MK9900001

LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN IN

REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES OF MUNICIPALITIESOF CENTAR, ZRNOVCI, VELES AND GEVGELIH

SkopjeJUNE 1998 ,

3 0 - 0 8THE REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER

for Central and Eastern EuropeNEXT PAQE(S)

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DISCLAIMER

Portions of this document may be illegiblein electronic image products. Images areproduced from the best available original

document.

EXECUTIVE SUMMERY

PREFACE

The report "Local Environmental ActionPlan in Republic of Macedonia Executivesummaries of the municipalities of Centar,Zrnovci, Veles and Gevgehja " aims at assessingthe progress in adopting comprehensiveenvironmental protection strategies at the locallevel. The Article 13 from the Act for protectionand promotion of environment and nature ofRepublic of Macedonia states "In order toevaluate the status and identify measures to betaken, the Government of the Republic ofMacedonia shall pass the NationalEnvironmental Action Plan of the republic ofMacedonia" "In compliance with theNational Environmental Action Plan, themunicipalities and the city of Skopje shall passlocal action plans regarding environment andnature protection and promotion"

The report, provides descriptions ofenvironmental action plans (LEAPs) of four

. municipalities in Macedonia Each executivesummary was prepared by the technicalcommittees that worked out on the developmentof the documents, and they are presented on adifferent approach

The whole project was carried out in thecollaboration with the Ministry for UrbanPlanning, Construction and Environment ofRepublic of Macedonia (MUPCE) The RECand MUPCE identified the four differentmunicipalities to developHiffSfSnt module? ofLEAPs with using the same methodologyapproach, which can be used as pilot projectsfor other, more than hundred municipalities inMacedonia These municipalities are Center(Skopje) as a typical urban area, Veles' as atypical industrial area, Zrnovci as a typicalagricultural area, and Gevgelija as atransboundary and transit area Themethodology used for developing LEAPs wasbased upon the experiences of the TroyanCommunity Environmental Action Plan inBulgaria which was funded by the U S

Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) incooperation with the U S • Agency forInternational development (USA1D) Besides,experiences from the REC report "DevelopingLocal and Regional Environmental Action Plansin Central and Eastern Europe Case studies ofBulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Polandand the Slovak Republic " were very useful inlearning others' strengths and weaknesses The"Comparative Risk Analysis" methodology isgenerally based on identifying all environmentalproblems in the community and ranking themupon three risk criteria risk over the health ofthe population, risk over the health of theenvironment and nature and risk over the social-economic quality of life Highly importantduring this process is active involvement ofcitizens in the whole decisionmaking processand achieving consensus amongst differentgroups citizens, local government andbusinesses

The goals of the project resulted witheffects of

•Building coalition between the LocalMunicipality, NGOs, business sector andcitizens in order jointly to solve localenvironmental problems,

•Identifying and developing four modulesof- different LEAPs which will:be uSe'dafterwards-by the rest of the local municipalitiesin Macedonia,

•Promoting and building capacity forpublic participation in decisionmaking processregarding the priorities of environmentalproblems that local municipality is facing,

•Strengthening the role of the NGOs as apartner for public and private sector in themanagement of financial, human and naturalresources in order to ensure sustainable futureof the municipality,

Local Environmental Action Plan

EXECUTIVE SUMMERY

•Identifying specific strategies for solvingthe most crucial environmental problems on thelocal', regional and national level.

Coordinators from REC and the MUPCEwere assigned to coordinate out the projectactivities in all four municipalities Eachmunicipality assigned its coordinator, whoworks in the municipality and established anexpert team who worked as a technicalcommittee in developing the LEAP documentA manual was developed for all steps to be takento implement the development of a LEAPdocument under the methodology "ComparativeRisk Analysis " On December 22-23 in Skopjewas organized the training workshop for therepresentatives of the 4 municipalities,including the person coordinator of themunicipality, chairman of the Council or itsmember, the expert involved in the technicalcommittee, local NGO representatives and thebusiness sectors Launching this project was

very well covered on the national and especiallyon the local media. In May 1998, allmunicipalities have presented their LEAPs thatshould be soon adopted by the Councils of thefour municipalities

In this occasion we want to thanks to allparticipants in this process from themunicipalities, especially the local coordinators,

'NGO volunteers, citizen advisory committeesand technical committees, who actively workedout their environmental action long termstrategies We also give our acknowledgementto the Ministry of urban planning, constructionand environment of Republic of Macedonia andtheir coordinator Dobre Jancev forcollaboration and full support in carrying theproject

We give special thanks to the RoyalNetherlands Embassy in Belgrade, FRYugoslavia for funding this project

REC Local Office Macedonia Staff

Katanna Stojkovska

Biljana Zdravkovslia

Local Environmental Action Plan .

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-EXECUTIVE SUMMERY OF MUNICIPALITY OF CENTAR

INTRODUCTION

In the frame of the environmental strategy of theMinistry for Urban Planning, Construction andEnvironment, and in accordance with the Act onprotection and promotion of environment and nature, aswell as the goal- of the NEAP, Municipality Centar waschosen, as one of the four Municipalities to work out pilotproject - LEAP

. Municipality Centar is one of the sevenMunicipalities in the city Skopje, which occupies centralpart of the capital of Macedonia

Municipality Centar is heterogenic area, regardingthe urban, communal and environmental aspects Itoccupies area of 18km2 According to the 1994 census,there are 85 021 inhabitants, and it is typical urban areawith the biggest density of population in Macedonia

The Municipality is administrative and businesscenter of the city, with a large number of cultural,scientific, educational and medical institutions, as wellas Parliament and Government Offices, one stadion,railway station, international buss station and lot ofhouseholds in such a small area

It is natural, to have lot of communal problems onsuch an urban area. Great number of vehicles, heavytraffic, big number of traffic lights, parking spaces andsmall number of pedestrian zonesare some of theproblems, that create frustrations, dissatisfaction andnumerous public conflicts

On the other hand, although within the MunicipalityCenter there are only few industrial complexes, the airis the most polluted one with the waste gasses mainlysulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides

Furthermore, if we also take into account climatechanges in Skopje valley, lot of foggy days in winter,winds, bad treatment of the waste and traffic noise, it isclear that we are talking about urban area with lot ofenvironmental problems

Main goal of the LEAP in Municipality Center is

•To create environmental action plan, based on aconsensus between local authorities, citizens andNGOs, which will offer efficient and financialapproved solutions for the environmental problems

In order to accomplish this goal, identification oflocal environmental problems and their analyses has beenperformed, regarding their risks and influence on thehuman health, environmental degradation and quality oflife in the community, in order to

- Improve the environmental condition throughimplementation of low budget strategies, which willresult with financial savings

- Promotion and acception of the public opinionand public participation in environmental decision-making process

- Strengthening of the local authorities in managingand implementation of environmental programs,

- Strengthening of the community life troughunderstanding and solving environmental problems

During the work out of the LEAP methodology of'"comparative risks analyses" has been used, which takesinto account scientific analyses of the environmental dataon the one hand, and public opinion and public initiativesfor running the environmental programs, on the other

ANALYSES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN THE MUNICIPALITYCENTAR - SKOPJE

1. AIR POLLUTION

Main reasons for air pollution in the MunicipalityCentar are environmentally negative orografical andclimate characteristics and emission of harmful matenain the air from industrial, energetic and communalemitters, as well as emission of harmful matena from thegasses of the vehicles in the traffic

Namely, Municipality Centar as a constitutive partof Skopje valley is characterized by environmentallynegative specifications On the basis of the data fromRHMI (Republic Hydro-meteorological Institute), main

characteristic for Skopje valley (which includesMunicipality Centar) is occurrence of

- temperature inversions (especially in winter),

- high percent of foggy days (63 per year),

- higher number of cloudy days,

- wind regime, which is more inviolable in thecentral part, compared with the eastern, open partof the city

Local Environmental Action Plan.

EXECUTIVE SUMMERY OF• •' ~ &x$ ' .

Regarding the emission of harmful matena in theair, on the bases of the data from Register of pollutantsfor the city of Skopje, on the territory of the MunicipalityCentar, 25 objects, with 62 emitters (51 communal, 4energetic and 7 industrial), have been registrated.

