WATER QUALITY IS SATISFACTORY IN ADRIATIC

ROVINJ, A joint Croatian-Italian-Slovene commission for the protection of the waters in the Adriatic sea and coastal areas on Thursday ended its two-day conference with the conclusion it would initiate the drafting of a joint document on an integral management of the coastal area of the northern Adriatic. Delegations of the three countries will inform countries of the Mediterranean, members of the Barcelona Convention, of their intention at a session to be held in the autumn. The project could be an expert basis for the procedure of pronouncing the Adriatic a "sensitive area", and the three countries will request financial assistance for its realisation. The delegations of Croatia and Slovenia suggested a contingency plan in case of sudden pollution of the Adriatic sea. "For more than ten years Croatia has been gauging the quality of waters on more than 800 points every fortnight. Assessing these indicators, results have not been satisfactory at only three per cent of the gauged areas, but overall, we can be satisfied with the quality of the waters," a member of the Croatian delegation, Andrija Randic, said. (hina) lml jn