MACEDONIA’S NATIONAL CAPACITY NEEDS SELF ......Disclaimer Th e opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reﬂ ect the opinions of UNDP or

SKOPJE, APRIL 2005

FINAL REPORT

MACEDONIA’S NATIONAL CAPACITY NEEDS SELF ASSESMENT FOR GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

CIP – Katalogizacija vo publikacijaNarodna i univerzitetska biblioteka “Sv. Kliment Ohridski”, Skopje551.583 (497.7) (047)502.211 : 502.7 (497.7) (047)626.87 (497.7) (047) NATIONAL capacity self-assessment for the Republic of Macedonija : fi nal report/ [rakovoditel na proektot Vladimir Stavrić]. - Skopje : Ministry of environment and phisical planning, 2005. - VII, 90 str. : ilustr. ; 30 sm\Publikacijata e vo ramkite na: “United nations development programme”

ISBN 9989-110-44-1

a) Klimatski promeni - Makedonija b) Biološka raznovidnost - Makedonija v) Opustinuvanje - Makedonija - IzveštaiCOBISS.MK-ID 60753162

DisclaimerTh e opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily refl ect

the opinions of UNDP or any other organization mentioned in the report. As a result, this should be verifi ed before implementation of any of the recommendations contained herein.

Th e UN-recognized name for the country is the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. However, for the purpose of simplifi cation and without any prejudice to the name related dispute with Greece the name Macedonia will be used throughout the text.

PROJECT FACTS

Sector of activity Environment Benefi ciary:Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning

Project Budget$211,100 ($195,400 + $15,700 )

Implementing agency UNDP

Project start date June 2003 Project end date April 2005

Project DirectorKiril Nastevski, MEPPLindita Šakiri Atanasova, MEPP

Project CoordinatorsMs. Gordana Kozuharova, MEPPMs. Anita Kodzoman, UNDP

Project Manager Mr Vladimir Stavric Project AssistantsPavlina Zdraveva Biljana Kotevska

Biodiversity Working Group

Mr. Svetozar Petkovski, Ph.D., Museum Advisor, Macedonian Museum of Natural History, SkopjeMr. Vlado Matevski, Ph.D., Professor, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, SkopjeMr. Ljupco Melovski, Ph.D., Professor, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, SkopjeMr. Sreten Andonov, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, SkopjeMr. Zoran Spirkovski, M.Sc., Scientifi c Collaborator, Institute of Hydrobiology, Ohrid

Climate Change Working Group

Ms. Cvetanka Popovska, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Civil Engineering, SkopjeMs. Natasa Markovska, Ph.D., Researcher, Macedonian Academy of Science and Arts, SkopjeMr. Mirko Todorovski, M.Sc., Researcher, Macedonian Academy of Science and Arts, SkopjeMs. Suzana Alcinova-Monevska, B.Sc., Hydro-Meteorological Administration, SkopjeMr. Svetomir Hadzi-Jordanov, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, Skopje

Land Degradation Working Group

Mr. Ordan Cukaliev, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, SkopjeMs. Katerina Donevska, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Skopje Mr. Ivan Blinkov, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Forestry, SkopjeMr. Dusko Mukaetov, M.Sc., Research Assistant, Institute Of Agriculture, SkopjeMr. Pece Ristevski, M.Sc., Advisor; Hydro-Meteorological Administration, SkopjeMs. Nina Aleksovska, B.Sc., Head of Meteorological Network Department, Hydro-Meteorological Administration, Skopje

Synergy Working Group

Mr. Zlatko Samardziev, ConsultantMr. Svetozar Petkovski, Ph.D., Museum Advisor – Macedonian Museum of Natural History, SkopjeMs. Cvetanka Popovska, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Civil Engineering, SkopjeMr. Ordan Cukaliev, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Skopje

Special Adviser to the SWG

Mr. Metodija Dimovski, M.Sc., Secretary General, Civil Servants Agency

PROJECT FACTS ................................................................................................................................................................................................ iii

CONTENT ................................................................................................................................................................................................. v

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ............................................................................................................................................................................. vi

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................................................................................... vii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .........................................................................................................................................................................................1

A. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................................................1

B. BIODIVERSITY ..............................................................................................................................................................................................1

C. CLIMATE CHANGE .........................................................................................................................................................................................2

D. LAND DEGRADATION AND DESERTIFICATION ...............................................................................................................................................4

E. CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES ...............................................................................................................................................................................5

F. CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS ..............................................................................................................................................................................6

G. OPPORTUNITIES FOR SYNERGETIC AND CROSS-CUTTING CAPACITY BUILDING ............................................................................................8

H. STRATEGY FOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT ..................................................................................................................................................10

I. ACTION PLAN FOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................................................................. 11

J. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGY AND THE ACTION PLAN ................................................................................................................... 11

K. MONITORING ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 11

I INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ...........................................................................................................................................................13

A. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................................................................................13

B. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................................................................14

C. RATIONALE AND CONTEXT OF THE NCSA ....................................................................................................................................................15

II COUNTRY FRAMEWORK .............................................................................................................................................................................17

A. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY ..............................................................................................................................................................................17

A.1 Relief and Soils ..........................................................................................................................................................................................17

A.2 Hydrography .............................................................................................................................................................................................18

A.3 Climate ...............................................................................................................................................................................................18

B. DEMOGRAPHIC FRAMEWORK ....................................................................................................................................................................19

III THEMATIC ISSUES .......................................................................................................................................................................................21

A. BIODIVERSITY ............................................................................................................................................................................................21

A.1 Status of Biodiversity ................................................................................................................................................................................21

A.2 Status of Biodiversity Conservation ..........................................................................................................................................................23

A.3 Strategy and Policy Framework in Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................24

A.4 National Priority Issues ..............................................................................................................................................................................26

A.5 Assessment of Capacity Constraints .........................................................................................................................................................27