Regarding the age. of the emitters, analyses haveshown that mam part of the emitters, are older than 10years According, to this, rational managing oftechnological processes have been disabled, whichcausesbigger air pollution

Regarding the technical-technological usttge of theemitters, researches have shown that the larger numberof emitters work approximately 8 to 12 hours per day

Taking into account that Municipality Centar is thesmallest by surface Municipality in Skopje, on theterritory of this Municipality there is biggest emission ofwaste gasses, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides

Air pollution from the traffic is also one of theactual problems Reasons for that are different highdensity of traffic, lot of crossroads with traffic lights, oldvehicles, usage of a low quality petrol and so on

Emission in the Municipality Centar is marked bythe RHMI on two spots Automobile Association ofMacedonia and University Library Researches haveshown that average concentration of sulfur dioxide isbetween 49 - 92ug/m3, and of the smoke 36ug/m3 In the -winter period, there were days when the concentrationwas much higher than the allowed one These kinds ofdays are approximately 14-59 for sulfur dioxide and 72-123 for smoke per year

fn the-period of 1990 - 1991, measures'fordetermining lead in the air have been undertaken on theseveral crossroads in the city The results have shown thatthe concentrations of lead in the air were mainly over themaximum allowed limit

1 1 Public awareness - Public opinion

- Majority of the citizens (92%), thinks that the airis critically polluted and the main reasons arethought to be traffic, production bussinesscomplexes and the central heating stations.

- For reduction of the air pollution majority of thecitizens thinksthat the intensity of the traffic shouldbe cut down with the passing of the Law forprohibition of driving in the certain areas, andprohibition of using the lead petrol and introducingtramway

2 SOLID WASTE - COMMUNAL, MEDICALAND OTHER

Today, in Skopje leave more than 500 000inhabitants, 85 000 of which leave in Municipality CentarThe city annualy generates around 40 OOOt or 400 000m3

solid waste of all kinds

MUNICIPALITY OF CENTAR- - • < i ,v - . .

- Special problem in theMunicipality Centar is badtreatment of the communal waste The problem occursbecause of the bad harmonized acting of the main partsin the managing of the communal waste citizens and the.economy firms (as one who use the services), communalcompany (as one who gives the services) and local'authorities (as one who is in charged for lmplementing-the regulations confirmed by the law)

Especially important is the solid waste, whichcomes from the medical institutions situated on thisterritory the City hospital, specialized hospital in theframes of the Medical University and others Namely, thetreatment of this solid waste, its collection and itstemporal and final disposal, is not according to thehygienically epidemiological criteria

In the medical institutions, on the territory ofMunicipality Centar, annualy generated infective orpotential infective solid waste is 200 000 - 250 000kgMajor part of the waste is disposed without previousseparation and selection Minor part (coming from thehospital for patogenic deseases, hematology andmicrobiological laboratories), before the final disposal isthermally treated

2.1 Public awareness - Public opinion

- Major part of the citizens is aware of the fact thatsolid communal waste is important environmentalproblem, which should be considered for one of thepriority problems

- Citizens have different opinions about the causesof this problem The fact that the public awarenesswas named as one of the reasons for this problemis very interesting

- Citizens agreed with the proposal for using multiusable packaging

- It can be considered that the citizens are for usageof this kind of packaging Nevertheless, they do notwant production of plastic baskets and packagingto be stopped - . - - - - -

- A big number of citizens (46%) are for theseparation of the communal solid waste Only 10%of them are skeptical about the final results of theseparation, but it can be concluded that they are wellinformed about the importance of the separation,and the way in which it should be done. ~

- Opinion of the citizens about the actual usage ofthe containers for communal solid waste is dividedLass than half of them are satisfied with containers,as a possible solution for the disposal of the solidwaste and more than half thinks that there shouldbe more of the containers and on better locations

Local Environmental Action Plan

-EXECUTIVE SUMMERY OF MUNICIPALITY OF CENTAR

3 WASTE WATERS AND CONDITION OF THERIVER VARDAR

Waste waters from the households, medicalinstitutions, printing stores, industrial and other objects,

- on the territory of Municipality Centar through citycollector are directly discharged into the recipient - theriver Vardar (without previous treatment)

For discharging of the fecal and part of the industrialwaters from the city region, by the year 2000, acompletely built separation system for atmospheric andwastevvater, and construction of treatment plant forwastewater, is planned Remaining question is weatherthe planned could be accomplished

Apart from this, the existing system for dischargingof the waste waters is functioning on the base ofseparation, but it is mainly used as combined one, bydischarging fecal and other waste waters in theatmospheric sewer system

t In the territory of Municipality Centar, there are alsoindustrial objects, which have influence on the cityenvironment and wastewater as well These objects areenterprise "Treska" and "Tutunski kombinat", as well asprinting stores "Nova Makedonija" and "Goce Delcev"

In this category, pollutant like medical institutionsshould also be mentioned They are the City hospital,specialized hospital in the frames of Medical Universityand other polychnic institutions

3.1. Public awareness - Public opinion

River Vardar is equally polluted trough the wholewatershed Small advantage is given to the river flowbefore the city Skopje, which is not correct, and showsthe uninformed condition of the public

Most efficient solution of the pollution of the riveris introducing the special low regulations, which willmake the pollutants to pay, for the pollution

- The citizens (97%) agreed that there is an urgentneed of treatment plant and collector system for thewastewater that comes from the central area of thecity. -

4. URBAN TRAFFIC

Integral territorial area of the city Skopje hasextended form, from which Municipality Centar occupiescentral part Regarding this, all magisterial roads,following this form, are trespassing the territory of theMunicipality

The existing urban plan of the city zones isinviolable, and causes umbalanced car traffic in thecentral area, especially in the rush hours, in the morningsand in the afternoons

Problems in the urban traffic, trough themunicipality territory is caused by

- Undeveloped system of horizontal and verticalroads,

- Inefficient existing roads (disharmonies trafficlights and absence of one way roads),

- Unorganized public transport,

- Small number of parking spaces,

- Technological and conditional old vehicles,

- Usage of low quality petrol

4.1 Public awareness- Public opinion

More than half of the citizens (53,2%), have statedthat the traffic is great danger for air pollution, and inthe same time they think that it should be enough reasonfor cutting down the traffic intensity

Almost 20% stated that traffic intensity directlyinfluence the number of the traffic accidences

5 URBAN NOISE

Urban noise, because of its specifications, is achaotic mixture of different sources It came out fromdifferent urban activities as traffic, from production andother processes (working noise), from households, publicobjects and others

The main characterisation of the urban noise in theMunicipality Centar is its permanency Mainly, it iscaused by the permanent urban traffic

5.1 Public awareness - Public opinion

Regarding the four possible bad influences of theurban traffic, 26% of the citizens stated that is high levelnoise should decrease the intensity of traffic in the centralcity area - Municipality Centar

6 GREN AREAS AND CITY PARKS

There is causal condition, which says that withoutcity parks, which are places for rest, there is no recreation,but without their protection, they can not exist

The green areas in the Municipality consist of parksand park-forests, urban park areas, row of trees, lawn andyard green areas

6.1 Public awareness - Public opinion

Public opinion is an evidence of a bed conditions,but in the same time it is a way to trace future activities

About 31,7% from the citizens are not satisfied withthe present conditions High percent 52,7% thinks thatthere are not enough green areas in the territory of theMunicipality

Mainly, citizens' opinion is that park forests aregreat opportunity for recreation, but they need special careand promotion of the forests' species

Local Environmental Action Plan.

