ECO FLOW TO THE ISLAND.

The project EKO DOTOK NA OTOK is aimed at reducing the pollution of the marine environment by implementing underwater cleaning actions, raising awareness of the importance of protecting the sea and marine biodiversity by educating children and young people, and encouraging island communities to be more aware and responsible when it comes to solving the problem of pollution and preserving the sea and coast.

The project contains three components:

1. Undersea cleaning actions of the islands of Žut, Prvić, and Vrgada
2. The “Marine Superheroes” campaign
3. A series of round tables of local stakeholders: “Waste in the sea – whose care is it?”

Cleaning actions will be carried out in cooperation with diving clubs and volunteers at sea and on land. Through three underwater clean-up campaigns, the bays on the islands of Žut, Prvić, and Vrgada will be cleaned of garbage in the sea. In addition to the cleaning action itself, monitoring of the presence of invasive algae will be carried out, and the type of waste will be recorded. The “Marine Superheroes” campaign will be conducted in the form of a training ground through which children must learn everything about the powers of six marine superheroes in order to acquire the title of marine superhero themselves, whose duty it is to protect the sea and life in it. The marine training ground consists of informal educational workshops in which children will learn: – to sort waste, learn how many years it takes for individual waste to decompose, what diving equipment is made of, how to recognize if a periwinkle is alive, who to report, etc. The third project component is to organize will be as a series of 3 round tables of local stakeholders who are involved or will be involved in solving the local problem of waste in the sea called “Waste in the sea – whose care is it?”. The round tables will be held in Pakoštani (Vrgada), Murter (Žut) and Vodice (Prvić). Example of local stakeholders that will be invited: are utility companies, local self-government (municipalities, city), representatives of the profit sector (marinas, caterers, etc.), TZs, local ecological and other associations, diving clubs, etc. The aim of the round tables is to build a network of cooperation between all three sectors, in order to continuously work together to solve the problem of waste in the sea.

In addition to Argonauta, the Murter-Kornati Diving Club and the Municipality of Murter-Kornati will participate in the preparation of the activity as project partners, as well as JU Nature (Ši-Kn County), JU NP Kornati, Municipal Company Murtela and the Tourist Board of Murter-Kornati Municipality, TZ of Pakoštane Municipality, TZ of the city of Vodice, associated utility companies, and local associations and diving clubs as collaborators.

PHOTO: Restaurant FEŠTA

GOALS: 1. CLEANED AND PRESERVED UNDERWATER ENVIRONMENT FROM WASTE AND INVESTIGATED FOR THE PRESENCE OF HARMFUL ALGAE in the seabed of the islands of Vrgada, Prvić and the Sitka-Žuta group of islands. 2. TARGET GROUPS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC INFORMED AND EDUCATED ABOUT THE NEED TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH an educational program for children and a digital campaign 3. LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS AWARE AND CONNECTED THROUGH JOINT WORK TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF WASTE IN THE SEA in the municipalities of Pakoštane (island of Vrgada), the city of Vodice (island of Prvić) and the municipality of Murter-Kornati (Kornat Islands).

USERS: *minimum 150 VOLUNTEER DIVERS from all over Croatia (50 PER LOCATION) *minimum 100 CHILDREN (ages 5 to 10) F73 *minimum 20 representatives of local stakeholders (representatives of municipalities, cities, utility companies, tourist boards, local associations, diving clubs, public institutions, and others) *employees and members of holders and partners (10) *local volunteers (10 per location) The cooperation of the mentioned users guarantees a better quality of care for the marine environment and further joint cooperation with the aim of ensuring a better quality of life in this area in the long term in a friendly coexistence with nature.

PARTNERS: Diving Club Murter-Kornati, Municipality Murter-Kornati

DONORS: The Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund

DURATION: 2022.

BUDGET: 100.000,00 Kn