The Fifth International Meeting of Scientists, Professionals and Students on Environmental Protection in the Republic of Croatia, which took place this month in Split, is a project involving scientists, professionals and students specialising in environmental protection. It is organised by students from the Faculty of Chemical Technology in Split together with the SEA-EU Alliance, the Faculty of Materials, Metallurgy and Recycling in Košice, the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Gdańsk, the student section of the Association of Chemical Engineers and Technologists in Split and the Faculty of Maritime Sciences in Kotor.

The aim of the project is to find solutions to environmental protection issues and their practical application. At the same time, the conference aims to raise public awareness of environmental protection and promote concrete measures for a cleaner and healthier future.

As a representative of Josip Juraj Strossmayer Water Institute, Igor Stanković participated in the conference and gave a presentation entitled “Drivers of Eutrophication in Croatian Rivers: The Role of Agriculture, Urbanization, and River Typology” In his presentation, he emphasized that the results of the analysis of total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations in rivers indicate the need for additional efforts and measures to reduce eutrophication in Croatian rivers, both in agricultural areas (e.g. controlled fertilizer application) and in the river basins. (e.g. controlled use of fertilizers, establishment of protection zones) as well as in urban areas (more wastewater treatment plants and more efficient operation of existing ones).

The aim of the conference was to encourage as many people as possible to participate and collaborate in order to achieve a high quality of life, which can only be guaranteed by developing ecological awareness and addressing the issues involved. This was achieved through a large number of different lectures, poster presentations and the networking of scientists and experts.