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ACTION PLAN

Environmental Problem { J ^ r ^ ^ A ' s l tAir pollutionM.iin reasons for air pollution in the MunicipalityCcnUi are• Environmentally negative orografical and climatecharacterises in the Skopje valley (temperature in-versions, high percent of foggy days, higher num-ber of cloudy days, wind regime, which is moreinviolable in ihe central part, compared with theeastern, open part of the city)• Emission of haimful matenals in the air fiom m-dustiial, energetical and communal emittersTaking into account that Municipality Cental is thesmallest by suiface Municipality in Skopie, on theleintory of this Municipality there is biggest emis-sion of waste gasses, sulfur dioxide and mtiogenoxides• Influence of the traffic,For effective control of air pollution, quality infor-mation on conditions with the emission of harmfulmaterials in the air are needed, which can be accom-1

phihed only by introducing new monitoring systemfor measurement and contiol

Solid w.isteCitizens have unsenous approach to communalh>giene and they do not lespect the main rules inthe urban area, (throwing garbage around the con-tingents and on the gieen areas)

City Skopje is obligated with the Act for commu-nal order, to define conditions and way of keepingthe communal hygiene The existing act from 1986is incompatible because of the changing in livingand acting

T he communal enterprise, on the other hand, shouldimprove its technology for disposal of the waste,which should be harmonized with the woiking ex-penses

Potential toxic and infective material should be dis-posed sepaiately from the other waste, and then betreated in a adecjiiete way

^VJiijtitu'tion responsible-"'^'1; "Jtf ̂ H | f

Low budgeted.• Woik out of a feasibility study for monitoring of theemission of the haimful materials in the air, as a basicelement for managing the air pollution,• Establishing standards for ambicntal air, which willbe harmonized with the EU standards and other worldorganizations• Harmonizing of the legislative connected with thequality of energents and Act for emission of the harm-ful 'mateiials in the air• Pieventive - restrictive tralfic measures

High budgeted.• Tramway• Introducing moniloung system for measurement andcontrol over the emission of the harmful matenals in theair• Gass system for Municipality Center

Low budgeted.• Improving communal hygiene• Containeis foi paper, glass and plastic (selection at thesource)• Services for incidental communal interventions withSOS telephoneHigh budgeted:• Technical-technological impiovements of the landfillDrisla (trealment of the filter, lecycling plant, chemicalcontrol of the waste)• Insinerator plant foi communal and hazardous waste

Municipality Center through the competent institutions

Ministry foi Urban planning, Construction and Envi-lonmenl (MUPCE)

MUPCE

Municipality Cenlei

City HallCity Hall

City Hall

Short term 35 000 $

Short term

Short term -15000 $

Short term

Long termMiddle term 100 000 $

Middle term 4 000 000$

Municipality Cental with the communal enteipnses

City Hall

City Hall

Shoit teim 25 000 $Short term 200 000$

Short term 50 000 $

Long term

Long term

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ACTION PLAN

Environmental Problem '

Urban trafficPresent way of uiban traffic obviously has negativenfluence on the human health (pollution from theemission of gasses, noise), and degrades the valuesof the environment Furtheimore, it is obvious thatthe quality of life is low, because of the sociq-helthand economic consequences

n- responsible

A) Impiovement of the conditions in this area are mainlylong term investments and synchronized activities withbigger financial needs• Urban - planning, with planning of the efficienttraffic, and selective traffic roads• Technical-technological: with providing save con-structional conditions for the traffic, using the newmaterials, equipment nnd apparatus• Normative-regulative with using string standardsfor traffic safety• Economic, with encouraging and making availableenvironmentally friendly vehicle and usage of qual-ity petrol• Educational with raising public awareness aboutthe consequences from participating in the "careless-ness" traffic.Ei) Following measures, could be regarded as low bud-geted and short terminated• Marking pedestrian zones• Restriction of the parking• Speed limiting• Using of the traffic rules and safety rules• Work out of a Fisibility Study

Waste waters and condition of the river VardarMainly, whole industry situated in the city area,without systematic measurements and'control overthe wasiewater discharge them in the recipientsbeside this, the city communal enterprise has noreview on this discharging

Non existing relations between users of the waterand discharging of the communal and wastewater,badly influence the construction of the sewer sys-tem and treatment plants Influence of the irregularwatei balances and discharging of the wastewaterseriously endangered environment

Bad quality of the water in the river Vardar isconditioned by discharging of the waste and com-munal waters in the recipients

High budgeted.• Construction of the sepaiation system for atmosphericand waste waters• Construction of the treatment plants for waste water(fecal waters, walcis fiom medical institutions and otheiwater from other objects)

City Hall, Municipality Centiir and MUPCE

City Hall and Municipality Cental

City Hall and Municipality Centar

Long term

Middle term 15 000 $,!

Short teim

Short term 35 000 $

Long teim

Long term 200 000 $

ACTION PLAN

Environmental Problem

NoiseInterrupted possibilities for relaxation and everydayactivities, such as work, rest and others, should beleason for staiting complex activities

Green areas and parksFor impiovement of the environmental conditions andprosperity of quality of life, usage of bio-technologi-cal methods for integration of urban areas and envi-ronment are from priority importance

Action'IIS.'l

Solving of the noise problems, as a result from the urbanmetabolism requires long term, high budgeted activities

They are mainly for• Establishing of normative regulation and control• Adequate uiban planning• Actualization of the problems on the local and legionallevel• Evaluation of the measurements for protection fromthe noise <ind creating pioteclecl zones and objects, andfortifying of measurements and means of pioieclion

It seems thai the best, fastest, the most efficient and themost cheep opportunity for pioviding conditions for thequality of the sustainable living in the area of Munici-pality Cental is taking care of the green areas

In this sense following recommendation should beundertaken

• Planning ot the green areas with higher biological,hygienically and esthetical values• Equality in spieading the green areas in the theMunicipality, in accoidance with the natural conditions• Classifications of the green species, in Older to pro-vide optimal protection• Recultivization and managing the present green areas• Application of the ob|ecls wilh water areas within thegreen areas• Using educational measuics, keeping and spreadingof the gieen aieas• Using the available measures for the ones who breakthe rules• Work out of a Fisibilily Study

institution' responsible8 ,, •>

MUPCE, logelher with the City Hall and Municipal-ity Cenldr

Hall and Municipality Ccntar

Middle term

iMty*atirU

Middle lerm

Short term 50 000 $

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• EXECUTIVE SUMMERY OF MUNICIPALITY OF GEVGELIJA

SUMMARY

Preparation of the LEAP for the municipality Gevgelija was conducted according the guidance based on aLAEP done for the community Trojan, Republic of Bulgaria. This pilot project was financed through the Institutefor the Sustainable Communities by the US Agency for Environmental Protection ( US EPA), in collaboration withUS AID.

LEAP project for the municipality Gevgelija was accomplished in four stages:1. Introducing LEAP into the municipality;2. Public involvement;3. Identification of the environmental priorities;4. Development of the environmental action plan.

INDRODUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN

LEAP for the municipality Gevgelija started underthe initiative of the Municipal Council on 12 ofDecember, 1997. During this first municipal meeting thefollowing has been done:

a) Five member committee had been established asco-ordination Task Force for the LEAP preparation;

b) Initial budget, in an amount of $7000, had beenreviewed provided by the Royal Dutch Embassy inBelgrade through the local office of the REC inSkopje

After the five meet ings , the co-ordinat ionCommittee on 23 of January 1988, organised a firstinitiative meeting, inviting over the 100 citizens o;ut ofwhich 90 participants where present.

During this meet ing the following had beenaccomplished:

' a) Participants were introduced with organisation,meaning and objectives of the LEAP preparation;

b) Public Advisory Committee was established andits president and vice president were elected andseveral priority goals have been underlined:

-Enabling a public participation in the course ofdetermining and ranking the environmentalproblems and their resolving, using differentmethods a iming to cover all parts of themunicipality.

- Identification of all environmental problems thatmunicipality is exposed on.

-To inform the public about the environmentalproblems that exists in the municipality and aboutthe possible solutions.

- The direct and active involvement of the citizensin different environmental initiatives in order toreach real and concrete envi ronmenta limprovements.

- Providing the financial support for the projects. by donations or other fund raising activities.

-Public presentation of the draft version of theLEAP.

c)Technical Advisory Committee was establishedand its president and vice president were elected andseveral priority goals have been pointed out:

- Review of all existing data sources referring theenvironmental situation in the municipality andupdating and identification of a new sources;

- Data collection, analysis and identification ofcritical points in connection with environmentaland human health problems, as well a quality oflive affected by each of these problems;

- Ranking the environmental problems accordingto their importance;

- Analysis of potent ia l s t ra tegies forimplementation with respect to their adequacy andassis tance from the Munic ipa l i ty in thepreparation of the LEAP;

- Determination of the potential implementationstrategies! - •—• -• '

d) The principle of consensus had been adopted a s 'a decision making instrument and the principle ofmajority vote for resolving the conflicts.

e) A questionnaire and methodology for inquiringthe public opinion about the env i ronmenta lproblems have been adopted.

f) A LEAP office was opened in the municipalitybuilding for the communication with the public ona daily basis.

T ocal Environmental Action Plan.

