Mira Zovko, coordinator of the Report on the State of the Environment in Croatia 2014, which covers the period from 2009 to 2012, said that this was the third such report since Croatia became an independent country, and that it differed from previous reports in that it incorporated so-called integrated topics in line with global and European trends. Those topics are the efficient use of limited resources on our planet, sustainable production and consumption, and eco-system services and the green economy as a response to a growing exploitation of resources and environmental degradation.
Zovko said that the quality of air in Croatia was generally good and that the air was clean, but she singled out the cities of Zagreb, Sisak, Osijek, Kutina and Slavonski Brod, where increased concentrations of floating dust particles, which have a harmful effect on human health, were registered.
She said that transport was the source of emissions of those particles and that the Agency for Environmental Protection had therefore recommended introducing alternative modes of transport, such as bicycles and city trains.
Zovko said that Croatia had sufficient quantities of both surface and underground water of good quality, but that as much as 48% of water was lost in the public water supply system.
The quality of sea water on beaches is exceptionally good. Forty-eight percent of the country's territory is covered in woods, and 48% of the territory is farmland, Zovko said.
She added that the quantity of municipal waste at landfills had been reduced from 97% to 83% and that it continued to decrease. The quantity of separately collected waste has been on the rise as well, as has the percentage of recycled waste, which is currently at 15%, the target being 40%.
Zovko said that achieving this target required establishing waste management centres. Two such centres, Kastijun and Mariscina, will soon be put into operation. Thirteen waste management centres are to be built in the country in total.
Zovko said that citizens could do a lot for the environment by changing their habits, for example by reducing the quantity of waste they produce, by sorting their waste more, by using household appliances of the highest energy efficiency classes, reducing water consumption, and lessening their impact on biodiversity.