The tiny Croatian island of Zlarin, barely ever heard of outside of Croatia, is praised at no less than the United Nations (UN) General Assembly by the Croatian President.
As Morski writes on the 25th of September, 2019, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović delivered an eloquent but stark warning in English on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly about the harmful pollution of the oceans and seas, including the Adriatic aea, which is a key resource for Croatia, helping tourism stand for about 20 percent of the country’s GDP.
Few people expected ”centre stage” to have been taken by one little Croatian island that few outside of this country have ever even heard of. The Croatian President praised the environmentally friendly initiatives of an island in the Croatian Adriatic with a mere 300 inhabitants. Zlarin is the first Adriatic island to totally get rid of single-use plastic and plastic waste.
The Croatian coast, visited by about 18 million tourists annually, is also polluted by plastic waste from its southern neighbours, Montenegro and Albania.
”From here I invite everyone – please stop throwing waste into our oceans and seas. Our own future is at stake,” stated Grabar-Kitarović from the podium in New York.
”We cannot neglect the grave consequences on our nature and the significant economic losses that threaten us in the future,” she added. Most of her speech was devoted to the protection of the oceans and seas, including the Croatian part of the Adriatic sea, of which 97 percent remains of truly exceptional quality.
She cited two successful concrete examples – the project of the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split, which, in cooperation with local fishermen collected a massive fifty tons of waste, and the action of green activists from the aforementioned Croatian island of Zlarin.
Residents, hospitality workers and traders from Zlarin, which only has a population of about 300, have signed a symbolic declaration to renounce the use of disposable plastic.
”Let all our communities show responsibility like the inhabitants of Zlarin island. Let us not hesitate and be discouraged by past or present failures, but provide strong leadership for our mutual success in the future,” Grabar-Kitarović said.
She said that time was a key factor in addressing the global challenges of the 21st century, she also said that fear prevents the international community from taking steps in the right direction, hampering potential and creativity.
”It is up to us to fearlessly use the instruments we have at our disposal to advance our own people and our own planet,” noted the Croatian President when addressing world leaders.
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