EXECUTIVE SUMMERY OF MUNICIPALITY OF GEVGELIJA

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

With the public participation in the LEAP project,it is expected that among the other things the followinggoals will be accomplished

1 The public will be informed about the LEAPactivities and about the success of the environmentalactions

2 Obtaining useful information from the citizensand different organisations that are more familiaror have some deeper knowledge about' theenvironmental problems which information otherwise, could not be collected by usual channels

3 Increasing the public awareness andunderstanding of the crucial environmentalproblems and possible options for their solution

4 Making decisions regarding environmentalpriorities and solutions expressing the publicopinions

5 Building the public support for implementationof a specific policy and programs in the frame of

.the LEAP

6 Developing a network of volunteers, which couldactively participate in the process of resolving theenvironmental problems with in the Municipality

For this purposes, The Civil Advisory Committeehas established seven assistance Task Forces as follows

1 Task Force for public information consisting ofseven members This Task Force continuously andon time has informed the public for undertakenactivities It has prepared several TV spots that hadbeen broadcasting by local TV station There hasbeen also a TV talk show where the citizens tookactive part by asking questions The short notes andnews had been broadcasting by public and privateradio companies such as radio Gevegelia,Macedonian radio and radio Hertz

2 Task force for environmental actions consistingof eight members This Task Force has conductedactivities in every elementary school where pupilshave planted trees, flowers and grass

3 Task Force for environmental education,consisting of seven members This Task Force hasorganised lecturing in the elementary schools, talkshow in live with citizens and for the next year itis planning to organise competition for the mostbeautiful garden

4 Task Force for the environmental projects done^by the pupils, consisting of eight members ThisTask Force has organised competition for the bestwritten text and painting regarding the environmentand the first three works have been awarded

5 Task Force for the interview of the citizens,consisting of seven members This Task Force hasorganised the public survey and distributed obtainedresults After the analysis of the 1930 questionersthe following remarks have been pointed out

- degree of the environmental pollution,

- main causes of the pollution;

- scope of work for solving the environmentalproblems,

- most severe environmental problems,

- most important environmental values with mmunicipalities.

The results of this survey were starting point infurther LEAP developing

6 Task Force for preparing publications, bulletinsand other publishing materials, consisting of sixmembers The role of this Task Force will be veryspecific and depending of financial assistance It isforeseen to prepare a bulletin in which by text andillustrations entire LEAP will-be presentingtransparently It is also foreseen that the bulletin willbe printed twice "a year, covering certainenvironmental subjects

7 Task Force for public round table meetings,consisting of eight members This Task Force heldpublic round table where citizens have beeninformed for the activities in connection with LEAPpreparation

DETERMINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITIES

Determination of the environmental priorities is thefirst step in resolving these problems In this course thetechnical advisory committee directed its attentiontowards the most critical environmental problems andactivities have been directed towards the best solutions

for general improving of the environmental conditionsThey used approach and methodology developed by theUS EPA, known as " comparative risk analysis" Thismethodology used approach based on induced risk in thecourse of environmental priorities determination and after

Local Environmental Action Plan 15

• EXECUTIVE SUMMERY OF MUNICIPALITY OF GEVGELIJA

that these priorities are incorporated in the action planIn this respect the committee has analysed three programsubjects and accompanied risks as~follow

1 Quality'of the human health and analysis ofassociated risks through following steps.

-determine the threats,

-estimation of the level of certain doses

-estimation of the human exposure

-type of risk

2 Quality of the environment and analysis of theassociated risks through the following stapes

-problem formulation,

-analysis of the mutual connection between theproblem areas and environmental impacts,

- Type of risk

3 Quality of life and analysis of risk affecting thesocial and economic impacts through the followingsteps

-Determine the impacts and values within themunicipality,

-Determine and defining the criteria for grading,

-Data collection and analysis for these impacts;

- Identification of the impacts type concerning theall problem areas

During the estimation of the relative risk impactupon different environmental problems, committee hasapplied the following criteria

-Area Territory of the municipality Gevegelija

- Force. Investigation of the intensity level of thegiven impact

- Retrofitting and durability Investigation of theimpact duration and needing time for retrofittingthe impact.consequences

The public survey has shown the following results*grading on the scale from zero to nine

1 Cutting and destroying the forest, graded by 7 68,

_2 Pollution of the soil with chemical pollutants,"graded by 7 27/

3 Low environmental awareness, graded by 7 02,

4 Quality of drinking water, graded by 6 89,

5 Non planed urban developing, graded 6 53,

6 Solid waste management, graded by 6 13,

7 Pollution of soil by irrigation, graded by 5 35,

The remaining three problems are graded almostidentically

According to the results obtained by the publicsurvey, the technical committee has defined eight scopesof its work and the following environmental prioritieswere pointed out

1 Low environmental awareness;

2 Non planed urban developing,

3 Cutting and destroying the forests,

4 Pollution of soil by irrigation;

5 Quality of drinking water,

6 Solid waste management ( selection, dumping,collecting and recycling of the solid waste) ,

7 Pollution of soil by chemicals,

8 Pollution of the water by industry

The members of the groups filed up forms forevaluation of the identified problems, which suggestedsome measures and activities to be undertaken After theevaluation a summary report had been prepared andresults has been presented in general form As a resultof these activities a list of ranked environmental problemsand goals was prepared

DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEAP

After stating the environmental goals, committeehas defined the following implementation strategy

- Public education and training,

- Economic initiatives,

- Municipality's development programs,

- Technical and technological measures,

- Legislative measures,

- Technical feasibility,

- Risk mitigation and reduction efficiency;

- Total costs,

- Implementation duration,

- Political and public acceptability,

- Legislative feasibility

Applying this methodology, technical committeeThe following criteria for analysis and selection of has agreed for the LEAP implementation according to the

the environmental implementation strategy has been stages given in the following tableutilised

-16 Local Environmental Action Plan.

I ;

Control over the use and protection of the forests

Establishing Ihe laboratory for pedological analyses of Ihe soil

Education of the citizens

Implementation of the public awaieness program

Permanent education of the citizens

Publications

Informing public through media

Register of spimgs and water-supply objects

Establishing protected areas

Providing new capture foi regional water-supply system

Reconstruction of the city's and village's water-supply network system

Prophylactic, disinfecting and flouring the water

Construction and rehabilitation of the sewage network system and constructionof the waste-water treatment plant

equipping the Institute for Health Protection with space and

ACTION PLAN

9 964 $

267 857 $

26 785 $

2 053 $

3 928 $

17 857 $

3 571 $

1 071 428 $

16071 $

3 196 428 $

11 964 $

JifWM1]lfwiiiliriwTrrr'n ~vfnfiT

Municipal Council

Responsible Ministry

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Responsible Ministry

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Responsible Ministry

after allocation of funds

aftei allocation of funds

permanently

one month

five months

permanently

peimanently

immediately

1-3 years

with Feasibility Study

after allocation the funds

pei manently

after allocation the funds

1-3 years

(

boft loans, local budget

donations, state budget

donations, state budget

local budget

local budget

local budget

1

donations, soft loan

donations, soft loans

donations, soft loans

local budget

donations, soft loans

State budget

v4;

ACTION PLAN

Term of beginning and d

Controlled urban development of the City of Gevgelija

Restoration of the values of Smrdhva Voda Region

Construction of the sanitary landfill

Primary recycling selection and collection of the solid waste

Landfill for animal waste

Part of the landfill for hospital waste

Reuse of the secondary raw materials from the industry

Landfill for agricultural and industrial waste

Construction of the filter stations

Capturing new springs, and construction of the new water accumulations

Construction of the ueatment plant for factory "Zora"

Purchasing the new equipment foi the chicken farm

84 821 $

10 303 $

2 857 142 $

2410714 $

5 357 $

32 142 $

26 785 $

160714 $

18 937 500 $ '

35 714 S

1 678 571 $

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Municipal Council

Factory Zora

Chicken faim

one year

permanently

after Feasibility Study

after Feasibility Study !

after feasibility Study

aftei Feasibility Study

after Feasibility Study

after Feasibility Study

after allocation the funds

after allocation the funds

after allocations the funds

after allocation the funds

local budget

Slate and local budget '

concessions, soft loans

soft loans, actions

concessions, soft loans

concessions, soft loans

concessions, soft loans

concessions, soft loans

soft loans, own sources

concessions, soft loans

own sources

soft loans, own sources

1, . .J

OF.YE3&S-3 f S

\ ^ : -

H

EXECUTIVE SUMMERY OF MUNICIPALITY OF VELES

i

4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Municipality Veles is situated in the central partof the Republic of Macedonia It occupies area of1552km2, which is 6% of the total area of the stateNumber of inhabitants in the municipality is 65520(according to 1994 census) With the latest territorialadministrative division, the territory of the municipalitywas decreased to 503 km2, and the number of thepopulation to 56570 inhabitants The biggest part of thepopulation lives in the urban area, e i in the city of VelesThe city is located at the end of the Veles valley, on bothsides of river Vardar Within the Municipality of Veles,

there are 34 settlements, which is less than the previousstate, when 90 settlements were included In the newestablished municipalities, the number of population isonly 9190 inhabitants

