Local Actions and Cooperation for Better Environmental Governance

The second workshop for the improvement of local capacities for environmental governance was held in Belgrade on 24 and 25 October 2024. With the support of the Swiss Government, “PRO - Local Governance for People and Nature” Programme organized the workshop, gathering 32 representatives of local self-governments, the representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the representatives of UN agencies. The focus of the workshop was on waste management, air quality and establishing a local register of pollution sources.

The workshop provided a platform for discussion on key challenges and obligations of local self-governments in the area of environmental protection. Assistant to the Minister of Environmental Protection in the Waste and Wastewater Management Sector, Tatjana Kaluđerović, specifically referred to the problem of unsanitary and wild landfills, reporting on investments in this area and available sources of infrastructure financing.

Head of the Department for Air and Ozone Protection in the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Vesna Mitrović, spoke about the legal regulation in air quality management and future steps in its improvement. Participants had the opportunity to discuss the specific duties of local self-governments and share their experiences and challenges through an interactive dialogue.

The representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency encouraged the discussion on the establishment of a local register of sources of pollution. Head of the Department for the National Register of Pollution Sources, Nebojsa Redžić, referred to the reporting in the period between the two workshops, and gave suggestions and advice for fulfilling the obligations of local self-governments in that segment.

Jasmina Knežević, Head of the Air Quality Status Monitoring Group at the Environmental Protection Agency, presented the air quality monitoring system in Serbia, the process of establishing local monitoring, and an example of the programme, adopted by one of the local self-governments participating in the PRO Programme technical assistance.

The workshop was evaluated as extremely useful for the exchange of experiences and the improvement of cooperation between different actors in the field of environmental protection at the local level.

With the support of the Programme, the capacities for implementing environmental governance processes in practice were strengthened in the following local self-governments: Bela Palanka, Brus, Valjevo, Varvarin, Vrnjačka Banja, Žagubica, Knić, Knjaževac, Lapovo, Majdanpek, Mali Zvornik, Malo Crniće, Medveđa, Prijepolje, Ražanj, Sjenica, Svilajnac, Tutin, Ćuprija and Šabac.

This workshop is part of the activities implemented within the Joint UN programme 'PRO - Local Governance for People and Nature' in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Serbia and with financial support from the Government of Switzerland.