During the presentation in Zagreb, the MEP said that this concept of “habitability” should help “move island issues out of the blind spot” of cohesion policymakers.

Picula stated that “islandness” has been sidelined by those involved in cohesion policy so far, and that the handbook should help address island issues while taking their specific features into account.

Public policies are mostly designed to focus on urban areas, which often leads to inefficient use of funds intended for rural areas and contributes to deepening inequalities between urban and rural regions, he said.

The handbook contains 45 indicators categorized into seven segments, which help measure the quality of life on islands and allow for more accurate assessments and tailored development policies for islands.

The Croatian version is the first translation of the original Swedish manual: Habitability – A New Approach to Assessing the Development of Island Communities and Planning Development Through 45 Island-Adopted Indicators.

The handbook, developed at the Swedish Åbo Akademi University with the support of Picula’s office, is designed to actively involve local communities in decision-making processes, such as using new indicators like measuring distance by time, rather than kilometers.

“Until it becomes a methodology, national states will receive their money, but they won’t direct it properly. Habitability should help identify the real problems on islands and better target development funds,” explained the SDP politician.

The Åbo Akademi University describes habitability as “the concrete core for assessing the sustainability of an island.”

“Every sustainable society has to be habitable to survive, develop, and keep its resilience. As long as the logistics are efficient and sufficient, an island society has all presumptions to be habitable; there are children in the school, ample workplaces and affordable houses, and islanders feel secure and comfortable,” it is stated on the website of the university.

During the presentation, Pia Prost, a professor of marine biology at Åbo Akademi University, presented examples of Finnish island policy, the oldest in Europe.

Professor Nenad Starc, one of the authors of Croatia’s Island Act, voiced hope that the new policies would boost self-awareness among islanders, while the mayor of Cres on the island of Cres, Marin Gregorović, said that he expected the handbook to improve communication between the local community and institutions.