Eco Hvar

AGM 2023.

Published in Charity: Official

MINUTES From the 11th Annual General Meeting of the non-profit Association 'Eco Hvar', held on June 12th 2024 at 17:00 at the 'Splendid Cafe' in Jelsa.

 Present: Vivian Grisogono - Eco Hvar President, Dinka Barbić - steering committee member, Sara Radonić - steering committee member, Nada Kozulić, Susanne Pieper, Jadranka Pohl, Mihovil Stipišić, Johann Summhammer, Iveta Vujević

Apologies for absence: Carol Adeney, Ingrid Bujis, Debora Bunčuga, Marija Bunčuga, Mirko Crnčević, Rupert Dawnay, Frank John Dubokovich, Peter Elborn, Kruno Peronja, Jasenka Splivalo, Andrea Vugrinović

The meeting was opened by Association President Vivian Grisogono at 17:30.

AGENDA

1. Welcome. Number of attendees noted, selection of the Meeting Secretary.

2. Adoption of the Minutes from the 10th AGM.

3. Review of Eco Hvar's activities during 2023.

4. Adoption of the Charity's financial report for 2023.

5. Outline of the Charity's programme for 2024.

6. Any other business.

1. WELCOME. Vivian Grisogono welcomed the attendees and confirmed that there was a quorum.

Dinka Barbić was elected Meeting Secretary, and Debora Bunčuga was deputed to lead the meeting in Croatian, with Vivian Grisogono translating into English as necessary.

2. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES FROM THE 10TH AGM.

The Minutes, which were published previously on the Eco Hvar website in English and Croatian, were circulated to the attendees.

The Meeting adopted the Minutes from the 10th AGM, nem con.

3. REVIEW OF ECO HVAR'S ACTIVITIES IN 2023

For animals

Requests for help or advice, complaints

As always, throughout 2023 people contacted us with various questions, mostly via email or Facebook, occasionally by telephone. We respond as quickly as possible, usually within a day or two.

We received c. 100 inquiries about animals and birds in need on Hvar and elsewhere in Croatia, mostly (c.56) about stray, hungry or injured cats and abandoned kittens; poisonings were also reported. There were c. 36 inquiries about dogs, 6 about birds, 2 about donkeys, 1 about bees.

As always, we helped as much as we could, directly or indirectly. In most cases, we passed the inquiries on to the relevant town wardens (komunalni redari) who are responsible for taking care of stray dogs. They have chip readers,so they can ascertain whether a stray is microchipped, although generally they do not have access to the database so they have to contact the local vet to find the details of registered owners. In the case of mistreated or neglected animals, they call in the regional veterinary inspector: for Hvar the inspector has to come from Split. There was one case of an injured Scops owl caught in an illegal trap, in which the police intervened in collaboration with the veterinary inspector and the local vet.

We also received a few complaints, accusing us of not doing enough to help needy animals. Clearly, some people misunderstand Eco Hvar's position. We are not an institution with employees on hand to deal with the situations which arise; the Association does not have any facilities for housing homeless animals; we are not publicly funded; we are financed by donations, for which we are grateful; we are a core group of five, with a large number of supporters who contribute to the Association's activities in whatever way they can; no-one receives remuneration of any kind from the Association's funds; we do not publicize all our activities, as some animal rescues have to be carried out with discretion (to protect the animals and especially the people involved in saving them).

Animal help

Homing dogs. We helped to place five dogs in the Bestie Foundation Animal Shelter in Kaštel Sućurac and happily all of them found permanent homes. Our successful collaboration with the Bestie Shelter is key to our ability to provide a viable future for Hvar's strays.

Children's visit. Following the successful visit of schoolchildren in October 2022, a group of preschool children came to visit the dogs which live in Pitve in March 2023 and were shown basic dog handling by Sara Radonić. Helping youngsters to learn how to treat animals in the right way so as to enjoy their company is an important part of Eco Hvar's aims. We have been delighted to learn that pupils in Stari Grad have been engaged in establishing a 'cats' corner' for a needy cat, which has thrived as a result of their care. We thank all the schoolteachers who have taken the trouble to teach pupils respect and affection.

Cat sterilizations. The sterilization programme funded by local authorities has continued successfully. We are especially grateful to Elisha and Matt Szczerbinski who have continued to put the Eco Hvar cat trap to good use in capturing street cats for the trap-neuter-release system of controlling cat populations.

Cat feeding stations. We are very grateful to Norman Woollons for constructing three 'hutches' and to the Jelsa Tourist Board Director Marija Marjan for donating two attractive 'cat houses' to protect the feeders and cats from the elements. The feeding stations project has progressed very slowly. Two major problems have arisen: 1. of the numerous people who expressed enthusiasm and offered to help maintain the feeding stations, in practice not a single one actually honoured their promise! 2. although we placed the feeders where we had permission from the land owners and the local authority, some local people objected, even resorting to poisoning the cats. We are working on finding possible solutions.

