts from boats, a plastic pipe which was over two metres in length, one hundred metres of steel cables, old pots and chairs were taken out of the sea, which were then properly disposed of by the employees of the Bilan utility company. Approximately five tonnes of waste was collected in bags in total.

Diving parachutes, hooks and even boats were used to extract large debris. Mines and other explosives were found under the water, as well as a significant amount of medical waste lying around on the beach. After such actions, no one expects the seabed to be completely cleaned, but the educational effect is immeasurable.

Several tonnes of removed waste and garbage aren't negligible, but the real goal of such eco-actions is not only the cleaning and removal of the waste itself but also educating of local citizens, encouraging more responsible behaviour and pointing out the growing danger of pollution. The real goal is raise general awareness and as such, reduce pollution overall. This action on Peljesac achieved both goals in the right way.

Perhaps the biggest undertaking of this particular action on Peljesac was done on Zaglavak beach, which was covered with garbage, which mostly comes up from Albania, carried by the currents of the Adriatic sea.

For more, follow Total Eco Croatia.

Saturday, 23 May 2020

Divers and Volunteers Remove 2 Tonnes of Rubbish from Murter Seabed

The discarding of waste, particularly harmful plastic, is an enormous problem across the world that various governments and indeed the EU has been trying to address and deal with. In Croatia, the improper disposal of waste has gradually become a problem bordering a total loss of control. On beautiful Murter alone, a massive two tonnes of rubbish was collected from the seabed.

As Morski writes on the 22nd of May, 2020, May the 22nd marked the the Day of Biological Diversity and the Day of Nature Protection in the Republic of Croatia. Organised by the municipality of Murter-Kornati, the local tourist board and the Šibenik powerlifting club, a team of about ten volunteers and divers from the Najada diving centre managed to remove a concerning two tonnes of garbage from Murter's seabed to the surface.

''We undertook a diving-coastal action with about two tonnes of garbage… with 10 or so divers and volunteers… I don't know what this action is by number, but I know that there will be more being done this year than there were last year, and last year there were more than 30 of them. They were coastal, forest, natural and underwater diving actions. I can freely say without modesty that when it comes to environmental protection, we work mostly at the local level, and globally, in terms of Croatia [as a whole], I'm sure that we're at the top. It's amazing how much garbage we collected, tonnes and tonnes of it,'' stated Goran Simic, president of the Šibenik powerlifting club, who also went on to explain why the action was takrn.

''There was no money to be had from doing this. We did it because that's the normal thing to do! Everything will come back. Because a couple of people, municipalities and others have already asked us for advice because they do their own eco actions, we had enough of just talking and people taking money from the budget for fairy tales… Because now that you go through Grebastica, Brodarica, Zablace, Murter, Sibenik, Tribunj, Kaprije, Raslina and other places, the land and the sea will both be clean… That's why… We don't care who leans to the left, to the right, who is a centrist, who is a partisan or who is an Ustasha. See you on Sunday in Zablace, Soline from 17:00 to continue this,'' announced Simic.

Make sure to follow Total Eco Croatia if you're interested in both official and unofficial ways in which Croatia works to protect its environment.

Tuesday, 4 February 2020

Veruda Island Wins Unique Ecological Beach Recognition

As Morski writes on the 3rd of February, 2020, Veruda island, otherwise known as a favourite island among Pula locals and better known as ''fratar (brother) island'', has received valuable recognition in the form of the EKO beach label as the only one of its kind in the whole of the Republic of Croatia.

Namely, at the initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, the administrative department for tourism of Istria County drew up a regional programme for the regulation and management of the beaches. In this way, the systematic, thoughtful and sustainable management of the beaches is ensured, above all by environmental standards. The beach on Veruda island has as such fulfilled the stringent Eco Beach requirements. There will be an information board placed on the beach itself which will descrie and detail the valuable flora and fauna that grows in the area, as well as the rules and expectations when it comes to behaviour on eco beaches.

Pula Mayor Boris Miletic said he was extremely pleased by the environmental recognition that confirms the green status Veruda island has among the citizens of Pula.

"Year after year, we work to preserve its authenticity, the natural environment and we continue developing and enriching the island as a place where citizens will continue to actively spend their free time,'' stated Mayor Miletic.

The eco beach is located on the north side of island Veruda near the main pier and the reception of the nearby campsite. The beach is mostly pebbled, with a length of 350 metres and an average width of 12 metres, while in the hinterland, there is a beautiful natural pine forest. There is a changing awning on the beach, and near the waste storage tanks, and at a distance of 100 metres, there is a toilet with drinking water and showers with hot water available from solar collectors.

Veruda island is already preparing for a busy and successful 2020 summer season, and owing to that, a summer programme has been planned this year, which will attract hundreds of visitors during the summer season to enjoy concerts, performances, the culinary competition "GRILLijada" and of course the "Fratarski - Bunarina" swimming marathon.

In addition to it, the children's summer camp will be traditionally organised, attracting children and young people from Pula and the surrounding villages as it does every summer, who will also gain new friendships.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle and Total Eco Croatia pages for much more.

Sunday, 2 February 2020

Volunteers Remove Tonne of Plastic from Zirje: Politicians Need to Wake Up

As Jurica Gaspar/Morski writes on the 1st of February, 2020, the gorgeous coves and bays of the island of Zirje, much like most of Croatia's islands, are unfortunately full of discarded plastic waste.

Zirje is being written about specifically because as this harmful plastic rubbish arrives on the island, so do the lovers of Zirje as they embark on yet another praiseworthy beach clean-up action. This time, they cleaned up as much as one tonne of plastic waste in just two or three hours, and their satisfaction with their hard work for the good of the environment was sadly spoiled by the fact that someone else would surely arrive and throw more plastic there before long.

This is far from the first time that volunteers, under the organisational baton of Sibenik's city councillor, Anton Dobra, have engaged in cleaning up bays on Zirje which have been contaminated by plastic waste. They regret that the politicians sitting comfortably in Zagreb, as well as many lower-ranking authorities and local government units, still don't feel the need for organised action.

The Adriatic sea seems to concern them only in the domain of its commercial exploitation, as if they've not been concerned at all with the obvious, extremely worrying problems of high amounts of plastic pollution along the Croatian coast and in the sea over recent years. It's like it's not happening at all, or it's happening to someone else, somewhere on another planet.

Owing to this selective blindness, few people except local volunteers rolled up their sleeves on Zirje at least. This is precisely why they urge that at least those who are actually paid for it finally begin to do their work to protect the only sea Croatia has.

''When people start working, then not even jugo (strong southern winds) can stop us. Luckily, we managed to clean up a tonne of plastic, and we're sad that this evil seems to have no end,'' Dobra wrote on Facebook, proud that the volunteers filled up 35 bags with plastic waste that had ended up on Zirje.

''It's important for me to emphasise that we need to awaken people's consciousness. So that it isn't too late for us. The Adriatic is increasingly polluted! The political structures need to be awakened, by volunteers, by individuals… For 2-3 hours of work, there are so many benefits. And this is just a drop in the ocean, this is our national problem - the state MUST get involved! At the moment, there are at least two garbage trucks' worth of trash on Zirje alone. Every county should have its own boat for this kind of thing. This is a global issue, but it's also our problem, we have to face the reality,'' concluded Dobra, showing photographs that confirm the far from optimistic reality on Croatian islands.

Divers claim that below the surface of a seemingly sparkling, clean Adriatic, the situation is sadly even worse.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for more. If you're interested in both official and unofficial ways Croatia takes care of its environment, give Total Eco Croatia a follow.

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