The Third Steering Committee Meeting of the Joint UN Programme PRO – Local Governance for People and Nature Held

The third Steering Committee meeting of the Programme “PRO – Local Governance for People and Nature” was held on 11 June, 2024, in Belgrade. During the meeting, the Annual Report for 2023 was adopted, and progress in implementation as well as planned activities until the end of 2024 were presented.

The meeting was opened by Jelena Milovanović, Head of the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office in Serbia, who emphasized the importance of the Programme for the development of 110 cities and municipalities in Serbia. She highlighted the positive impact of the Programme on the coherence of UN agencies' work in the country and thanked the Swiss Embassy for their continued support.

Melina Papageorgiou, Regional Governance Advisor at the Swiss Cooperation Office in Serbia, expressed satisfaction with the initial results of the Programme in 2023, particularly noting the progress in supporting informal waste collectors, emphasizing a direct approach in working with them and adapting to their needs.

During the meeting, the cooperation and partnership of UN agencies within the Programme were highlighted, achieving significant results in the areas of good governance, social inclusion, and environmental governance in 2023.

The Annual Report for 2023 was adopted at the meeting, and the progress made in the programme's implementation and planned activities until the end of the year were presented. Special emphasis was placed on the progress of activities aimed at improving the position of informal waste collectors, whose income is affected by the construction of six regional recycling centers. These centers are part of the Solid Waste Programme in Serbia, financed by the Loan Agreement between the Republic of Serbia and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Loan Agreement between the Republic of Serbia and the French Development Agency (AFD). A new tool available on the programme’s website – the Support Map, which provides an overview of the Programme’s support in all regions, cities, and municipalities where it operates, was also presented.

Participants in the meeting included members of the Steering Committee from the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, partner UN agencies, as well as representatives of MEI, EBRD, AFD, and SCTM as observing members.

The Programme "PRO - Local Governance for People and Nature" is jointly implemented by the United Nations agencies in Serbia - UNOPS, UNICEF, UNFPA and UNEP, in cooperation with the Government of Serbia, and with the financial support of the Government of Switzerland.