A.6 Capacity-Building Opportunities ..............................................................................................................................................................29

B. CLIMATE CHANGE .......................................................................................................................................................................................30

B.1 Greenhouse Gas Emissions ........................................................................................................................................................................30

B.2 GHG Abatement Analysis ..........................................................................................................................................................................31

B.3 Vulnerability Assessment ..........................................................................................................................................................................31

B.4 Legal and Institutional Structure ..............................................................................................................................................................32

B.5 National Priority Issues ..............................................................................................................................................................................35

CONTENT

v

C. LAND DEGRADATION AND DESERTIFICATION .............................................................................................................................................39

C.1 Land and Resources Management ............................................................................................................................................................39

C.2 Status of Land Degradation and Desertifi cation in Macedonia ................................................................................................................41

C.3 Soil Erosion ...............................................................................................................................................................................................42

C.4 Priority Issues Regarding Desertifi cation and Land Degradation in Macedonia ......................................................................................42

C.5 Assessment of Capacity Constraints .........................................................................................................................................................46

IV CROSS-CUTTING CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SYNERGETIC CAPACITY BUILDING APPROACHES AND PROJECTS ...49

A. METHODOLOGY AND MATRIX ....................................................................................................................................................................49

B. CONSTRAINTS FOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT GOALS ................................................................................................................................52

B.1 National Policy ...........................................................................................................................................................................................52

B.2 Legal and Regulatory Framework .............................................................................................................................................................56

B.3 Incentive Systems and Market Instruments .............................................................................................................................................57

B.4 National and International Financing .......................................................................................................................................................57

B.5 Technology transfer ..................................................................................................................................................................................58

B.6 Institutional Mandate, Management Capacity and Performance ............................................................................................................59

B.7 Monitoring, observation and data management .....................................................................................................................................60

B.8 Public Awareness and Education ..............................................................................................................................................................61

B.9 Scientifi c expertise ....................................................................................................................................................................................62

C. OPPORTUNITIES FOR CAPACITY BUILDING .................................................................................................................................................63

C.1 Ongoing processes and reforms ................................................................................................................................................................63

C.2 Present and future project in the environmental sector ..........................................................................................................................65

C.3 Possible projects identifi ed within the framework of the NCSA ...............................................................................................................68

V STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN FOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT ...................................................................................................................73

A. STRATEGY FOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT ..................................................................................................................................................73

A.1 Capacity Development Objectives ............................................................................................................................................................ 74

A.2 Strategic Principles .................................................................................................................................................................................... 74

B. ACTION PLAN .............................................................................................................................................................................................75

C. STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN IMPLEMENTATION ......................................................................................................................................77

D. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE ACTION PLAN IMPLEMENTATION ................................................................................................78

D.1 NCSA Monitoring and Evaluation Scheme ................................................................................................................................................78

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1) Total population of the Republic of Macedonia by basic age groups and sex ...................................................................................19

Table 2) Total population of the Republic of Macedonia according ethnic affi liation ....................................................................................19

Table 3) Protected Areas in Macedonia ...........................................................................................................................................................23

Table 4) Selected capacity development objectives in the area of land degradation/desertifi cation in Macedonia ....................................44

Table 5) Capacity Constraints Matrix ..............................................................................................................................................................50

Table 6) Action Plan for Capacity Development ..............................................................................................................................................76

Figure 1) Map of the Republic of Macedonia ....................................................................................................................................................17

Figure 2) GHG emissions under the baseline scenario and under the mitigation scenario ..............................................................................30

Figure 3) Monitoring and Evaluation Scheme ..................................................................................................................................................80

vi

AHMW Administration for Hydro-Meteorological Works

BSAP Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

CARDS Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilization

CBD Convention on Biological Diversity

CDI Capacity Development Initiative

CDM Clean Development Mechanism

CHP Cogeneration of Heat and Power

CITES Convention on International Trade with Endangered Species

COP Conference of the Parties

CSA Civil Servants Agency

DEM Society of Environmentalists in Macedonia

EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

ECT Energy Charter Treaty

EE Energy Effi ciency

EIA Environmental Impact Assessment

EIB European Investment Bank

ERC Energy Regulatory Commission

ESI Education and Scientifi c Institutions

EU European Union

FNC First National Communication on Climate Change to UNFCCC

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GEF Global Environment Facility

GHG GreenHouse Gases

GIS Geographic Information System

HBI Hydrobiological Institute

HMA Hydro-Meteorological Administration

IEA International Energy Agency

ICEIM Research Center on Energy, Informatics and Materials within MANU

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

IPPC Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control

ISPA Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession

IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature

IT Information Technology

JI Joint Implementation

LEAP Local Environmental Action Plan

LG Units of the Local (Municipal) Government

LSG Local Self-Government

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

vii

MACEF Macedonian Center on Energy Effi ciency

MAFWE Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy

MANU Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts

MDG Millennium Development Goals

ME Ministry of Economy

MEPP Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning

MES Ministry of Education and Science

MF Ministry of Finance

MTC Ministry of Transport and Communication

NAP National Action Plan

NCSA National Capacity Self-Assessment

NCSP National Communication Support Programme

NEAP National Environmental Action Plan

NGO Non-Governmental Organizations

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

PAR Public Administration Reform

PE Public Enterprises

PESUP Public Enterprise for Spatial and Urban Planning

PHARE EU assistance programme for the applicant countries

PHPI Public Health Protection Institute

PWE Public Water Economy

PWEE Public Water Economy Enterprise

RES Renewable Energy Sources

RIHP Republic Institute for Health Protection

SEE South-East Europe

SEI Sector for European Integration within the Government of Macedonia

SEPA Strategic Environmental Policy Assessment

SNC Second National Communication to the UNFCCC

SSO State Statistical Offi ce

TNA Technology Needs Assessment

UNCCD UN Convention to Combat Desertifi cation

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientifi c and Cultural Organization

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization

WB World Bank

WHO World Health Organization

WG Working Group

viii

Chemical SymbolsCH4 Methane

CO Carbon monoxide

CO2 Carbon dioxide

CO2-eq Carbon dioxide equivalent

N2O Nitrous oxide

SO2 Sulphur dioxide

ix

A. Introduction

Th e National Capacity Needs Self-Assessment for Global Environmental Management (NCSA) Project has been implemented during the period June 2003 – April 2005.

