The Consultative Meeting "Active Citizens - Cleaner Air" was held on Friday, September 27, at the Belgrade Inn Hotel in Belgrade, organized by the Belgrade Open School. The meeting was organized to launch an advocacy campaign for better information about air quality in Belgrade. The meeting was attended by representatives of civil society organizations interested in air quality issues and in involving citizens in solving this problem.
The issue of air quality is gaining importance and becoming recognized as one of the priority issues in the field of environmental protection, especially in the autumn and winter months. Data from the World Health Organization show that in 2016, air pollution is the cause of over 11,500 deaths in Serbia. The latest United Nations report from June 2019 states that air pollution is the cause of 1 in 5 premature deaths in our region. The annual report on the state of air quality for 2018, published by the Environmental Protection Agency, indicates that during 2018 the air in Belgrade was of the 3rd category - excessively polluted.
While, on the one hand, there is a proven threat of polluted air, there is insufficient valid data on real-time air quality, and timely information to citizens on air quality is almost impossible. Existing automatic metering stations, whose measurement results can be accessed through the Environmental Protection Agency's website, do not measure the concentration of all pollutants and do not cover much of Belgrade's territory. Data collected from the network of stations of the City Institute of Public Health are published on the city's website with a few months delay and inaccessible format. Belgrade Open School, recognizing the challenges in this area on the one hand, and the growing interest of citizens on the other, launched a pioneering venture to establish a civic network for measuring air quality in Belgrade. In the previous 7 months, 20 citizens actively participated in air quality measurement through the installation of air quality measurement stations in their households.
The meeting was opened by a presentation given by Ognjan Pantic from Belgrade Open School, on the topic of air quality in Serbia and Belgrade, public policy framework in this area, availability of information and competent institutions. There was a discussion among the participants and an exchange of experiences regarding citizen involvement in addressing environmental issues, both locally and nationally. The participants agreed that when it comes to air quality, it is important to insist on timely public information and on the implementation of measures for improving air quality, which are the responsibility of public institutions.
As the autumn and winter seasons are forthcoming, air quality will once again become a priority challenge, so we want to expand our network of associates and jointly launch an advocacy campaign to better inform citizens about air quality. We plan to monitor air quality on a daily basis, inform the public, initiate communication and cooperation among various actors in order to overcome this challenge. We invite you to follow our work and feel free to contact us if you are interested in.
Photo source: Belgrade Open School