This tiny Italian island is developing sustainable practices for the entire Mediterranean
By Janna Brancolini
The island of Capraia has undertaken a series of sustainability initiatives to create a model that could be exported to other small islands in the Mediterranean — and adopted on a global scale
Capraia, a volcanic island that occupies just over 7 square miles in the Tuscan Archipelago, is a tiny island trying to do big things.
It’s home to only a few hundred residents, but those residents have banded together and set a lofty goal: to achieve a perfect balance between human activity and the natural environment — and to show other coastal communities that it can be done.
Late last month, Capraia announced a plan to become the first island in the Mediterranean to switch to biodegradable fishing coolers in an effort to reduce marine litter.
Most fishermen use coolers made of polystyrene — one common type being Styrofoam — to store and transport fish once it’s been caught. Styrofoam, however, apparently never decomposes, and since it floats it accumulates along coastlines and has become a main source of marine debris.
As a result, Capraia is now requiring all fishing coolers be made from a new biodegradable material called BioFoam.
The effort is part of its “Smart Island” program, which launched in 2017 to develop environmental policies and provide a model that could be exported to other small islands in the Mediterranean — and then replicated globally.
The island is also the first in the Mediterranean to get its electricity entirely from renewable sources thanks to an experimental plant powered by biodiesel. Other projects on the horizon include sustainable management of building construction, mobility, waste disposal, water, agriculture, fishing, tourism and port activity.
As a result, Capraia has become a sort of living laboratory demonstrating the feasibility of sustainable practices that can be adopted on a larger scale.
The efforts come at a critical time in energy and coastal conservation efforts, with scientists estimating that 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in the oceans and seas each year.
Over the weekend, a whale starved to death in southern Thailand after swallowing more than 80 plastic bags. The whale was found barely alive in a canal near the border with Malaysia and vomited up five bags as rescuers tried in vain to save it. At least 300 marine animals die in Thai waters each year after swallowing plastic, a marine biologist at Kasetstart University told The Guardian newspaper.
And Thailand is hardly alone. About 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide every year, each with an average “working life” of just 15 minutes, according to the nonprofit advocacy group Plastic Oceans. Over the past decade, humans have produced more plastic — 50 percent of which is used just once — than in the entire previous century.
Last week, the European Commission finally proposed a ban on single-use plastic products such as straws, and suggested shifting the clean-up burden to manufacturers to reduce marine litter.
Under the proposal, plastic would need to be replaced by more sustainable materials where alternatives exist; E.U. states would need to collect 90 percent of single-use plastic drink bottles by 2025; and producers would need to help cover the costs of waste management and clean-up.
“Plastic waste is undeniably a big issue and Europeans need to act together to tackle this problem, because plastic waste ends up in our air, our soil, our oceans, and in our food,” E.U. Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said in a statement.
Many European islands, however, have not been waiting for a top-down solution. Capraia is one of several Italian islands participating in the Smart Island initiative funded by the Ministry of Education, University and Research.
The project is a response to the fact that islands are among the first to experience climate change’s devastating impact on local ecosystems and livelihoods — and also face a set of added “handicaps” due to their physical isolation. Their insularity makes them particularly dependent on fossil fuels for energy and leaves them susceptible to high transportation costs, limited economic diversification and access to markets.
As a result, the islands are hoping to show that if they can go green, anyone can, with Carpaia offering a small but ambitious example.
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