In the economic structure, industry plays a majorrole, and 15 significant industrial facilities are groupedin nine industrial branches Within the Municipality, exist4777 private agriculture farms, which together with theagriculture enterprise "Lozar" are base for the localeconomy

DEVELOPING POLICY

2 After the independence of the Republic ofMacedonia, the domestic economy faced with drasticreducing of production and investment, reducing of exportand appearing of other unfavourable economic indicatorswhich produced extensive unemployment, socialproblems as well as the problems in allocating andproviding financies for normal functioning of the countryand municipalities as well This unfavourable situationmostly is due to dissolving of the common market offormer Yougoslav federation, dissolvement of theeconomic union of the Eastern European countries, aswell as the general political instability of the Balkans andsurrounding region. -

3 In the Republic of Macedonia there is on goingprocess of transition toward market economy (macro-economic stabilisation, privatisation, establishingconnections with international financial institutions etc )and process of industrial restructuring

In the preparation stage, there are several laws,which have to provide harmonisation with Europeanstandards The strategy goals for closer integration withother European countries request harmonisation of thepolicies in different areas, including the environmentalpolicy, which has to comply with European policy aswell. Consequently, development of the economy has tobe projected in accordance with appropriate acts, in orderto be able to offer its products on the European market,which have to satisfy environmental standards ISO 9000and ISO 14001

4 In the last two years, the National EnvironmentalAction Plan, and the National Strategy for EconomicDevelopment have been prepared and adopted, as onesof the most important long term environmentaldeveloping documents

IMPORTANCE OF LEAP

5. Existing activities, regarding the preparation ofLEAP for the Municipality of Veles are very importantfor establishing a strategy for resolving the environmentalproblems for this region which is considered as the mostpolluted region in the country In this environmentaldocument all subjects that has affect environment directlyor indirectly has elaborated During the preparation allthe relevant data for current situation have been collected,the causes for threatening of ecosystem have beendefined, and activities for accomplishing the strategy ofresolving the environmental problems have beenproposed and selected.

6 It is considered that in the near future LEAP willincrease public involvement and will play a big role inthe decision making policy process of the local authoritiesin seeking possibilities for financial assistance forimprovement the environmental condition and the healthof the population

7 It is expected that LEAP would point out theoptimal solutions for preserving the environment, and toserve as a model to other regions in our country as wellas for designing measures for more rational use of naturaland energy recourses and improving the quality of theenvironment for the next generation

22, Local Environmental Action Plan.

EXECUTIVE SUMMERY OF MUNICIPALITY OF VELES

EVALUATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

8 It is estimated that an intensive industrialdevelopment in 70Ds followed by inappropriate urbanplanning was the main cause for the present complexenvironmental situation Long time negligible andignoring this ecological unfavourable indicator hascontributed in deterioration of the environmentalconditions in the last two decades

9 The present environmental problems are mostlydue to the fact that the biggest industry is unsuitablylocated, and the inefficient way of using the non-renewable mineral recourses All together they contributeto the poor environmental conditions, caused by theemission of many pollutants during the course of wastewater discharging, realising the gases, as well as from thesolid waste dumping Limited extension of the Velesvalley and unfavourable local climate and meteorologicalconditions significantly backed up this influence

10 Most severe environmental problem isrecognised to be a poor air quality caused by the localsmelter industry, which together with the fertiliser plantare the major causes for the water quality degradation ofthe river Vardar It has been already acknowledged thatchemical pollution with heavy metals and other tocsinshad affected in great extent soil and underground water

11 The existing degradation of the soil and usageof polluted water for irrigation of the land in the viscidityof the city contributed to the contamination of the food,confirming the previous assumptions that the tocsins hadaffected food chain

12. Drinking water supply in the Municipality ismost severe problem for the peoples health This problemcan not be resolved unless the construction of the hydro-system "Lisice" will be completed Full operation of thissystem significantly will improve the conditions in theagriculture, and the environmental status in the region

13 The demographic pressure over the ecosystem,solid waste management, dumps, and forest managementwere assessed to- be less significant problem forenvironment, although in certain segments there are

indications for rapid deterioration of the situation (cuttingthe woods, occurrence of acid rains) Reforestation of thecentral part of the Municipality is still a current problem,which should be resolved in the future.

14 The reduction of the emissions of the mam airpollutants is the primary environmental objective in thenext five years It means "reduction of lead and sulphurdioxide for 50% and cadmium for 70% Foraccomplishing this goal the general strategy has bedeveloped which will be implemented in the stages,depending from the available financial sources Theremaining environmental problems were considered lessurgent, which should be solved one in a time, inaccordance with economic strength of the Municipality

Environmental impact upon the health status of thepopulation

15 Poor environmental quality produced severeenvironmental problems, affecting people's health andother living world, as well as destroying the forests,agriculture and nature rarities

16 It is estimated that the health status of thepopulation is bad, with tendency to become worst It hasbeen confirmed that the concentrations of the lead in theair and soil, dust, and sulphur dioxide in the air are thebiggest nsk to people's health. According to the TechnicalCommittee assessment, within the urban area there ispossible presenceof six from nine indirect indicators forthe health conditions, which are generally used fordetermining the relation between public health andenvironmental conditions

The most concerning fact is the number ofincreasing chronicle diseases, and it is expected that inthe near future the cancer diseases will show up due tothe contamination of the eco-system with cadmium Theexpenditures needed to treat the population, at any rate,would overburdened the local budget and at the sometime would limited the possibilities for developing theeconomy and to improve the general status of thepopulation

ECONOMIC REFORMS AND NORMING

17. In addition, the existing unfavourableenvironmental conditions are more complicated becauseof the lack of the environmental legislative Although theAct for Protection and Promotion of Environment andNature was adopted, still the remaining environmentalprocedures are waiting to support the economic and otherchanges which are needed for EU accession Beside this,there is a need of strengthening the standards and rules

in order to achieve more efficient health protection andgreater productivity within the economy

Furthermore, there is a need of establishing thebetter balance between the market and the legislativeinstruments, as well as the mechanisms for more efficientenforcement of the principles "pollutants pay" by thecentral and local authorities

LocaJ Environmental Action Plan 23

EXECUTIVE SUMMERY OF MUNICIPALITY OF VELES

---18 It is estimated that the reconstruction-and -privatisation of the industry should be based more on themarket model (introducing taxes, fees for polluting, andcharges for using natural resources), instead of using thepolicy of "control and order model"-

19 Regarding the economic aspects in resolvingexisting environmental problems, it was confirmed thatthey have to be based on. substitution of existingtechnologies in the industry with new waste freetechnologies, on more dynamic development of the

manufacturing industry and services on legislativechanges, regarding the conditions of importing theenvironmental equipment, and introducing incentivemeasures

20. For financing the environmental projects andinfrastructure, a model for collecting funds from fees,taxes, and charges_on the local level was proposed anddeveloped, in order to resolve all environmental problemson the local level

INSTITUTIONAL CHANGES AND PUBLIC AWARENESS

21 New legislative is looked upon as a way forcreating environmental management in the institutionalframeworks, as well as an opportunity for realisation ofnew environmental projects, which will result with biggerprotection of the health and more optimal financialbenefits In this context, in the frame of the institutionalmanagement, the conditions and procedures for

environmental reviews and stimulations of environmentalprojects which offer long term possibilities for worldmarket competence, through adopting ISO 14001standards, should be defined

22. Taking into account another approach, it wouldbe quite possible to expect factories to be closed andcommunity not to be able to pay back the environmental

taken loans In addition, reprogramming of the loans willcontribute "to sustainable development" with introducingof "inherited environmental tax" which as a monetaryload together with the degraded environment, unwillinglywe are going to left to the next generations

23 On a local level, regarding the environmentalpolicy development, application of monitoring andinformation system should be encouraged

24 Within the institutional framework there is aneed of NGO and media support, especially whenintroducing to public environmental problems, as well asthe measures and activities that should be taken in orderto overcome the same.

