In 2017, The Water Saving Project, initiated and coordinated with ESIN and funded by MEP Picula, was awarded the “Greening the Islands Award” The project aimed at taking action at the other end of the water problem: instead of encouraging water production, it aimed to reduce the use of freshwater through clever communication, smart engineering and wise governance, keeping in mind possible disadvantages such measures might have on people and businesses.The project initially gathered 8 islands from 4 different EU member states: Lastovo and Vis from Croatia, Houat and Sein from France, Ithaka and Tilos from Greece, Cape Clear and Inis Oir from Ireland.