Dubrovnik NGOs struggle on
The War
Dubrovnik, one of the oldest and most beautiful Croatian cities on the
Mediterranean coast, suffered heavy damage from the war in 1991. Over
60% of Dubrovnik's buildings were hit by Serb artillery, and 20% were
badly damaged. Many inhabitants were killed, and about 20,000 became
homeless in this Croatian city, registered as a UNESCO "World Cultural
Heritage." The war hurt Dubrovnik's economy, particularly the tourist
industry, which is the greatest source of income for Dubrovnik and its
surroundings. Only a few tourists visit the city even though it is no
longer a war zone.
Damage to Nature
While the citizens of Dubrovnik can do much to recover from damage
to its cultural heritage, it will take much longer to overcome the
destruction done to nature. Forests and vineyards around the town were
burned, leading to immediate erosion of the karst soil. It is the
natural damage that NGOs are now trying to repair.
NGO movement: new hope
The war paralyzed Dubrovnik's NGO movement, but recently groups are
managing to become quite active again. Most activities focus on
overcoming damages caused by the war. The DUB Association of Friends of
Nature (Drustvo prijatelja prirode "DUB") is the oldest and
best-established NGO in Dubrovnik. With about 50 members, most of whom
are experts, it is concentrating on reforesting land around Dubrovnik,
parks, and the botanical gardens. It also carries out educational
programs, and the REC has funded DUB's operating expenses and a series
of lectures on environmental issues.
The Green Trees group (Zeleni maslina i rogac) deals with issues
related to sustainable agriculture and alternative energy. It is trying
to establish an alternative farm that would use only alternative energy
sources on the island of Sipan.
There are other problems shared by Dubrovnik NGOs: few youth are
interested in dealing with environmental issues; the groups lack
programs that attract young people; and they lack money. Also,
cooperation with groups outside Croatia was eliminated because of the
war. The effects of this are still visible, although the situation is
improving.
Other NGOs include the Dubrovnik Ecological Club (Ekoloski Klub
Dubrovnik) and Wise Action (Grupa ispravnog djelovanja).
By Alexander Juras, REC Local Office and Outreach Team Leader
Contact:
Lidija Pavic
REC Local Office - Croatia
THE BULLETIN * WINTER 1994