Volunteers who help. Fortunately, there are many people who quietly and consistently feed street cats in their locality. When we can, we donate good quality dry food to help them when necessary.

For the environment

Correspondence. We received about 31 inquiries on various subects related to the environment, including complaints about rubbish, worries about a swarm of bees, plans to film birds, among others.

Education. On 8th June 2023 Andrea Vugrinović conducted another highly successful workshop / lecture entitled 'Can we grow enough quality food without using pesticides and artificial fertilizer?' The main organizer was LAG Škoji, we helped to publicize the event and recorded the essential information Andrea shared with the audience.

Pesticides. We continue unceasingly to promote initiatives for environmental and health protection at international, national and local levels.

1. The project to test Hvar residents for pesticides has developed and shows alarming results, including the presence of pesticides which have long since been banned in the EU.

2. The insect suppression programme gave special cause for alarm in July 2023 when spraying was carried out without any warning at all and bystanders, including one who was seriously asthmatic, were doused in poison. It could have had tragic results. In the rules governing the insect suppression programme, people with breathing problems have to be warned to stay indoors, spraying should not be done where food crops are grown and laundry should be removed. The rules do not say anything about the need to avoid spraying people!

3. Rat poison is still delivered to households in flimsy cardboard boxes, without proper control of who receives it and how they use it. We continue to campaign for a more responsible approach.

4. A full dossier of the shortcomings of the EU and national systems of pesticide approvals, marketing and usage control has been prepared and presented to the EU Environment Committee members and responsible authorities in Croatia; it was presented to Health Minister Vili Beroš in October 2023.

Good news. 1. Two botanical experts, Berislav Horvatić and Ljiljana Borovečki-Voska discovered a previously unrecorded orchid on Hvar, Himantoglossum robertianum (syn. Barlia robertiana), as well as locating the indigenous Ophrys Pharia, which is rarely seen.

2. The Foundation to finance projects for protecting the environment on Dalmatian Islands was launched. A donation was granted to the pilot project for composting waste for the gardens in three of Hvar's kindergartens, an initiative of the 'Moj Škoji' ('My Island') Association.

3. We are delighted that the association 'Anatomija otoka' has organised several successful initiatives on Hvar as from 2023.

Eco Hvar in the media. As in previous years, in 2023 Eco Hvar's work was highlighted in print, especially in the widely read regional newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija, thanks to the continuing much appreciated support of journalist Mirko Crnčević. His understanding of our aims and our work have greatky enhanced Eco Hvar's visibility, status and credibility.

In Slobodna Dalmacija: "Starogrojski 'Driver': Život hvarskih invalida je tebogan, pun prepreka" (21.01.2023.); Zaprašivali su komarce na punoj rivi, mladić zmalo umro" (18.08.2023.); "Voda za naše bodule mora biti besplatna" (23.08.2023.); In Dobra Kob: "Galebi u portu, nevera na moru" (April 2023); In Hrvatska Pčela: "Umjetnost u zaštiti pčela" (Issue 6, Zagreb 2023)

Facebook. We are grateful to Sara Radonić for managing our Facebook page, which is invaluable for spreading word about animals in need, besides highlighting articles and events of interest in keeping with Eco Hvar's aims.

Website www.eco-hvar.com. We continued to update the information about the adverse effects of pesticides and their approval status, alongside articles about the beauty of our island.

The Meeting accepted the Review of Activities in 2023 nem con.

4. FINANCIAL REPORT FOR 2023.

The Association's income during 2023 amounted to 1,906.27 €, and the outgoings totalled 1,092.29 €. On 01.01.2023 the account stood at 1,254.10 €. carried over from the previous year, while on 31.12.2023 it was 2116,55 €.

The Association's main expenditure is on animal care, accountant's fees and bank expenses. Donations are the Association's sole source of income.

The Financial Report was accepted nem. con.

5. PROPOSED PROGRAMME FOR 2024.

Our aims remain the same and we plan our programme accordingly.

i. Environmental protection and reduction of pesticide use.

We will organize further workshops and lectures. We will continue to lobby against pesticide use, to raise awareness of the dangers inherent in pesticide use and to promote environmentally friendly methods and products to farmers and sellers.

ii. We will continue to organize testing of residents for pesticides, with the aim of an eventual comparison with the incidence of illness on the island.

iii. Activities for animals

We will continue to develop our project to establish feeding stations for cats in various places, with the help of volunteers who will maintain them.

