Eco Hvar

Insect spraying: the campaign

Because we at Eco Hvar are very concerned about the shortcomings of the mosquito liquidation programme on Hvar and around Croatia, we have petitioned the Minister for Health to re-consider the methods used.

Insect spraying: the campaign
The Minister for Health is responsible for the Regulations governing the prevention of infectious diseases in Croatia. Control of supposedly dangerous insects and animals such as rodents is compulsory. Every local authority is obliged to carry out appropriate measures. The methods of control are a matter for the discretion of the local authorities. Having observed the situation for several years, we at Eco Hvar have concluded that the current methods used on Hvar and in many other areas of Croatia are faulty, ineffective, and potentially dangerous in ways that are not being recognized by those responsible for the programme. You can read the original text in Croatian and the responses to the campaign from the Minister and others here.
 
This is the English translation of our letter to Minister Kujundžić, which was accompanied by a statement detailing our causes for concern backed by scientific and official reference sources supporting our assertions:
 
"Pitve, 23.08.2017.
prof.dr.sc.Milan Kujundžić, dr.med.primarius, FEBGH, Minister of Health,
Ministarstvo zdravstva
Trg Svetog Marka 2
10000 Zagreb, Hrvatska

Dear Sir,

Re: Insect spraying

Our Charity Eco Hvar has for some years been observing the practice of insect spraying, which is a legal requirement.

One question which arises is whether it is really necessary to eliminate insects in order to prevent illnesses such as Dengue and West Nile Fever, when these illnesses are extremely rare in Dalmatia.

Furthermore, we have been gathering details of the insect suppression programme over these years, as much as we can, and we are of the opinion that this requirement is being carried out in an way which is neither fitting nor transparent, whether on Hvar or in other parts of Croatia. The method used is inappropriate for people, the environment, animals, and beneficial insects (eg bees). This applies particularly to the substances which are being used by the firms authorized to carry out insect suppression.

Attached are the conclusions which we have come to, together with some of our reference sources.

We are sending this letter and the attachments not only to the institutions listed, but also to the wider public domain, through the channels for public information and the civil society associations.

Yours faithfully,

Vivian Grisogono MA(Oxon)

President, Eco Hvar

This letter and the attachments are sent in both written and electronic forms

c.c.
- Minister Dr.sc.Tomislav Ćorić, Ministry for the Protection of the Environment and Energy
- Minister Tomislav Tolušić, Ministry of Agriculture.
- Mr. sc. Jasna Ninčević, dr. med., spec. epidemiologije, Director, Public Health Institution for the Split-Dalmatia County
- Croatian Public Health Institution, Department for Ecological Health
- Dr.sc.Ivana Gudelj, Director of the State Institution for Environmental Protection
- Blaženko Boban, Prefect for the Split-Dalmatia County
- Mayors of Hvar Island"

The reply from the Minister is on the Croatian page, together with a reply from the Minsitry of Agriculture and initial correspondence with the Split-Dalmatian Institute for Public Health: http://www.eco-hvar.com/hr/opasni-otrovi/236-dezinsekcija-kampanja-za-promjenu

There was no evidence of willingness to take our complaints and observations seriously.

 
 
back to top
You are here: Home poisons be aware Insect spraying: the campaign

Eco Environment News feeds

  • Prepare for imminent return of El Niño, UN warns

    UN agency predicts phenomenon that supercharges weather extremes has 80% chance of forming before September

    The world must prepare for the imminent return of El Niño and the supercharged weather extremes it brings, the UN has warned.

    The powerful natural weather pattern, which raises global temperatures and worsens some rainfall, has an 80% chance of forming before September and a 90% chance of persisting until November, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday.

    Continue reading...

  • UK’s growing green economy worth more than £100bn a year, research finds

    Net zero industry accounts for more than a million jobs and benefits whole country, according to CBI Economics

    More than a million jobs, higher wages, nearly half a trillion pounds in investment in the pipeline – the UK’s green economy is powering ahead, according to research by the country’s leading business organisation.

    The net zero economy, which is worth more than £100bn a year, benefits all of the UK, according to the CBI Economics analysis commissioned by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit thinktank, despite critics who want to abolish the UK’s net zero targets.

    Continue reading...

  • It has the highest levels of toxic Pfas in drinking water in Scotland. But how did this remote island become awash with forever chemicals?

    Scientists believe they may now have found the cause of Fair Isle’s pollution – and warn that it should be ringing alarm bells in other coastal areas

    When the wind picks up on Fair Isle, Britain’s most remote inhabited island, puffs of seafoam start to drift across fields like tumbleweed. The pale yellow blobs are ubiquitous enough to hold their own place in the island’s mythology: known as the butter churned by a local troll, Lukki Minni.