Th e overall objective of the project is assessment of the capacities of the Republic of Macedonia to meet the obligations under the global environmental conventions pertaining to biodiversity (UNCBD), climate change (UNFCCC) and land degradation and desertifi cation (UNCCD). Th e main goal of the NCSA is identifi cation and analysis of the priorities on a national level and the capacity development needs relating to the implementation of the three Rio Conventions.

Th e project has been steered towards including the global environmental issues within national and local environmental activities and integrating objectives into national and local strategic planning processes.

Th e main output are three separate thematic reports in the areas of biodiversity, climate change and land degradation/desertifi cation, a Cross-cutting Report and the National Capacity Self-Assessment Report, comprising also the Strategy and Action Plan for Capacity Development. Th e reports provide an overview of the current situation in each of the thematic areas and identifi cation of the priority issues. Th e common and the cross-cutting issues have been thoroughly analysed for more effi cient use of the resources and achieving synergetic eff ects.

B. Biodiversity

Th e most important characteristics of biodiversity in the Republic of Macedonia are the heterogeneity and high degree of relictness and endemism.

Th e vegetation of Macedonia represents a mosaic of diverse plant communities with a variety of vegetation types. Th e Red List of endangered plant species within Macedonia has not yet been prepared. In the IUCN Global Red List of 1997, 70 taxa from Macedonia are included, out of which 18 are local endemites.

A general characteristic of the Macedonian fauna is its high degree of taxonomic diversity. Th e complex zoogeographical structure, due to the complex historical development of the organisms, is manifested by a high degree of relict and endemic forms. Macedonian endemic faunal elements are represented by 674 taxa.

1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Macedonia has a total of 7.31 percent of its territory under some form of protection and more than half of this area belongs to three national parks Mavrovo, Pelister and Galicica. Th e Law on Environment Protection adopted in 2004 defi nes the responsibilities and the decision-making method regarding biodiversity conservation. Besides by this law, biodiversity outside of protected areas is protected by a National Spatial Plan and the CITES convention. However, the present status of species protection in the country is at a very low level. In Macedonia, neither cadastres of protected areas and species exist, nor action plans (except for certain species of plants, animals and fungi). Around 30 global and regional conventions, protocols and their amendments, regarding biodiversity conservation are part of the national legislation. Th e fi rst document that treated biodiversity as a separate part of the environment was the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) of 1997. Th e Biodiversity Study – First National Report to the UNCBD was completed in 2003. Subsequently, the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (BSAP), completed in 2004, defi nes the priorities for eff ective and integrated conservation, as well as the indispensable actions, projects and programmes for biodiversity conservation.

In the assessment, 20 priority issues were identifi ed, where the fi rst six are the most important for biodiversity conservation as follows:

1. Adopt appropriate measures for in-situ conservation of the natural ecosystems and species, restoration of degraded ecosystems and recovery of threatened species;

2. Identifi cation and monitoring of components of biological diversity important for its conservation and sustainable use;

3. Decreasing of the number of threatened species and habitats (especially wetlands and forests);

4. Strengthening the capacities of the national and local institutions responsible for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of biodiversity, with assistance of external agencies;

5. Increasing of the national and international investments in biodiversity conserva-tion;

6. Reaching the eff ective national biodiversity planning.

Th e key constraint on the systemic level is the implementation eff ectiveness of the environmental policy, assessed as low to medium. Th e implementation of the BSAP is considered as the best possibility for progress in the area of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Th e institutional level assessment has shown that the key constraint is the defi nition of the mandates of institutions responsible for biodiversity conservation and their dedication, due to other obligations. Th us, restructuring of the institutional set-up in order to achieve sustainability is needed. Th e sectors within the MEPP working on the issues of biodiversity conservation could be a good basis for creation of an independent institution to handle expert and administrative issues and increase the ability of the country to meet several of the priority issues. Regarding the capacity on the individual level, the knowledge within the scientifi c institutions is quite satisfactory, but within the administration the situation is diff erent, requiring strengthening of the capacities in the agencies responsible for management, conservation and sustainable use of the biodiversity.

C. Climate Change

Th e fi rst GHG Inventory in Macedonia was prepared for the First National Communication (FNC) on Climate Change in 2003. Th e total GHG emissions in 1998 amount to 15,085 million tonnes CO2-eq, out of which over three quarters come from the energy

2

NATIONAL CAPACITY NEEDS SELF ASSESMENT FOR GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

sector. Collection of GHG emission data is carried out on a national basis and inventories are prepared using appropriate calculation models and database systems.

Th e energy sector in Macedonia provides the highest GHG abatement potential, accounting simultaneously for economic indicators and technological limitations. Th e formulation of economic policy regarding energy prices and taxes is in the hands of the Government, which is responsible for the development of energy supply and demand projections. However, the central administrative structure responsible for the implementation of GHG reduction measures and monitoring thereof, has not been established yet.

Th e climate change related legal framework is rather multidisciplinary and is connected to energy effi ciency, water and air pollution, planning, monitoring of the conditions in environmental protection, etc. In the last few years signifi cant progress has been made in adoption of new legislation and ratifi cation of international conventions and protocols, as well as in their implementation. Th e MEPP is responsible for the coordination of the climate change related activities. A Climate Change Project Unit functions within the MEPP, which also logistically supports the National Climate Change Committee, entrusted with the monitoring and the coordination of the Convention implementation.