In the longer term we still hope we might be able to establish a holding station for street cats on the island, under the management of the Beštie Animal Shelter in Kaštela.

We will of course continue our successful collaboration with the Beštie Shelter, as well as our support for individuals who are helping animals on the island.

iv. We will continue to support initiatives for eco-tourism on the island.

v. We will continue to lobby for adequate conditions for wheelchair users in Jelsa and elsewhere.

vi. Cooperation with other non-profit organizations.

We will continue to cooperate with like-minded international organizations and national organizations which are working on local and countrywide levels.

The Meeting accepted the Proposed Programme for 2024 nem con.

6. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

There was an animated general discussion on topics of mutual interest. Mihovil Stipišić attended the highly successful lecture on biodynamic agriculture on March 18th 2024. The lecture was organised by LAG Škoji and the Rudolf Steiner Centre and was delivered both in Hvar Town and in Jelsa. In discussion with the lecturer Dr. Dijana Posavec, Mihovil learned that his organic agriculture methods were in fact closer to biodynamic than organic as it is currently defined. Dr. Posavec offered to send him free of charge a horn, which is a vital part of the biodynamic method of soil fertilzation. Mihovil described the recently formed group 'For' of which Vinko Tarbušković, Head of the Management Agency for the Starigrad Plain is a leading member. There are major plans and projects to develop sustainable agriculture on the Plain, including an ambitious plan to provide farmers with free water supplied from the mainland. Mihovil expressed his support for the group, so long as they implemented biodynamic farming methods on the Plain.

There was a general discussion on the issues relating to agriculture without pesticides. When Sara Radonić and Dinka Barbić described how easy it was for individuals to obtain all kinds of pesticides despite the need for a certificate, Jadranka Pohl and Nada Kozulić and all present expressed their concern that there is no foolproof method of control pesticide sales.

The issue of water was discussed, particularly in the light of the recent European Pesticides Action Network report of widespread pesticide contamination of groundwater in European countries including Croatia. The 2022 analysis of drinking water in Jelsa revealed that there were traces of all 50 pesticides tested, (which did not include insecticides). Although the authorities claim that the amounts found were small, Eco Hvar has expressed concern that the effects of such a combination of so many pesticides are totally unknown, and obviously ideally there should be no contamination in our drinking water. Dinka Barbić showed pictures of specific testing of drinking water for heavy metals, which revealed worrying results for some bottled water specimens. Susanne Pieper and Johann Summhammer described how in Vienna the drinking water is clear of contaminants, but in Lower Austria there is still widespread contamination with residues which probably date from the 1960s and 1970s.

Iveta Vujević expressed concern that there was an invasion of land crabs (asellotae) around the Depandans building on the waterfront. They are invaluable for removing heavy metals from soil, but as there are so many, Iveta was worried that the authorities might choose to control them with poisons. She also reported that she has the pieces of the cat hutch which was destroyed by vandals recently, and it was agreed that the parts will be used to build a new simple structure to protect the automatic cat feeders.

President Vivian Grisogono thanked everyone who helped the work of the Association during 2023 besides thanking those who attended the AGM.

The meeting officially closed at 19:00.

Signed:

Dinka Barbić, Meeting Secretary                                                                                                                                                          Vivian Grisogono, Association President

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    A black-backed jackal hunts for prey.

    “But then the nature finance team at Conservation International — these crazy guys — came up with a wild idea,” Alie said. “In just six months they put this entirely new funding model together: loaning money at an affordable rate to the conservancies so that they can continue to pay staff and wildlife rangers.”

    Conservation International and the Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association launched the African Conservancies Fund — a rescue package to offset lost revenues for approximately 3,000 people in the area who rely on tourism income. Between December 2020 and December 2022, the fund provided more than US$ 2 million in affordable loans to four conservancies managing 70,000 hectares (170,000 acres).

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    Born out of this emergency, we discovered a new way to do conservation.

    Elijah Toirai

    “The catastrophe of COVID-19 was total for us,” said Benard Leperes, a landowner with Mara North Conservancy and a conservation expert at Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association. “Without Conservation International and the fund, this landscape would have not been secured; the conservancies would have disintegrated as people were forced to sell their land to convert it to agriculture.”

    But it was communities themselves that proved the model might be replicable after the pandemic ended.

    “The conservancies had until 2023 before the first payment was due,” Toirai said. “But as soon as tourism resumed in mid-2021, the communities started paying back the loans. Today, the loans are being repaid way ahead of schedule.”

    “Born out of this emergency, we discovered a new way to do conservation.”

    A new era for conservation

    The high plateaus overlooking the Maasai Mara are home to the very last giant pangolins in Kenya.

