Developing Smart Islands in the Adriatic Sea

Croatia is EU member country which has 1244 islands in the Adriatic Sea. Only 50 islands are populated with significant depopulation in 20th century so number of people living on the islands decreased from 173,263 people in 1900 to 124,955 in 2011. Besides decrease in population certain traditional economy sectors such as agriculture, fishery and shipbuilding also decreased in the volume but on the other side tourism and related activities had significant increase. The tourism puts high stress on all resources on the islands, infrastructure and environment during the summer months. Due to climate change the problems with resources are increasing at an anticipated rate so islands are developing many strategies to mitigate and adopt to the climate change while preserving the environment. Although, there were many studies and pilot projects from the northern islands to the southmost islands in Adriatic Sea how to achieve sustainable, low carbon and 100% renewable energy systems they were never developed under the same umbrella or general policy and strategy. Currently, there are two main movements in the EU that organise islands and try to ensure them more sustainable future. Smart Islands Initiative is bottom up initiative of island local and regional governments while Clean energy for EU islands is top-down initiative of European commission and 14 EU member states. The paper presents analysis of historical and current studies on development of sustainable islands in the Adriatic Sea and provides the context for use of methods and tools for development of Smart Islands.