NEWS: Capacity Building Event: TETHYS4ADRION Works to Enhance its Ability to Monitor and Assess Riverine Plastic Litter

In the city of Metković, Croatia, a Capacity Building Event was held on October 14–15.
This event was designed as a two-day workshop for TETHYS4ADRION project partners to prepare for upcoming activities — specifically, the monitoring of litter along the banks, surface, and throughout the vertical column of five pilot rivers.

The workshop consisted of both theoretical and practical sessions. Project partners , Dr. Roberto Crosti and Elenta Santini from ISPRA, Dr. Thomais Vlachogianni from MIO-ECSDE, and Dr. Tine Bizjak and Tamara Bizjak from the Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia (IWRS), presented the basic concepts and protocols for monitoring floating macrolitter, as well as macro-, meso-, and microlitter on riverbanks, at the water surface, and throughout the water column.

These presentations were followed by practical exercises on the Neretva River in Metković and on a nearby beach close to the Neretva Delta, where the river flows into the Adriatic Sea.
The practical training was led by Dr. Dubravka Bojanić Varezić (Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Split), Dr. Thomais Vlachogianni (MIO-ECSDE), Dr. Tine Bizjak (IWRS), and Dr. Roberto Crosti (ISPRA).

The workshop provided participants with guidance and answers to key questions such as: How do we collect samples and assess macro-, meso-, and microlitter on riverbanks, on the surface, and throughout the water column? What are the ideal field conditions? Which protocols do we follow? What tools do we use? How is laboratory analysis conducted?

The Capacity Building Event was jointly organized, both in content and logistics, by project partners the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, ISPRA, MIO-ECSDE, IWRS, and the City of Metković, which kindly hosted the event in southern Croatia.

This has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The content of the website is the sole responsibility of TETHYS4ADRION project and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union and/or IPA ADRION programme authorities.