Th e Republic of Macedonia ratifi ed the Kyoto Protocol in 2004, and the Energy Charter Treaty and Protocol on Energy Effi ciency and Related Environmental Aspects already in September 1998.

Based on the analysis within the NCSA and the fi ndings presented in the First National Communication on Climate Change, the following national priorities have been identifi ed:

1. Eff ective national planning to achieve GHG emissions abatement through prepara-tion of a national action plan;

2. Identifi cation of corresponding adaptation measures in vulnerable sectors in ac-cordance with the First National Communication on Climate Change;

3. Research and systematic observation;4. Enabling and encouraging the technology transfer;5. Enhancing the education and raising the public awareness.Th e assessment of capacity constraints in the energy and the other GHG emission sectors

shows that the eff ective national planning in order to attain mitigation of GHG emissions, is mostly limited by the lack of fi nancial means and the low potential to attract foreign investment. In addition, insuffi cient communication between the ministries, insuffi cient expertise and preparedness to use new technologies, low awareness, diff erent stakeholder interests (particularly in view of forthcoming transformation of ESM and the privatisation), etc., have been identifi ed as constraints.

Th e vulnerable sectors where adaptation measures have been proposed in the FNC are: agriculture, land-use, land-use change and forestry, biodiversity, hydrology and water resources, and human health. Strengthening the capacity and implementation of these measures in the vulnerable sectors, have to be followed by appropriate fi nancial support from the national budget, the fund based on GHG emission taxes, commercial loans, direct investments, international fi nancial and technical assistance.

Th e capacity constraints in the priority issue of research and systematic observation, present on systemic and individual levels, are in close relation to the lack of fi nancial means and the low interest of the public sectors. Delineation of several parallel plans and programmes for rehabilitation, improvement and management of the existing monitoring systems, as part of the national strategy on systematic monitoring and research, would reduce the identifi ed constraints.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

3

Within the Climate Change Enabling Activities Project, a follow-up of the FNC, a report on technology needs for GHG abatement in the energy sector in Macedonia has been prepared, in relation to three criteria: eff ectiveness, cost and diffi culty of implementation. Th e capacity constraints in this sector mainly consist of lack of domestic investment capital and the low level of foreign investments, but also insuffi cient communication between the ministries, administrative hindrances, defi cient expertise, etc. Th e problems become more serious if we move from individual, through the institutional towards the systemic level.

Education and training, and public awareness on climate change issues in Macedonia requires coordinated eff orts and cooperation of policy makers, scientifi c and educational institutions, industry stakeholders, professional organizations, and NGOs.

Determination, classifi cation of capacity constraints and their prioritization in the fi eld of climate change indicated their presence at all levels, however most on the institutional level. As expected, the GHG emissions abatement is an issue that faces the largest number of constraints. On the systemic level the largest constraints are inappropriate regulations burdened with overlapping, fl aws and inconsistencies, as well as diff erent interests of relevant stakeholders.

D. Land Degradation and Desertifi cation

Land management in the Republic of Macedonia is diff erent than in other countries, because the property owner is the owner of the soil, namely the arable layer, and has the right to use it, while all natural and other resources (water, forests, pastures, mineral resources, etc.) are state property. Th e management of separate resources is entrusted to various entities. Practically, in Macedonia the concept of integrated resources management, understood under ‘land management’ does not exist in practice.

Drought is a common phenomenon in Macedonia, which causes many problems in agriculture, forestry, and water management. Despite the obvious presence of erosion there are insuffi cient data on land degradation and desertifi cation in the country. In addition, there are neither advanced researches nor data at scientifi c level. Th e salinization, its intensity, dimension, and state cannot be exactly defi ned due to absence of monitoring or any research. For the same reason no exact data exist on soil pollution with nitrates, phosphates, sulphates, pesticides, organic pollutants, heavy metals, and oil. Although use of fertilizers in agriculture has been declining over the last ten years, it still remains quite high. In addition, landfi lls typically situated on alluvium or karst, create a potential for groundwater contamination. Soil pollution from industrial waste is also a serious issue.

As a Party to the UNCCD, Macedonia acknowledges the obligations of the Convention, but its implementation is not easy due to limited resources. Th erefore, the solutions and approaches should be sought and implemented on a regional basis, infl uencing the support of international community (fi nancial, expertise and other resources). Th e capacity development objectives regarding UNCCD are divided into fi ve groups. According to that structure, without prioritization, some of the capacity development objectives are the following:

− Development of a National Strategy for integrated approach to the issues of land degradation, desertifi cation and drought with special emphasis on socio-economic issues;

− Establishment of a national body (under UNCCD) responsible for land degradation, desertifi cation and drought;

− Preparation and update of the basic maps (pedological, vegetation, erosion, land-use, land susceptible to desertifi cation, etc.) and digitalization in GIS;

4


− Establishment of a monitoring system for land, land degradation and vegetation;

− Establishment of a National Training Centre for Technology Transfer (NTCTT);

− Improvement of the system of land management and introduction of a land infor-mation system;

− Improvement of the public awareness regarding the issues of land degradation/de-sertifi cation.

Macedonia has neither an integrated strategy nor complete analyses for the various processes of desertifi cation and drought, although several strategic documents that may be related to land degradation and desertifi cation exist in the country. Cooperation in the fi eld of environmental protection and conservation of land and water resources is very important for combating land degradation and desertifi cation. Th e two ministries responsible for land and water (MEPP and MAFWE) should promote it among all stakeholders by establishing links with education, research and technology transfer. Institutional organization is an important issue as well. Macedonia in this respect does not have suffi cient capacities able to approach the problem of drought, land degradation, and desertifi cation from a multidisciplinary point of view.

