The aim of the conference was to show that sustainable development in unique environments such as islands can have a desired effect on the social community as a whole. Mayors and representatives of institutions from the Danish islands of Bornholm and Samso presented their experience in transforming the two islands into energy efficient environments that enabled sustainable living and a circular economy and halted depopulation.
The conference was organised by the Danish Embassy in cooperation with the Croatian associations of local and regional government units.
In his introductory remarks, Danish Ambassador Christian Thorning said that there were many similarities between Croatian and Danish islands and that they faced similar challenges to development, such as energy efficiency, water and waste management, and transport connectivity. He said that it was important to make life on the islands attractive, especially to young families.
The Mayor of Krk, Darijo Vasilic, said that the island of Krk could serve as an example to others in Croatia in several areas, citing a dynamic economy, the environment and tourist turnover. He noted that a quarter of 23 million overnight stays on the Adriatic islands were generated on Krk.
Illustrating the increase in road traffic on the island, Vasilic said that before the construction of the Krk Bridge, ferries could bring not more than 3,000 vehicles to the island per day, while today up to 35,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily in the peak season. Krk is the only Croatian island with a natural increase in population, and the local government has taken a series of measures to encourage young people to live on the island, he said.
Winni Grosboll, the Mayor of Bornholm, a Baltic Sea island with a population of 40,000, said that their aim was to create a sustainable economy and society in all areas and not just environmental protection. The Bright Green Island project was launched in 2008 to create new jobs by developing sustainable tourism, prolonging the tourist season and encouraging local ecological agricultural production, she said.
The Chairman of the Danish Council of Rural Districts, Steffen Damsgaard, said that this non-governmental organisation operated at political level to convince executive authorities that changes were justified and to mobilise citizens at local level. It is good to have a vision of the future and a plan how to achieve it at local level and for everyone to participate in it, he said.