About two years ago Karmela and Miroslav Kiš set up Motovun – Eco Town, an association concerned with sustainable development of our town and its surroundings. Originally, they focused on sustainable agriculture. At the time when it was founded, the association counted three members, the minimal number required by the law in Croatia. Later on they got a few more.

Less than a year after forming the association, however, Karmela and Miroslav decided to leave Motovun. One of the reasons for this decision was that their house and agricultural land were too close for comfort to the planned golf course. They were especially concerned about pesticides and herbicides, which would contaminate their organic produce. And so they offered the association to me. After some hesitation, I accepted. Although I changed the statute so as to focus on sustainable development in general, the association remained essentially the same. In accordance with the law, all this was done with consultation of all the members. The government body concerned with associations was duly informed, too.

That was a year ago almost exactly. My first concern was membership. I wanted people of some stature rather than many members. After a couple of months, Motovun – Eco Town had about twenty members. Following the law, they all had to sign a membership form, and they all had to supply copies of their identity cards. All this behind me, I started writing to all kinds of authorities concerned with our town, this time as the association’s president. Regardless of all the legal niceties, the authorities remained quiet. Just like before, there was not a peep out of them regardless of my new and legal status.

About four months ago I decided to make the association international, this time with complete oblivion to the Croatian law. I set up a new website (www.motovun-eco-town.org), and I informed all my friends around the world about our concerns. All that is required for membership is a simple electronic-mail message. In a month or two, the association counted one-hundred and twenty-five members from sixteen countries. In the order of membership size, the countries are Croatia, the United States, Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, Germany, Cyprus, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, Greece, and Norway. Many of the members are professionals of high standing, too.

Since the recasting of the association, we have conducted two letter campaigns, our main vehicles. In November and December the letters went mainly to the key ministries concerned with Motovun’s development, but a few letters went to the British investment company that now owns all the golf-related facilities and recreational land to the west of Motovun. As a matter of course, all the letters were copied to the governor of Istria and the mayor of Motovun. The upshot is that only the director of the British company responded, while the Croatian authorities kept mum throughout, as is their well-established custom.

In January and February the letters went mainly to one of the ministries in connection with Motovun’s place on the tentative list for UNESCO’s World Heritage protection. It is our hope that foreign protection would be much more effective than local one. The director of the World Heritage Center also got one of the letters. He responded, but the Croatian authorities remained oblivious to all the letters.

To make sure that the authorities eventually start paying attention to our concerns, the full correspondence of each letter campaign goes to the editors of six leading Croatian newspapers, as well as the editors of six leading British newspapers. So far, none of them elected to publish more than an odd notice about Motovun – Eco Town and its struggle for Motovun’s sustainable future. One fine day they surely will, but the question is whether or not it will be too late. Anyhow, the third letter campaign will start in a month or two. Our only hope is that the bulldozers will not be ploughing their way through Motovun’s fabulous countryside before that time.