Adriatic Sea Environment Program - rapid assesment of pollution hotspots for the Adriatic sea

Jadransko more je najznačajnije turističko i rekreacijsko područje u Europi i glavna pomorska ruta za robu koja se prevozi na tržišta srednje i jugoistočne Europe. Bogatstvo prirodnih resursa koji karakteriziraju Jadransko more ugroženo je ljudskim čimbenicima koji prijete održivosti ekosustava. Water Partnership Program (WPP) bio je presudan u identificiranju žarišta zagađenja u Jadranu koja zahtijevaju prioritetna ulaganja. Zahvaljujući tome, razvijen je Adriatic Sea Environment Program (ASEP) čija je zadaća bila planiranje investicija usmjerenih na rješavanje glavnih ekonomskih i ekoloških čimbenika upravljanja morskim i obalnim područjem. U sklopu ASEP-a provedena su istraživanja na 41 potencijalnom žarištu zagađenja i potvrđeno postojanje 27 žarišta zagađenja u Jadranskom moru. Glavna poteškoća u provođenju istraživanja bila je nedostatak podataka o kontinuiranom praćenju okoliša koji bi omogućili donošenje boljih odluka i bolju procjenu rezultata aktivnosti za zaštitu okoliša.The Adriatic Sea is the most important tourist and recreational area in Europe and the main maritime route for goods transported to the markets of central and southeast Europe. The richness of natural resources that characterize the Adriatic Sea is threatened by human factors that jeopardise the sustainability of ecosystems. The Water Partnership Program (WPP) has been crucial in identifying pollution hotspots in the Adriatic that require priority investment. As a result, the Adriatic Sea Environment Program (ASEP) has been developed with task to plan the investments aimed at solving the main economic and environmental factors of marine and coastal management. Research has been conducted on 41 potential pollution hotspot sites and the existence of 27 pollution hotspot sites in the Adriatic Sea has been confirmed. The main difficulty was the lack of data on continuous environmental monitoring that would enable better decisions to be made and better assessment of the results of activities for environmental protection