Mitigation of the eff ects of drought is one of the priorities at the country level. Furthermore, development of National Action Plan for Combating Desertifi cation is one of the urgent priorities of the country, which should include activities and targets at national level as well at the sub-regional and regional level. Th ere is a need for long-term policy strategy and action programmes at all levels, in particularly the local level. Another urgent need in the country is the establishment of a National Committee on Desertifi cation and Land Degradation. Technology transfer is a very important part of international cooperation. Macedonia is very vulnerable with regard to desertifi cation and land degradation since it is a crossroads of several climatic types and experiences huge diff erences in natural conditions. Because of the limited natural, human, and fi nancial resources implementation of the UNCCD should be raised from a national to regional level.

At systemic level institutions are well developed, yet there is duplication and an overlapping of the responsibilities of diff erent ministries, low level of coordination at national and local level, low level of political will, insuffi cient legal framework for implementation of the Convention and low fi nancial capabilities of the country. Th erefore the country should make use of the organized international network of funds to be used for implementation of the national action programmes, taking care to avoid inert administration, to waive good and important projects.

Th e institutional level shows institutions with good reputations and experience with scientifi c projects implementation, yet with a low level of cooperation and data exchange among them. Th erefore eff orts should be directed to strengthen them and clarify their responsibilities.

At the individual level the country has a large number of highly educated and skilled individuals with large experience in the fi eld but absence of suitable integral education on land degradation and desertifi cation. It is important to work towards highly skilled and experienced staff to collaborate on joint international projects and avoid a brain drain.

E. Cross-cutting Issues

In order to determine the general common issues, following a series of consultations, occurrence in more than one thematic area, irrespective of the level, was taken as a general

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

5

criterion. As an ultimate result of this analysis, the following nine areas of capacity defi cit have been identifi ed:

1. National policy; 2. Legal and regulatory framework; 3. Incentive systems and economic and market instruments; 4. National and international funding; 5. Technology transfer; 6. Institutional mandate, management capacity and performance; 7. Monitoring and observation, data management; 8. Public awareness and education; 9. Scientifi c expertise.Within these wider common areas of capacity defi cit, capacity development objectives

were formulated, and the key criterion was to have the objective in the respective area identifi ed as a priority for at least two Conventions. As a fi nal result of the exercise, a matrix has been produced with nine capacity defi cit areas, fi fteen capacity development objectives and a large number of constraints.

Th e second part of the cross-cutting/synergy analysis was identifi cation of opportunities for capacity development across the three Convention areas, based on the structured Capacity Constraints Matrix. Th e opportunities have been identifi ed in three wider categories:

1. Ongoing processes and reforms; 2. Ongoing and future projects in the fi eld of environment and related sectors; 3. Possible projects/programmes/activities identifi ed by the NCSA.Th e identifi ed opportunities for capacity development have been confi rmed through

numerous consultation meetings and have presented a basis for elaboration of the Strategy and Action Plan for Capacity Development.

F. Capacity Constraints

In the area of National policy two common goals are defi ned, characteristic for all three thematic areas: (1) achievement of effi cient national planning; and (2) integration of the biodiversity protection, climate change and land degradation/desertifi cation in the strategic plans and priorities of the country. Besides existence of strategic planning documents, the level of implementation eff ectiveness is assessed as medium to low. Th e reasons for such a situation are identifi ed as insuffi ciently expressed political will for implementation, lack of fi nancial means, insuffi cient effi ciency of bodies responsible for monitoring, a degree of non-compliance of the existing legislation and the proposed measures in the strategies and action plans, certain overlapping of the responsibilities of diff erent ministries and the lack of coordination between them, lack of professional staff , strategies too ambitious for the country capacities, etc. Th ese constraints are especially pronounced in the area of land degradation.

Th e current economic situation in the country is resulting in a heavily restricted budgetary policy that puts environmental expenditure at a very low level, although which over the last few years has begun to show a positive trend. In addition the diff erent interests of stakeholders that have similar mandates lead to overlaps and gaps in the environmental protection. Th e process of decision making at the government level is centralized. Regarding the technical knowledge and expertise in the responsible administration organs, the MEPP

6


has made signifi cant progress with implementation of the EU funded Project ‘Strengthening of the Capacity of the MEPP’.

Th e institutions that should actively participate in preparing projects, plans, implementation of the monitoring and other activities for successfully accomplishing the tasks required by the three Rio Conventions, often do not have suffi cient infrastructure, equipment and/or suffi ciently educated staff to meet the requirements. Th e integration of the country with the European structure has put the legislation approximation among the top priority actions to be performed in the next period. Th erefore, it is understandable that in the area of legal framework, two priority goals have been identifi ed. Th e fi rst one is (1) adaptation of national legislation to Rio Conventions obligations; and the second (2) approximation of national legislation to EU acquis communitaire.

Economic instruments can be important elements to fi nance the cost of the implementation of the three global conventions. Th erefore, in the capacity defi cit area of incentive systems and market instruments, development and introduction of incentive systems for promotion of Rio Conventions is identifi ed as a priority goal. However there is quite an unfavourable administrative and legal framework, especially the non-existence of tax and customs incentives and subvention system for implementation of appropriate technologies. On the other hand, the MEPP is still understaff ed in relation to its legal mandate.

Financing appeared to be one of the biggest constraints for capacity building in the three thematic areas. However, in many cases fi nancing is not a real constraint but rather a good excuse. In order to overcome this, the NCSA has identifi ed two goals: (1) improvement of the national system of fi nancing of the implementation of Rio Conventions, and (2) strengthening of the capacity to access the funding mechanisms of the Rio Conventions and other environmental conventions.

Th e present status of technologies used in the diff erent sectors that address climate change, biodiversity and land degradation/desertifi cation is far from being satisfactory. Th erefore, it has been analysed as a priority issue and one objective defi ned as: (1) Capacity Building for Technology Transfer. In-depth analysis has identifi ed several constraints: a low level of cooperation between the training centres and scientifi c community; insuffi cient engagement of the experts from scientifi c and educational institutions by the ministries; inexistence of national training and technology transfer centre; and, of course, a lack of funding.