PRIORITY STRATEGY AND LAUNCHING THE LEAP

25 According to the analysis, MHK "Zletovo" withits production is a most dangerous capacity unit affectingthe environment around Veles

26 Approach for resolving the environmentalpriority problems should be based on the nationalfeasibility studies which were developed in a last threeyears, and which are dealing with production anddevelopment of the bigger pollutant in the Municipality1

Proposing the priority strategies for implementationat the same time means first stage of the LEAPimplementation Next phase is adopting of the LEAP by

the Municipal Council and municipality public, afterwhich activities for providing international assistance forimplementation of suggested environmental projects,follows

27 At the later phases, it is necessary to have aperiodical analysis in order to estimate to which extentadopted priority actions were implemented, and whetherthe conditions in the eco-system are the same The actionplan to be adjusted in order to provide optimalenvironmental benefits using cost-benefit methods ofimplementation

National Environmental Action Plan tor Republic ot Macedonia (NEAP)

National Strategy tor Economic Development for Republic ot Macedonia

bnvironmental Study tor technological and technical solutions lor protection ot Veles Irom pollution from MHK "Zletovo'

24 Local Environmental Action Plan.

1 t 1

FOR

ACTION PLAN

Aica

Economic policyand Envuomnent

EnviionmemalManagement

Subject

Policy reformsIntroducing thepi maples "userpay", "pollutantspay"

Local Planning

Piovidmgincentives foiinnovations andcommunalservices

Institutionalstienglhemng

Environmentalpollutionmonitoiing

Monitoiingsystem

Informationsystem

Action

Adoption of LEAP for the Municipality of VelesDestimulation of energy and water consumption through contiol ofpnceson a local levelDestimulation ofsolid waste geneiaiion, as well as the waste water throughconliol of prices on a local level

lull JSliuctlne objects to be planned, exploitation of natuial iccouises, use olthe soil, dellmng the zones lot economy activities and uiban livingPiovidmg incentives foi technological solutions aimed to pievent theenvnonmentPioviding incentives foi ihc cnteipiises which aie dealing with selectionand reuse of communal wasteProviding the incentives foi the private sectoi (communal services)

Establishing the regional cnvnonmuntal depailmenl foi InspectionReviewing and completing the existing nelwoikof hydrological andmeleoiological measuiement stationsPreparing the Register of polluteis and Register of pollutants on a locallevelPreparing the methodology foi monitoring the ambient air

Preparing the methodology foi the monitoiing pollution from waste waters

Piepanng the methodology foi the monitoiing pollution from solid wastedumpsPreparing the plan for ambient end emission monitoring on a local level

Establishing the monitomig system for JII quality imdei the jurisdiction ofthe local GovernmentEstablishing monitoiing on the suiface and undeiground waterPiepanng progiammes which will support the monitoring and contiol ofenvironmental qualityEstablishing the infoimotion system for monitoring the quality ofenvironment within the Municipality of VelesEstablishing separate infoimation systems foi generating, selection, anddisposal communal and industnal waste

ResponsibleInstitutionLGLG.ME

LG, ME

LG,M£

LG, MUPCE

LG.ME

LG,ME

LG.MUPCELG,MC

LG.MUPCE

LG, MUPCE

LG, MUPCE

LG.MUPCE

LG, MUPCL

LG, MUPCC

LG MArwSLG.MUPCE

LG, MUPCE

LG, MUPCE

Penod olimplementationShort-termMedium-term

Shoil-teim

Mediuni-teim

Shoil-lerm

Short-term

Short-term

Shoil-leimShort-term

Short-term

Short-teim

Short-term

Short-tei m

Short-leim

Shon-temi

Short-leimshort-term

Meclium-teim

Long-lci m

Available data

LEAPNo data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

no data availableNo data available

No data available

Under thepieparalionUnder thepreparationUnder the 'picpaiationUnder thepieparalionUnder the ,prepaiationNo dala availableNo data available

No data available

No dala available

Needed funds

20 000$Unknown •

Unknown

Unknown .

Unknown ,

Unknown

Unknown

UnknownUnknown

Unknown .

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown i

UnknownUnknown •

Unknown

Unknown

II ^liii

Aica

EnvnonmentalManagement

EnvironmentalPolicy

Subject

Standaids andpiocedures

Budget andfinancing

PublicAwareness

PolicyInstrument

Enforcementof standardsandregulations

ACTION PLANAction •:

Adopting effluent standaids loi indusliy, on a local level,in accordance with the self- puimcation capacity of therecipientAdopting procedures and measures toi management ofsolid, communal and industnal solid wasteEstablishing the eco-fund on a local level, changes in theenvnonmental legislativeDefining methodology and opeiating piogramme foifinancing enviionmental projects which will use fundsfiom local eco-tundPreparing programmes for hnancing strategically,infrastructure environmental projects, using the fundsfrom the state budget, national eco-fund donations, loansIntroducing additional lectuie in the elementary and highschools concerning the environmentInforming public for cuirent situation (hiough the localmediaIniroducing pilot piojeci based on maiket oiiented"policy,instead of "control and ordei model"

Management of the water price policy to be tiansferredunder jurisdiction ol local diuhoiityStrengthen inspections responsibility on the local levelregarding the ehvironmenlal olfences , 'Distinguished responsibilities between the localcommunity and the pollutcis regdidmg the expendituiesraising up from the previous envuonmental damagesReviewing environmental-technological projects andpreparing elaborates fiom the polluters on the local levelin compliance with action plan from LEAPHarmonisation with ISO 9000 and ISO 14001 standaid,s

ResponsibleInstitutionLG, MUPCE

LG, MUPCE

LG, MF

LG, MF, MUPCE

LG.MF

LG,MUPCE.ME.NGOLG, ME.NGO

LG,ME.MF.MUPCE,IMNTLG, MF

LG.MJ, MUPCE

LG.ME,MUPCE.MI1KZ

LG, MUPCE,IMNT

LG, MUPCE

Penod foi Implementation

Shoit-term

Medium-term

Shoit-teim

Shou-tcim

Short-term

Medium-term

Shoit-lerm

Shoit-teim

Shoit-teim

Shoil-lerm

Short-term

Shoit-term

Medium-lerm

Available data'

No data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

Unknown

No data available

' • , ' I ' "

Needed funds •

Unknowni

Unknowni

Unknown

UrflcrlOwn

i, Unknown .

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

UnkTTbwn f

Unknown i

• Unknown •

AreaSustainabledevelopment

SubjectPreventionprotection ofsoil

Rehabilitation otthe polluted soil

Preventionprotection fromthe solid wastedumps

ACTION PLAN

Action •Prevention of future pollution with introducingenvironmental friendly lechnologies andtechnological solutions in the industryEstablishing wind-belt around pollution sources,reforestation with high absoiption ability of heavymetals 'Prevention of waste watei use for irrigation purposespeimaneni monitoring ol the lertile soilIntroducing biological production (usage ol organicfertiliser)Introducing imegrauve production, decreasing theindustrial pollution, recullivation of degradation landSubstitutions of pesticides with environmentalfriendly measures for protection oflhe plantsRevitalisation and improvement water quality ot theartificial lake "Mladost", conjunction ot network pipesystem and its connection with the transport one tothe hydro-system "Lisice"Introducing "drop by drop" irrigation system,decreasing the possibility ol land eiosionIntroducing production of cattle food with treatmentoflhe organic wasteRevitalisation of polluted soil by extracting heavymetals with biointacnonvchemicals reclamation andother methodsReclamation of agriculture land with high quality ofirrigation water for desolating ol the natural and man-made pollutants in the soilAssessing the contamination ot the land with heavymetals in the Veles legion in accoidance wiih thepiogiam of 1MNTlJiepanng the study tor determine impacts ot heavymetals on a plant production and selection ot thecrops that can be grown on polluted land, anddetermine means and methods of sananons andrehabilitation of degraded lendIntroducing technological solution for transformingImperial Smelting technologies to waste frrtechnologyRehabilitation ot the lame dump and constmclion ofthe facilities for treating the lameIntroducing the selection of the communal wasteConstruction the plant toi selecting, composting ofcommunal wasteRehabilitation ot the illegal dumps for communalwastedumping niercury-selen deposit, as a dangerous solidwaste

Responsible InstitutionLG.IMNT

1G.1MNT

LGLG, MAFWSLG.MAFWS

LG.MAFWS

LG, MAFWS

LG.MAFWS

LG.MATWS

LG.MAFWS

LG.MAFWS

LG.IMNT

LG.1MNI"

LG, IMNT

MHKZ, IMNT

MHKZ

LGLG

LG

MHKZ

m

Period of implementationLong-teim

Medium-term

Medium-termLong-teimLong-term

Long-leim

Long-term

Short-term

Medium-term

Long-teim

Long-leim

Long-term

Medium-teim

Medium-term

Long-term

Short-termShort-term

Short-term

Short-term

Dtita availableStudy

No data available

No data availableNo data availableNo data available

No data available

No data available

Study (

t

No data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

Study

Study

No data availableNo data available

No data available

No data available

Needed fundsPreviously

, presentedi

, Unknown .t1

UnknownUnknown 'Unknown .

i

Unknown

Unknown .