    “When the Atlantic gets going, foam covers the whole island,” says Tommy Hyndman, an artist who moved to the Fair Isle from upstate New York two decades ago. “Your windows get caked and your plants all die from the salt.”

    Continue reading...

  • Country diary: Why are orchids so mysterious and coveted? It all starts underground | Mark Cocker

    Hogshaw, Derbyshire: We’re up to 27 spotted orchids in our garden, and every one is a miracle

    When we moved to this house, we didn’t need the encouragement of No Mow May – the ecological campaign advocating restraint in the garden. Our old lawnmower was designed to tackle your average handkerchief and leaving nine-tenths of the new place uncut was a matter of necessity as much as self-control.

    The highlight of last year’s non-labouring efforts addressed directly the whole meaning of no-mow gardening. Who knows what lies hidden in a uniform shorn expanse, unless it is allowed to express itself? A slender pink flower among the green swathe turned out to be a spotted orchid, the commonest, most widespread of our 54 UK species. With this as a search image, I eventually climbed to 16 spikes last year. That alone felt like a triumph.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘Show us some fin’: citizen scientists take to the seas for first of its kind dolphin census

    From cliff sides, coastal lookouts, kayaks or boats, people counted every dolphin they saw for at least 15 minutes to aid research into NSW’s populations

    Looking down the barrel of a telephoto lens, Dr Elizabeth Hawkins tells the dolphins circling the research boat to work it for the camera.

    “That’s it,” she says, joking to her crew. “Show us some fin. Don’t be shy. How about some tail? Oh that’s good. The camera loves you.”

    Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

    Continue reading...

  • Wildfires devastating richer areas but fewer hectares burned globally – study

    ‘Megafires’ in California, Canada, South Korea and Europe in 2025, but changes to farming slowed spread in parts of Africa

    “Devastating” wildfires ripped across the wealthier parts of the world in 2025, a study has found, even as globally, the area ravaged by flames fell.

    Catastrophic blazes claimed lives, homes and jobs last year in California, Canada, Europe and South Korea. But the 335m hectares burned was the second-lowest since 2002, the review found, largely owing to the expansion of African farms that have fragmented landscapes and hampered the spread of large savannah fires.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘Hold your nerve and trust nature’: birds, bats and butterflies rebound at Somerset rewilding farm

    Letting nature take over at a former dairy farm has resulted in a surge of species in just three years

    Three years of rewilding on a former dairy farm in east Somerset have led to the number of recorded bird species soaring from 67 to 94, butterfly species rising from 11 to 24 and small mammals growing in number.

    Heal Somerset, the first site acquired by the charity Heal Rewilding, has produced a state of nature report mirroring a national survey by environmental charities that has tracked the decline in nature.

    Continue reading...

  • Gaslit, shamed and swindled: the play about Eleanor Glanville, persecuted for her love of butterflies

    She had a passion for butterflies and would seek out rare ones, yet this was used against her by violent, money-grabbing husband. Now this pioneering naturalist’s story has been translated to today’s manosphere

    ‘There’s nothing wrong with having a hobby, or even what you might call in this case a hyperfocus,” psychiatrist Dr Godrick tells Eleanor Glanville in a claustrophobic therapy room.

    Outside the Phoenix theatre in Hampshire, a summer heatwave is delivering perfect conditions for butterflies. Inside, a rather darker story is being rehearsed in air-conditioned gloom. Butterfly, a new play, shines a light on one woman’s passion for butterflies and how it is turned against her when she became trapped in an abusive relationship.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘This is a tragedy’: swimming snakes open new front in battle with Balearic lizards

    The insatiable horseshoe whip snake has become an existential threat to the Ibiza wall lizard

    Irrefutable proof of what Spanish researchers and wildlife experts had long suspected, and long feared, finally presented itself in the form of a grainy video that was shot on a minuscule island in the Balearics in April 2024.

    Ribboning its way through the turquoise waters that separate the east coast of Ibiza from the islet of Santa Eulària 450 metres away, came a pale and solitary horseshoe whip snake in search of new territory and fresh sustenance.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘It’s a great healer’: why being outdoors in nature means so much to us

    Many of those who love spending time in Britain’s green places say it is awe-inspiring, calming and therapeutic

    As a recent study revealed almost half of UK adults now spend less than three hours a week in natural settings such as gardens, parks, fields or woods, we asked readers to tell us about what being outside means to them.

    The replies – heartfelt and passionate – came flooding in, with some admitting they just did not have the words to say how important it is.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds

Copyright © 2026 Eco Hvar. All Rights Reserved. Developed by Orion Informatika.