One of the capacity defi cit areas, where capacity building may provide a real breakthrough is in the implementation of the global conventions, is the Institutional Mandate, Management Capacity and Performance. Two major goals are set to be achieved: (1) strengthening of the capacities of relevant institutions responsible for management with the resources in all of the three thematic areas; and (2) improvement of institutional cooperation and coordination. One of the main constraints for accomplishment of the fi rst objective is the fact that the middle management salaries are far from being commensurable with the similar positions in the private sector. Th erefore it is diffi cult to keep the experienced managers with knowledge and skills. Furthermore, politics infl uences the civil servant employment policies, and hence, the administration qualitative structure. In order to achieve the second objective, the legal framework is a constraint, due to unclearly defi ned responsibilities of certain institutions, leading to overlapping and gaps in the system.

Th e monitoring and data management regarding the three thematic areas has been identifi ed as unsatisfactory. Two objectives have been identifi ed: (1) improvement of monitoring and observation systems; (2) improvement of data management systems. Although the monitoring systems are not in a bad condition in comparison with the accomplishments in other environmental areas, still they need a lot of improvement requiring increased

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

7

fi nancing both for development and maintenance. Th ere is very often a low institutional and individual awareness on the importance of data. Th e second objective, improvement of data management systems can only be achieved if many existing constraints are overcome, such as the effi ciency of responsible institutions, education and specialization on data management methodologies, extension and automatization of the monitoring networks.

Public awareness and education is a capacity defi cit area that is common for almost any environmental issue. Th e three NCSA thematic areas are no exception to the ‘rule’, although many topical activities have already been undertaken for awareness raising in the areas of biodiversity and climate change. As a consequence of the previous actions, the expert team identifi ed two goals to be achieved in order to upgrade the capacity in the area of public awareness and education; namely: (1) raising of public awareness with regard to global conventions; and (2) improvement of education and training relevant to Rio Conventions. Mainly the problems appear with the data collection, data reliability and validity, and the access to the information, with the insuffi cient cooperation of the local governments, the private sector and the industry with the non-governmental sector in development and implementation of environmental projects and activities, and fi nally, with insuffi cient promotion of the topics from the three thematic areas in the media. Even though the education system in Macedonia has made some eff orts to introduce environmental topics under the compulsory curriculum, there is still room for improvement. Another constraint within this capacity defi cit area is the lack of training courses for all interested groups in conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, but also the lack of trained teachers and trainers in the three thematic areas.

Th e issue of scientifi c expertise is also an area with capacity defi cit. Th e goal set to be achieved, upgrading of scientifi c expertise and research is not an easy task, considering the numerous constraints. Th ese include: the insuffi cient funding of the scientifi c projects and research, the lack of experts and the low level of contemporary knowledge in some specifi c areas, and a lack of communication and cooperation between the stakeholders and scientifi c community.

G. Opportunities for Synergetic and Cross-Cutting Capacity Building

Although the three thematic areas (biological diversity, climate change and land degradation) seem quite diff erent by their nature, they have a lot of common constraints and consequently common opportunities for capacity building, in other words to overcome the constraints. Th ese opportunities should be looked for in the current processes and reforms in the country, then, into the current and future projects in the area of environment and certainly into the possible projects, which are identifi ed within the framework of NCSA.

Th e principal strategic priority of the country is the integration into the European structures with the ultimate goal of full EU membership. In this regard, of particular importance is good knowledge of EU sectoral policies since the three thematic areas subject to this report take top place in the EU environmental policy over the next few years. One of the leading issues set before the Macedonian Government deliberations certainly is the approximation of national legislation with the EU legislation. Th is process is particularly important for the needs of building appropriate capacity to overcome the constraints in the implementation of global environmental conventions. Namely, most of the constraints which refer to: non-existence of legal provisions; insuffi ciently clear defi nitions; overlapping of the responsibilities, etc.; could and should be removed right along with the process of approximation of legislation. Furthermore, the process of European integration itself initiates and supports numerous activities for capacity building which could be indirectly, albeit in some cases directly, in function of capacity building in the three thematic areas.

8


Decentralization is the second great strategic priority of Macedonia that aff ects all activities and represents a possibility, through the development of its environmental strategies, i.e. local environmental action plans - LEAPs, to embed measures by which it will directly participate in the implementation of the conventions. Th e Public administration reform itself does not imply direct possibility for building of specifi c capacities for implementation of the global conventions. However, the goals which need to be achieved with it (reorganization and training for increased effi ciency, transparency and capacity in general) will indirectly provide for overcoming of many constraints which are identifi ed within the NCSA process.

For the purpose of capacity building for implementation of the global conventions, of great importance are the country’s strategic planning documents, and embedding of the priority issues of the three thematic areas in it. Th e MEPP and the other relevant ministries have elaborated a number of strategic documents (Vision 2008, NEAP, NEAP 1, Physical Plan of Republic of Macedonia, BSAP, than sectoral strategies, like Agriculture Development Strategy, Energy Effi ciency Strategy in Macedonia till 2020 etc.), but the number of documents planned to be developed in the next mid-term period is extensive. ‘Vision 2008’ is a document that represents a road-map of the activities of this administration in the next mid-term period. Elaboration of sectoral strategic planning documents is very signifi cant, like the Water Master Plan, Agricultural Strategy and others, but also update of the existing ones is necessary. For example, in the water management sector of highest importance is the Water Management Master Plan of the Republic of Macedonia, which implementation will enable overcoming of larger number of constraints.

Environmental sector within the MEPP is yet the focal sector where one should look for and fi nd the opportunities for capacity building in the thematic areas. In this sense several on-going and future projects are of particular interest for they could contribute at most for the overcoming of the constraints in all areas of capacity defi cit especially at systemic and institutional level.

