Mirjana Jovanović, project manager within the Belgrade Open School, spoke for eEkolist about the activities of the "Energy, Climate and Environment" team. eEkolist is a free electronic magazine on ecology and environmental protection that is published every two months. Below is an interview from the 8th edition of this magazine.
Can you tell us something more about the support program for small organizations dealing with environmental protection- who can participate, what projects do you specifically want to support and what funds can the candidates count on?
Belgrade Open School has many years of experience in providing support for the development of civil society organizations through various programs. The project "Green Incubator" which is funded by the European Union, BOS will implement in period 2020-2022 with Young Researchers of Serbia and Environmental Engineering Group. Green Power Up program is a key part of the project and it will provide support to small local civil society organizations working in the area of environmental protection. However, this program is also intended for informal grassroots organizations, i.e. unregistered groups that have a clear idea of how they can improve the environment in their community.
During the first year of the program, we will support projects of organizations who are dealing with various topics, from waste management, through air quality protection, nature protection, water protection and management, climate change, to those that represent the community's response to the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. It is essential to us that projects solve or initiate the solving of locally significant issues and that citizens become aware of the importance of environmental protection and active participation in improving the same.
Formally registered civil society organizations will be able to apply for grant support up to 12.000 euros, besides this financial support, program Green Power Up is offering mentoring support for development and project management, also they will have the opportunity to be involved in activities of the Coalition 27 where they can improve specific knowledge of the European integration process and monitor the implementation of policies related to Chapter 27 (Environment and climate change) at the local community level. Informal grassroots organizations will be able to apply for smaller grants, up to 2,000 euros, and for them, the Call will be open steadily.
What represent the Agenda 2030? How do you implement the project regarding the wide social dialogue?
Agenda 2030 represents a development framework adopted by the United Nations. The 2030 Agenda consists of 17 goals whose main purpose is to achieve sustainable development and ensures development of human society in a manner that does not jeopardize the world around it. At the global level, the goals of sustainable development set ambitions in all areas that are crucial for the development of society: from education, gender equality and inequality, employment, economic issues, infrastructure, and further to the issues about environmental protection.
BOS, in partnership with the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, participates in the implementation of the project Platform for Social Wide Dialogue "SDGs for all". In this project the Belgrade Open School focuses on the goals with regards to environmental protection, as one of the pillars of sustainable development. In total, there are six such a goals and they concern clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, responsible consumption and production, circular and green economy, climate action, life below the water and life on land.
The goals regrading the Social and Economic sustainable development pillars will be adressed by Foundation Ana & Vlade Divac and Centar for Advanced Economic Studies with their partner organizations.
The main aim of this project is to establish social dialogue in Republic of Serbia considering the application of sustainable development goals which includes different social stratum. With joint forces, Belgrade Open School and above mentioned partners strive to gather relevant stakeholders as a whole, especially the representative of the certain society groups, such as civil society organization, business sector, academic and research institutions, and media through dialogue about sustainable development. Information exchange of stakeholders aims to detect common social priorities for sustainable development of the country. Joint developing priorities will be introduced to the public in Report on the Serbian society’s evidence-based priorities for Serbia’s sustainable development. This report will provide the base for public policy creation and mechanism for enabling more successful fulfilment of the sustainable developing policies in Republic of Serbia. With this regards, social wide dialogue will involve national and local decision-makers that can initiate necessary changes. Besides numerous other activities, this project will provide another particularly significant contribution, such as Monitoring Report in which will be tracked the development of the institutional frame for application of sustainable development goals in the country.
Work and activities of the Platform for general social dialogue is supported by Swiss Government and Federal Republic of Germany, while implementation is in charge the German organization for international cooperation GIZ.
How do you think we (Serbia) stand with Chapter 27? Since this is the most expensive and extensive Chapter, what are the chances that the implementation of at least some guidelines will begin soon?
In previous reports, the European Union assessed that Serbia has reached "a certain level of preparedness in the field of environment and climate change." On a scale of 1-5, "a certain level of preparedness" would represent a score of 2. So, hardly a passing grade. Year after year, these reports have shown Serbia that it needs to make greater efforts to implement public policies, especially in the area of the environment. Chapter 27, which deals with the environment and climate change, is one of the most demanding chapters for Serbia in the process of accession to the European Union, having in mind the scope of the acquis that should be adopted, as well as the significant financial resources needed for their proper implementation. Of the total scope of the EU acquis that Serbia needs to adopt in the accession process, approximately 1/3 concerns only one chapter - Chapter 27. So, we have a lot of work ahead of us. We will find out how we stand now with Chapter 27 when the European Commission publishes a new report on Serbia. According to unofficial announcements, it could be in October. Until then, we can rely on what we see and feel in our daily lives. Chapter 27 is also that part of the acquis communautaire whose positive effects of their application we can feel most directly in our lives. Chapter 27 should provide us with clean and accessible water, clean rivers, less waste on streets and unsanitary landfills, clean air, preserve our natural resources, provide protection against industrial emissions and hazardous chemicals, resilience to climate change and transparent and consistent law enforcement in environmental decision making. You will agree that these are all key areas for a healthy and quality life. BOS, together with other members of Coalition 27, closely monitors the development of public policies and their implementation in Serbia. Preparations are underway for the seventh annual report of Coalition 27 on the implementation and adoption of the acquis communautaire from Chapter 27, through which we will give a very detailed overview of various events and developments of public policies in the field of environmental protection and climate change.
What kind of air do we breathe? Since the heating season is over, and because industry and traffic have calmed down due to the coronavirus, is the air quality better? What are your plans for this?
According to the latest Annual Air Quality Report, prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency, about 2.5 million Serbian citizens live in cities with excessively polluted air. This pollution is of the particle type: it is caused by an excessive concentration of suspended PM10 and PM2.5 particles, which primarily originate from the combustion of solid fuels for household heating purposes. However, it can be assumed that the number is even higher and that the air quality monitoring network does not currently provide a sufficiently detailed picture. Only about 50% of stations met the data validity criteria. In addition, the installation of new stations, such as the one in Novi Pazar, shows that the number of cities with excessively polluted air will grow as the monitoring network grows and as particle pollution is measured more. Some large cities, such as Kragujevac, Kraljevo and Sabac, still do not have information on the concentration of PM particles in real time. The Government of the Republic of Serbia, as a measure to improve air quality, adopted the Decree on subsidizing the purchase of hybrid and electric cars, just a few days before the introduction of the state of emergency. However, air quality did not improve after the state of emergency was imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Already in the first week after the introduction of curfew, when the traffic stopped almost completely, the air was still excessively polluted. A comparison of air pollution in that period with the same period last year shows that particle pollution was higher this year, although there was no traffic. This is exactly the confirmation that measures to improve air quality should primarily include the heating sector. BOS, in cooperation with local partners, is working on the establishment and expansion of the network for civil measurement of air quality in 6 cities: Belgrade, Smederevo, Sabac, Subotica, Kragujevac and Kraljevo. Our goal is, through the expansion of this network, to bring the issue of air pollution closer to the citizens, and to send a joint request to the competent institutions for the improvement of air quality monitoring and the adoption of concrete measures for its improvement. We implement these activities with the support of the European Climate Foundation (ECF).
Photo source: Belgrade Open School