4 450 000$,

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

150 000$

195 000$

4 600 000$

7 700 000$

Unknown1 450 000$

Unknown

Unknown

ACTION PLAN

Area

Sustainabledevelopment

Public health

Subject

Piotection andpromotion offoiebls andbiodiversity

Decreasingnegative impactfiom pollutedenvironmentupon publichealth

Action

Improving piotection ot the foiebts, pievention tromacid rams, fires, using pievenling piogiammes in ,accordance with local opeiating progiammeImplementation of the lefoicstation progiammeEnforcement of the law toi illegal cullingImproving the biodiversity monitonngEducation of the youth, informing public for theimportance of forests, biodiveisity and quality of livePermanent monitoring on a morbidity, preparingdemogiaphic map on the vulneiable population,according to the place ol livingMonitoring of lead, cadmium and othei toxins in theenvironment and in the human bodyPreparing health statistics in order to monitormorbidityPreparing epidemiological studies for certainpopulation in order to deteimme impacts from ihepolluted environment, upon the respiiatory diseases,reproductively, caidiovascular decease, and otherdisease caused by toxins, cadmium c tEstablishing unique informational system formonitoring the health and envnonment on a locallevelReorganisation of urban aiea of Veles valleyimproving the health status> of Ihe population

, Urgent implementation ot all projects and activitieswhich are predicted with environmental studies inOlder to improve health itatus of the population

Responsible Inslilulion

LG.MAFWS

LG.MAFWSLG.MAFWSLG, MLJPCELG,ME,NGO

LG, MH

LG, MH

LG, MH

LG, MH

LG, MH

LG, MUPCE

LG, INES.MH

Peuod loiImplementationShort-teim

Short-termShort-termMedium-termShort-term

Short-teim

Short-term

Short-teim

Short-teim

Medium-term

Medium-term

Data available

No data available

No data availableNo data availableNo data availableNo data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

No data available

no data available

No data available

No data available

Needed funds

Unknown ;

Unknown iUnknown rUnknown ,Unknown

i

Unknowni

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown ,

< i

Unknown

•V ' .1

Unknown |

Unknown .! i

t

AreaSustainableDevelopment

SubjectReduction of airpollution

i

Improving thewater quality

Protection otwater recoursesand improvingthe quality ofdrinking water

ACTION PLAN

ActionIntroducing technological solutions for decreasinggasses, generation of dust, and quantity oi recycledmaterials in production process of zinc and leadDecreasing heavy metals and sulphur dioxide fromthe production processes and usage of sources withminimum toxins, dislocation of the facilities fortreating cadmium, lead, limited production of leadof 23 000 tones per year, desultonsalion ot zincconcentrates ,Establishing system for general environmental

protection of the city from air pollutionUsing the rail transport lor raw materials Irom thelocal industrial capacitiesConstruction ot round industrial transport andterminal for trucksSubstitution ot liquid and solid fuels with gas fuelsat the industry and housingEstablishing separate industrial zone tor newindustrial capacity, out of the cityConstruction of reservoii within the smeller, inorder not to discharge the waste waterResolutions of technological problems by treatingthe waste water in the Fertiliser plantConstruction of waste water treatment plant in theleather factory "Dimko Milrev"Construction of waste vvateitieatment plant in the lacioryI'oi oil "Blagoj Gorev"Rehabilitation of sewage network and constructionof collecting system for municipal and communalwaterConstruction of treatment plant for communalwaste waterEstablishing protection zone lor the wells,sanations of the city fountainsRehabilitation of existing network, construction ofreservoir for drinking water for high zones in thecity, construction of treatment plant-second stagePermanent disinfecting ot the drinking w.nerConstruction of hydro-system "Lisice"

Responsible InstitutionMHKZ, 1MNT

MHK.Z, IMNT

MHKZ, 1MNT

LG.MT

LG, MT

LG.ME

LG', MUPCL

MHK.Z.1MNT

MHKZ

Investor

Investor

LG, MUPCE

LG.MUPCE

, LG

LG

LGLG.MUPCE

period lor ImplementationLong-term

Long-term

Short-term

Short-tei m

Medium-term

Long-term

Long-term

Short-term

Short-term

Shurt-lerm

Shoil-tcrm

Mtdium-term

Long-term

Short-term

Medium-term

Short-termLong-term

Data availableEnvironmental Study

Environmental study

Environmental study

No data available

No data available

No data'available

No data available

Environmental study

Environmental Study

Study

No data available

No data available

Study

Study

Study

UnknownProjects

|

needed fundsUnknown

j '

17 000 000$

i ,'I

2 000 000$

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

4 100 000$t

4 300 000$

UnknownI

Unknown

i

UnknownIi

20 000 000$i

Unknown1

1 500 000$

Unknown14 700 000$

>' • • > ' n •• ' •

a 13

rs-, -

•EXECUTIVE SUMMERY OF MUNICIPALITY OF ZRNOVCI-

3Thanks to the Macedonian Ministry of Urban Planing, Construction and Environment, the Municipality of

Zmovci is one of the four Municipalities that are working out their LEAPs at this stage A financial support of-7000 USD provided by the Royal Netherlands Embassy is assigned for technical equipment of the implementationoffice in the Municipality of Zrnovci, office, personnel and consultative expenses, preparation of reports,, performinganalyses inquires and other activities that are directly related to a quality organization and LEAP'S preparation

MUNICIPALITY OF ZRNOVCI - GENERAL DATA

The Municipality of Zrnovci is situated in theeastern part of Macedonia, on the transport corridor thatlinks Skopje - Veles - Stip - Kocani - Delcevo withRepublic of Bulgaria. It is distant about 8km from KocaniIt is situated on the slopes of the mountain PlackovicaI e in the zone of the Serbo-Macedonian massif or theold Rodope Mountains The three settlements in theMunicipality Zrnovci, Morodvis and Vidoviste arewidely open towards the river Bregalnica and the fertileplains of Kocani.

The climatic conditions, the geological constructionand the reforestation provide the Mountain massifPlackovica with a large number of watersheds Richerwith waters are the northern rivers among which are .Zmovska, Moroviska and Vidoviska, which are tributariesof the Bregalnica river, the biggest river in easternMacedonia

The outstanding geographical'situation and theclimatic conditions have determined the main agriculturalactivities, i e. production of rice and gardening

The total surface of the Municipality Zrnovci is5l764076m2(5176ha)

Divided in settlements

• Zrnovci - 28482894m2

•Morodvis - 14521860m2

This Municipality has the total population of 3344inhibitions, among which 3293 are Macedonians, and theothers are Vlachs, Turks, Serbs and other About 20%(658) of the population are engaged in agriculture, mainlyin production of rice The total number of persons withpersonal income is 407, while the number of unemployedbut able - bodied is 730

The total surface of the agriculture land is I692ha,which is 32% of the entire area 309ha belong to thepublic sector and 1325ha in the private sector. Plough -fields and gardens are of 1625ha, out of which 300habelong to the public sector and 1325ha are private mainlyrice sorts (the annual production of rice in the publicsector is 480 t and 320 t in the private sector)

The largest firms in this Municipality are ZZ"Zrnovka", with 198 employed, which is engaged inproduction of rice, rearing poultry, trade etc," Ruen" (25employed) - a forge for automobile parts, and"Jugotutun" (20 employed) - production of agriculturalproducts and nee

The Municipality budget for 1998, worth of 978 000denars, or about 30000 DM is insufficient for realizingsome more serious activities planned in the LEAP Thisleads to the need of mobilization of some national andinternational financial resources that can help theimplementation of the strategies planned with the LEAP