− Development of the Second National Environmental Action Plan, NEAP-2, aims to contribute for the environmental and economically sustainable development of the Republic of Macedonia, including the capacity building for implementation of the global conventions.

− 'Development of a National Plan and Feasibility Studies for Solid Waste Manage-ment' will contribute in the implementation of the Climate Change Convention, but, also the other two global conventions.

− Preparation for the development of the Second National Communication for climate changes has special importance since one of the objectives is to build the capacities for appropriate implementation of the UNFCCC.

− Th e BSAP has off ered systemic solutions in line with the overcoming of the con-straints for implementation of the UNCBD and in particular great eff ects are to be expected from the implementation of the Strategy, for which the Government has already designated a special body.

Th e Republic of Macedonia with its status of the country in transition, receives bi- and multilateral technical and fi nancial assistance in the areas of environment, agriculture, forestry, water management, but also in some others which indirectly could help in capacity building for implementation of the three global conventions and in overcoming of the constraints for implementation of the national priorities in the three thematic areas.

In the area of national policy the most important is to build the capacity to plan and prioritize.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

9

In the area of legislation, it seems that things are moving the fastest forward due to approximation of national legislation with the EU acquis communitaire. During 2004 the Law on Waste, the Law on Nature Protection, and the Law on Air Quality were adopted, while the Law on Environment and the Law on Water are presently in their fi nal stages. In this area it shall be very important to pay attention to the implementation of the new legislation.

Regarding the national and the international funding, individual and institutional capacity should be built for preparation, promotion and implementation of projects in the three thematic areas, a system of priorities and criteria for national funding of environmental projects, as well as to improve the domestic contribution to international projects. Also the capacity and knowledge for accessing international fi nancing sources should be strengthened.

Th e area of Technology Transfer has a multisectoral character. Opportunities for capacity building by technology transfer exist in the area of climate change, both for abatement of GHG emission (new technologies, RES, energy effi ciency, etc.) and in adaptation measures (contemporary approaches and methods, use of traditional knowledge and experiences). Th e technology transfer in the other two thematic areas of biodiversity and land degradation may directly and indirectly enhance the capacity at all three levels: systemic, institutional and individual.

Institutional mandate, management capacity and performance comprise an area of capacity defi cit closely linked to the national policies and legislation. It will be necessary to improve particularly the mechanisms that will enable those institutions to exercise their responsibility, and that include research and systematic observation in the three thematic areas, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the monitoring networks, setting-up of systems for technical and personnel strengthening of the institutions, etc.

Th e area of scientifi c expertise is very important for the three thematic areas. Th e activities that have to be carried out should be in conjunction with introduction of competency criteria, public awareness activities regarding the role of science, technology transfer activities, and the activities regarding appropriate funding treatment in the budget.

H. Strategy for Capacity Development

Th e Strategy and the Action Plan for Capacity Development in the thematic areas of Biodiversity, Climate Change and Land Degradation/Desertifi cation is based on the results of the three separate Th ematic Assessment Reports and the Cross-cutting/Synergy Report, as well as on a series of workshops with stakeholders. Th e main objective of the Strategy is strengthening of the systemic, institutional and individual capacities for implementation of the three global Rio Conventions. Th erefore, the identifi ed capacity development objectives are the basic objectives of the Strategy. Achievement of the main and the basic capacity development objectives will be based on the strategic principles emerging from the strategic principles of the three Rio Conventions:

− National ownership and leadership;− Multi-stakeholder consultations and decision making;− Holistic/integrated approach to capacity building;− Integration of capacity building in wider eff orts to achieve sustainable develop-

ment;− Promotion of partnerships;− Dynamic nature of capacity building; and− A learning-by-doing approach to capacity building.

10


I. Action Plan for Capacity Development

Reaching the Overall Objective and the fi fteen capacity development objectives may be realized by implementation of the Action Plan for Capacity Development. Th e fi nancial requirements for implementation of the AP should primarily be provided from the National Budget, other national fi nancial sources, as well as the international sources, especially the UN conventions’ mechanisms, primarily GEF. An important source of fi nancing of activities may be the current and already planned projects in the environmental and the related sectors. Th e activities have been prioritized, and it is foreseen to be implemented within the period of fi ve years, from 2005 to 2009.

J. Implementation of the Strategy and the Action Plan

Th e MEPP shall be the leading ministry for implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan. However, due to complexity of the issues in the three Rio Conventions and their inherence to other ministries, it is hereby recommended that the Government establish a National Steering Committee, which would directly cooperate with each of the Conventions’ National Committees. Th e MEPP shall continue to support the work of the Steering Committee in the period of implementation of the Action Plan through a Working Group composed of the three conventions’ focal points, who will also be members of the Steering Committee. Th is WG may be logistically supported by the Sector for EU Integration within the MEPP.

K. Monitoring

All stakeholders should monitor the implementation of the plan. Th e process of monitoring and evaluation will support the implementation of the activities identifi ed within the NCSA report and Action Plan as well as their periodical up-dating. Such a process does not diff er much from the approach of the NCSA process and in practice should mean that the stakeholders shall continue their cooperation as well in the monitoring and evaluation. Th is would guarantee wide acceptance of any activity undertaken in the process of implementation. However, since the NCSA project is performed in many ways on the basis of commercial contracts with diff erent experts, the system for monitoring and evaluation should be somehow modifi ed to comply with the basic principles. In this sense, the proposed monitoring set-up should be organized and supported by the MEPP as a central coordinating institution.

