The workshop program was aimed at gathering the knowledge necessary for the creation of the Transboundary Marine Waste Management Plan. The plan is a non-binding document that contains common knowledge of the HR and IT sides about technical needs, scientific knowledge and socioeconomic impacts of marine waste in the area of the Adriatic Sea. Its main objective is to help the involved parties better understand and implement the relevant EU legislation and the Legal Requirements of the Barcelona Convention.
Anica Brlek Juren from the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development - Directorate for Water Management and Marine Protection stated that cooperation between Italy and Croatia is necessary to solve the problem of marine waste. The Ministry has been systematically monitoring the quality of the sea since 2016, initially in part, while since 2018 full monitoring has been taking place. Waste on the beach, at the bottom of the sea, marine waste in the sediment, as well as on the surface of the sea, even in the digestive systems of some fish are monitored. Most of the collected waste is plastic.
Mirko Radolović, head of the Administrative Department for Sustainable Development of the County of Istria, emphasized that waste management, including waste in the sea, is one of the most important topics for the County of Istria, and therefore it is important to participate in the creation of a cross-border management plan, and our county is extremely interested in participation in such plans so that the measures and their effectiveness can be monitored afterwards.
The director of IRENA, Dalibor Jovanović, stated that, in addition to energy efficiency and renewable sources, the agency has been dealing with projects related to waste management for several years. The general issue of waste is one of the crucial problems in our county. This project primarily dealt with issues of monitoring and cleaning; IRENA was very much oriented towards the organization of marine waste cleanup, but that is solving the consequences, and what is needed is - solving the causes. The only real model is not to go towards the creation of waste, but to solve the problem at that source. Although it is formally marine litter, and the project mainly dealt with issues of micro-waste, all marine litter is generated on land. And what should be the first goal, and the project dealt mainly with the issue of plastic, is to use as little as possible a large amount of plastic. Although in modern society it is impossible not to use plastic, it should be used in a rational way and practically in areas where it is really needed.
At the workshop, speakers presented; Project MARLESS achievements, State of the art on Marine Litter Management - IT and HR legislative perspective, Synergies with other ML projects, Systematic collection of waste from the sea, Monitoring of waste on rivers and water basins from a legislative perspective both in Italy and Croatia, Planning tool - Situation of marine litter management in IT and HR, Planning tool – Sources and trends of Marine litter in the Adriatic Sea, and Planning tool - Proposals for the objectives and measures for implementation of the joint cross-border marine litter management plan.
After the workshops, participants visited Aquarium Pula - visit Mariner Turtle Rescue Centre.