Vidoviste - 8759322m2

LEAP'S OVERALL REVIEW

• The tendency to choose a Municipality thatoutwardly seemed to have no environmental problemsappeared to be justifiable, since the LEAP determinedpriorities which compared with those of the MunicipalitiesVeles and Skopje - Centar are incomparably small, butstill deserve attention. The limited funds and the shorttime - period for the workout (January - May 1998)represent the LEAP'S objective default This is especiallyspecified because of the need of many future morestudious researches, which have opened as a front duringthe workout of this document The lack of available andquality data needed tor creating a LEAP is a challengeand imperative for the Local Authorities, NGOs and the

citizens of the Municipality Zmovci, which is of particularimportance for the implementation of the project goalsOn the other hand this can be considered as an advantagefor the Municipality Zmovci, in comparison with a largenumber of other Municipalities in the country, which havemore serious environmental problems The fact that theMunicipality Zrnovci is not mentioned in any of theNEAP's priorities stands for ecologically healthy andclean environment But, in spite of this both the CitizensCommittee and the Technical Committee formed with apurpose of the LEAP's workout, identified, analyzed andranked the primary environmental problems in theMunicipality Zrnovci At the same time the both

32 Local Environmental Action Plan.

I I

• EXECUTIVE SUMMERY OF MUNICIPALITY OF ZRNOVCI •

- Committees.applying.few_methodologies, suggestedstrategies for solving'the ranked priorities The dominantmethodology used for identification of the primary"environmental problems is the sd-cklle'd^'comparativeanalyses risks". CRA (US - EPA) suggested by theVermont's Institute for Sustainable Commities (USA)During the evaluation of risks, especially human healthrisks, methods exploited in Environmental ImpactAssessment - Theory and Practice edited by PiterWathera (1995, Roudledge) have been used

In January 1998 two Committees were formed witha purpose to undertake the work on the LEAP

a) Citizens Committee (Public Policy Committee)responsible for the education of the public, creatingpublic opinion and the public's active involvementin the improvement of the local environment

b)Technical Committee, responsible for gatheringand analyzing the technical, scientific and otherinformation, related to the environmental problemsand their solutions

The Committees determined the primaryenvironmental problems in the Municipality Zrnovci,based on the health risks of the population, nature andthe quality of life

Nine primary problems and fields for tackingactions have been determined and ranked

1 Quality of drinking water and water supply,

2 Managing the communal - fecal waste

3 Pollution of surface and underground waters;

4 Pollution of the agro - complexes' soils,

5 Communal solid waste and management

" 6 Condition of the forests,

7 Environmental awareness in the Municipality,

8 Local Environmental Law,

9 Conservation of the biodiversity

At the following stage the Committees did agradation of the primary problems using the availablemethodologies and determined

a High risk priorities

1 Quality of drinking water and water supply,

2 Managing the communal - fecal waters,

3 Pollution of surface and underground waters,

4. Pollution of the agro - complexes' soils,

b. Low risk priorities

1 Communal solid waste management,

2 Condition of the forests,

.3 Environmental awareness in the Municipality,

4 Local Environmental Law,

5 Conservation'of the biodiversity - •

These two lists were accepted by both Committees -and at the same tune these lists are reflection of the publicopinion that emerged as a result of the public campaignrealized by the Zrnovci Environmental Association""Javor"

The presentation of the priority actions in the LEAPaccording to CRA to human health, nature and socio -economical category - quality of life is as follows

Risk Low High

Human health

Nature

Quality of life

Total

X

X

Risk Low High

Human health

Nature

Quality of life

Total

X

X

X

X

Risk Low High

Human health

Nature

Quality of life

Total

X

X

X

X

Risk Low

Human health

Nature

Quality of life

Total

High

X

X

X

X

The LEAP'S work-out, besides the determination ofthe environmental problems and the choice of the

Local Environmental Action Plan 33

• EXECUTIVE SUMMERY OF MUNICIPALITY OF ZRNOVCI

. - strategies for their solution, enabled the achievement ofthe following results

1. Access to environmental information for a largenumber of inhabitants of the Municipality

2 First public and organized participation ofcitizens in decision making process regarding theenvironmental problems, through consensus

3 Media presentation of the LEAP for MunicipalityZmovci on local and national level

4 Internationalization of the LEAP, from theworkout stage

5 Possibilities for implementation of the LEAPstrategies with a help from local, national andinternational funds

6 Tracing a road for future scientific and skilledresearches in the Municipality in the area ofprotection and promotion of the environment

7 Possibility for the LEAP'S presentation at the 4* th Ministerial Conference '"Environment for

Europe" in Aarhus, Denmark in June 1998

Each of the four environmental problems wasadditionally defined and analyzed by the TechnicalCommittee, in accordance with the medical methodologyHEIA (Health Environmental Impact Assessment)

Strategies categorized on the bases of the schemefor integral approach towards the project draft werechosen in the areas of

- Environmental effects,

- Economic .justification,

- Local financial funds,

- International financial funds,

- Municipality's strategy and programs,

- Technical - technological feasibility,

- Legislature,

- Compatibility according to NEAP

The analyses of the first priority

Quality of drinking water and water supply showed

- Quantitative shortage of water,

- Obsolescence and default of the infrastructure,

- Lack of systems for treatment of theinfrastructure,

- Microbiological incorrectness,

- Total absence of drinking water in very dryperiods,

- Shortage of fluorine and chlorine in the drinkingwater (in Morodvis and Vidoviste),

- Use of completely row drinking water inMorodvis and Vidoviste,

-. Irregular control of the chemical andmicrobiological content of the drinking water,

- Very low public information about the waterquality,

- Cutting down the forests near the sources,

- Watering cattle near sources and wells,

- Danger of sabotage because of the openness ofthe system,

- Danger of infectious diseases

As a result of the performed "analyses of this priority,some actions are recommended, the most important ofwhich is

- the workout of a feasibility study that woulddetermined the overall strategy for solution to thisproblem

Because of the resource shortage of the localbudged for a study workout, the Municipality expects aninternational financial aid, which can be agreed in Aarhusby mediation of Ministry for Urban Planning,Construction and Environment

It is estimated that this kind of study, which can alsobe expanded on the priorities 2 and 3 would cost about80000 USD, provided it is worked out by an internationalconsulting company

The analyses of the management of the communal- fecal waste waters showed.

- chaotic overflow of the effluents (primarily ofthose originating from the households, since thereis a small industrial influence) in the surface waterflows,

- pollution of rivers with organic material,

- destroing of the rivers' flora and 'fauna,

- lack of adequate sewage system,

- non - existence of a treatment station,

- non - existence ofa monitoring system,

- sinking about the damages caused by thisproblem,

- pollution of the soil and underground watersbecause of the sinking of the feces from theinappropriate septic tanks,

- danger of infectious diseases,

- irrigation of agricultural sorts in the region ofZmovci with fecal water (in the period when thewater flow of the Zrnovska river is stopped for theneeds of the hydroelectric power station)

34 Local Environmental Action Plan .

• EXECUTIVE SUMMERY OF MUNICIPALITY OF ZRNOVCl"-

• The planned feasibility study may determine theadequate solution to this problem as well, which will havean influence on the improvement pf the quality of thesurface and underground waters (priority NR 3) in theMunicipality Zmoyci

As the Municipality Zmovci is an agrarian area,famous for the production of rice and gardening, bothCommittees have drown a special attention to thepollution of agro-complexes soils ce priority NR 4,which is of vital importance to the population fromeconomical point of view

While analyzing this priority, the following has beenregistrated

- Farmers' insufficient expertize when usingpesticides and fertilizers,

- Insufficient expertness of the up-to-datetechnologies (bio-technologies) in agronomy,

. .. --p0SS1Die solutions that came out from LEAP

- Skilled use of the chemicals and fertilizes in theproduction of rice and gardening,

- Orientation towards application of biotechnologyapplication of bio-pesticides and organic fertilizesin the production of the healthy 1 e. environmentallyclean product

- Application of experience from developedagricultural countries from Europe, America andAsia

A financial participation of the potentialinternational donors in this kind of agro - project willsurelyprovide the agriculture products from MunicipalityZrnovci an international market, and may represent a pilotproject whose application is possible in many otheragricultural regions in Macedonia

K«?.Ky«H0.EHB/IHOlH(A»?JJ?«i!T OXPKUCWk

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Local Environmental Action Plan 35

Copyright NoticeThe entire contents ofthis publication copyright© 1998 the Regional

Enviromental Center for Cetral and Eastern Europe (REC)Local Office Macedonia

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Published by the REC, ul Debarca 17/3, Skopje, MacedoniaIn cooperation with

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