The Green Phone (GP) of Zelena akcija/FoE Croatia received 375 reports on environmental issues between November 2023 and April 2024. Among these, more than 160 reports were submitted through the Smart Green Phone mobile application, constituting 43 percent of all reports received by the GP.
The Smart Green Phone (SGP) application made its public debut on November 10, 2023. Over the following four months, 404 individuals used the application to submit reports. In total, we have noted a 30 percent surge in reports to the Green Phone compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. The top three primary concerns reported through the application refer to waste management, abandoned animals, and transportation, as emphasised during the recent presentation of the SGP results at FoE Croatia.
At the event, speeches were delivered by Zelena akcija's legal expert, Željka Leljak Gracin, co-host of the Green Phone, Jasna Šumanovac, Franziska Sperfeld from the German Independent Institute for Environmental Issues (UfU), and Stjepan Vrljičak from Slobodna domena.
As part of the project "New Instruments for Cooperation with Environmental Institutions in Croatia", conducted by FoE Croatia and a partnering organisation from Berlin, UfU, with financial support from the German Environment Agency (UBA), the Smart Green Phone application was developed. This project strengthens communication between civil society organisations and public authorities, facilitating citizens' access to public participation processes on environmental issues. Despite the growing environmental awareness in Croatia and the reporting of environmental degradation to relevant institutions and/or environmental organisations, many citizens still don't report the devastation when they witness it. Reasons often include distrust in institutions, fear of retaliation from those responsible for the devastation, or simply not knowing whom to turn to. In addition to these reasons, one of the primary objectives of developing the SGP application was to encourage younger generations to report environmental problems.
From the initial idea, which has existed for a long time, to the realisation and development of the application, more than two years have passed. Through a series of activities, from research and workshops to study visits and exchanges of experiences, we aimed to find a new tool to make it easier for citizens to report environmental issues and faster for competent institutions to resolve them. This new digital tool complements and modernizes the work of the Green Phone, a free service for citizens that has been operating since 1992.
WHAT USERS THINK ABOUT THE APPLICATION?
One of the final activities of the project was to assess the functionality of the application and gather feedback for potential improvements. For this purpose, we compiled a questionnaire and conducted telephone interviews with some users and institutional staff. Everyone we spoke with believes that the SGP application is functional, useful, and easy to use, and most agree that no changes are needed. They particularly appreciate the fact that it is owned by a non-governmental organisation because the GP helps users report issues, filters reports for institutions and offers accurate information on environmental pollution. Both users and institutions believe that the application could become a very important tool for solving environmental issues. However, some users believe that there is always room for improvement and have provided us with several useful suggestions that will be considered. In any case, the application should be promoted so more people know about it and use it for the greater good.
A detailed report on the development and operation of the Smart Green Phone application will soon be published as part of the manual "From Ž (želja - desire) to A (alphabet)" and will be available on our website.
Here you will find links to Google Play and the App Store. Download the application and see for yourself if it is as useful and functional as they say.
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This project is funded by the Advisory Assistance Program of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment (AAP) for environmental protection in Central and Eastern European countries, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and other neighbouring countries of the European Union. It is monitored by the German Environment Agency (UBA). The authors are responsible for the content of this news.
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Design & development: Slobodna domena Zadruga za otvoreni kod i dizajn