    These mammals, armored with distinctive interlocking scales, are highly endangered because of illegal wildlife trade. In Kenya, threats from poaching, deforestation and electric fences meant to deter elephants from crops have caused the species to nearly disappear. Today, scientists believe there could be as few as 30 giant pangolins left in Kenya.

    Conservancies could be crucial to bringing them back. Conservation International has identified opportunities to provide transformative funding for conservancies in this area — a sprawling grassland northwest of Maasai Mara that is the very last pangolin stronghold in the country. The fund will help communities better protect an existing 10,000-hectare (25,000-acre) conservancy and bring an additional 5,000 hectares under protection. It provides a safety net, ensuring a steady income for the communities as the work of expanding the conservancy begins. With a stable income, communities can start work to restore the savanna and remove electric fences that have killed pangolins. And as wildlife move back into the ecosystem, the grasslands will begin to recover.

    In addition to expanding conservancies around Maasai Mara, Conservation International has identified other critical ecosystems where community conservancies can help lift people out poverty, while providing new habitats for wildlife. Conservation International has ambitious plans to restore a critical and highly degraded savanna between Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks in southern Kenya, as well as a swath of savanna outside Kruger National Park in South Africa.

    © Emily Nyrop

    A lone acacia tree in a sea of grass.

    Elephants, fire, Maasai and cattle

    Many of the new and emerging community conservancies have been carefully chosen as key wildlife corridors that would be threatened by overgrazing livestock.

    When the first Maasai Mara conservancies were established in 2009, cattle grazing was prohibited within their boundaries. When poorly managed, cattle can wear grasses down to their roots, triggering topsoil erosion and the loss of nutrients, microbes and biodiversity vital for soil health. It was also believed that tourists would be put off by the sight of livestock mingling with wildlife.

    © Emily Nyrop

    Cattle are closely monitored in the Maasai Mara to prevent overgrazing.

    However, over the years, landowners objected, lamenting the loss of cultural ties to cattle and herding. “That was when we changed tactics,” said Raphael Kereto, the grazing manager for Mara North Conservancy.

    Beginning in 2018, Mara North and other conservancies in the region started adopting livestock grazing practices to restore the savanna. Landowners agreed to periodically move livestock between different pastures, allowing grazed lands to recover and regrow,  mimicking the traditional methods pastoralists have used on these lands for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

    “Initially, there was a worry that maybe herbivores and other wildlife will run away from cattle,” said Kereto. “But we have seen the exact opposite — the wildlife all follow where cattle are grazing. This is because we have a lot of grass, and all the animals follow where there is a lot of grass. We even saw a cheetah with a cub that spent all her time rotating with wildlife.”

    “It's amazing — when we move cattle, the cheetah comes with it.”

    The loans issued by the fund — now called the African Conservancies Facility — will enhance rotational grazing systems, which are practiced differently in each conservancy, by incorporating best practices and lessons from the organization’s Herding for Health program in southern Africa.

    © Will Turner

    An elephant herd stares down a pack of hyenas.

    For landowners like Dickson Kaelo, who was among the pioneers to propose the conservancy model in Kenya, the return of cattle to the ecosystem has restored a natural order.

    “I always wanted to understand how it was that there was so much more wildlife in the conservancies than in Maasai Mara National Reserve,” said Kaelo, who heads the Kenya Wildlife Conservancy Association, based in Nairobi.

    “I went to the communities and asked them this question. They told me savannas were created by elephants, fire and Maasai and cattle, and excluding any one of those is not good for the health of the system. So, I believe in the conservancies — I know that every single month, people go to the bank and they have some money, they haven't lost their culture because they still are cattle keepers, and the land is much healthier, with more grass, more wildlife, and the trees have not been cut.

    “For me, it’s something really beautiful.”

    Further reading:

    Will McCarry is the content director at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates. Also, please consider supporting our critical work.

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    "Before, we were working blind": A new Conservation International study gives scientists an unprecedented view into a remote tropical forest.

  • Amid seismic change, race is on to revive Earth’s ‘third pole’

    Conservation International is launching a historic conservation partnership to plant 1 billion trees and protect 1 million hectares across India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

  • Forests dwindling faster than ever, report warns

    More than one in three of the world’s tree species are at risk of extinction, according to the first Global Tree Assessment, published today.

  • Report issues ‘sobering reality check’ for world’s oceans

    Ocean protections are lagging dangerously. Here’s what it’s going to take to meet global goals, according to a Conservation International marine scientist.

  • Long silenced, an African park roars back to life

    Years of civil war left Mozambique’s national parks in ruins. But in one park, a decade of conservation has brought the savanna roaring back to life. Now, Conservation International and Peace Parks Foundation are replicating this success on a massive scale.

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