One of the mechanisms for evaluation of the implementation, apart from the Steering Committee, may be the organization of workshops, where participants may review the plan of actions and come up with new proposals, since the Action Plan should be a dynamic document, which needs to be updated on a regular basis, to incorporate possible new developments in any area.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

11

A. Introduction

Th e seriousness of the environmental problems facing the world today cannot be overemphasized. Poverty, environmental degradation, population growth, emission of pollutants and other pressures on ecosystems, all contribute to the growing need for immediate and eff ective global action.

We humans, as an inherent part of the global ecosystem, have a unique role to play, because of our ability to infl uence the system; because the threat to and loss of biodiversity is also a threat to our basic life-support systems that maintain the living world on planet Earth.

Th e major threat to the loss of biodiversity is not caused by direct human exploitation of species, but the habitat alteration and destruction that result from the expansion of human populations and human activities. Habitat change by humans is caused directly through land-use changes, urbanization, infrastructure development and industrialization.

Land degradation is often caused by ignorance and mismanagement leading to inappropriate land use, e.g. cultivation of steep slopes, overgrazing, deforestation and extension of cultivation into marginal areas, thus leading to acceleration of the soil erosion processes; and that these driving forces of degradation are enhanced by rapid increase in world population.

Indirect habitat change is caused through environmental eff ects by the use of resources from the environment and the discharge of various waste substances into air, soil and water. In this process, global changes due to fossil fuel burning and emission of greenhouse and ozone-depleting gases are included. An increase in amounts of these “greenhouse gases” may establish an energy balance of the Earth’s surface and the lower troposphere at a higher temperature, thus leading to global climatic change. Th ese eff ects may cause dramatic changes in the ecosystems and alter agricultural conditions. In addition, the mean sea level will rise, because of the melting of the glaciers due to higher temperatures.

Environmental problems are seldom local, regional, or even national; they are often indisputably international in scope and, thus, require international solutions. What at fi rst may appear to be an isolated case in a specifi c ecosystem is in fact, often the end product of a long series of events; be these political, socio-economic or biological.

Th e major challenge for the future then, lies in identifying long-term strategies for development that include both the needs of the environment and of the people who live and work there, and in realizing the aims of these strategies for the benefi t of mankind.

I INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

13

Consequently, within the three Rio Conventions, namely the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity (UNCBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertifi cation (UNCCD), considerable activities have been anticipated to facilitate strategic planning and reporting and strengthen capacities in participating countries to comply with the respective obligations under each convention.

Over the last decade, capacity constraints have been increasingly recognized as a main obstacle to sustainable development in many countries. In this context, in May 1999, the GEF Council approved a strategic partnership between the GEF Secretariat and UNDP to formulate a comprehensive, strategic approach to developing capacities to meet global environmental challenges. Th is partnership, the Capacity Development Initiative (CDI), started with an assessment of capacity needs and the development of a strategy to address these needs. It was determined that the CDI should focus on the three sectors:

− biodiversity conservation;− climate change;− land desertifi cation/degradation.Th e Millennium Declaration, adopted by all 189 member states of the UN General

Assembly in 2000, outlines a common approach to the key challenges facing humanity at the beginning of the 21st century. Based on the declaration, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) outline specifi c goals and targets to respond to these challenges. Meeting the MDGs cannot be accomplished simply by providing fi nancial resources to developing countries; governments, civil society, and the international community must work together to implement the global conventions and to strengthen countries’ abilities to use resources eff ectively, and hence, attain MDG No. 7: environmental sustainability.

B. Background

Th e Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has been ratifi ed by more than 180 parties since the Rio de Janeiro Summit in 1992. Th e Convention provides a comprehensive document underlining the principles of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use; namely, it clearly defi nes relations between protection, sustainable use of natural resources and sustainable human development. In ratifying the CBD, the Parties to the Convention undertake a commitment to implement the Convention at a national level in contribution to achievement of its goals and objectives at a global level. Th e Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia ratifi ed CBD in 1997 and became a party to the Convention on 2 March 1998. In the year 2000, a National Biodiversity Committee for was founded, within the framework of the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, as an obligation of the State arising from the CBD.

Acknowledging the signifi cance of the climate change problem and the necessity to take eff ective actions for its mitigation, Macedonia became Party to the UNFCCC Convention on 28 April 1998. Th e leading role in the implementation of the Convention on climate change falls within the competence of the MEPP, in cooperation with other ministries. Th e Government of Macedonia has also appointed the National Climate Change Committee entitled to supervise and coordinate the implementation of the projects and climate change related activities. Macedonia’s First National Communication on Climate Change is the very fi rst national report on the country’s conditions regarding climate change issues, seen as an initial step in the actual implementation of the UNFCCC in the country. Macedonia’s First National Communication on Climate Change was adopted by the Government in February 2003 and offi cially sent to the UNFCCC Secretariat in April 2003.

14


Th e UN Convention to Combat Desertifi cation was ratifi ed in March 2002 and came into force in June 2002. Th e Government of the Republic of Macedonia has designated responsibility for the implementation of the Convention to the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning (MEPP) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy (MAFWE) in close cooperation with related institutions. Th e intention of the MEPP is to integrate convention requirements into environmental legislation and policy; a process, which will be in parallel with the approximation of national legislation to the EU directives. Th e MEPP, together with other relevant institutions has begun preparations for elaboration of the NAP for combating land degradation and mitigation the eff ects of drought.

Th e Strategic Environmental Policy Assessment (SEPA), carried out in September 2001, identifi ed national needs in the environmental sector as regards to policy development and implementation, and corresponding strategic areas for support by the international community. It has identifi ed both the international and national ‘driving forces’ for environmental policy development in Macedonia, the obstacles and opportunities for greater synergy in these driving forces

C. Rationale and context of the NCSA

Th e overall objective of the project is assessment of the capacity of the Republic of Macedonia to meet its obligations under the global environmental conventions, in particular those pertaining to biodiversity, climate change and desertifi cation/land degradation. It is anticipated that the process will strengthen the institutional arrangements for the implementation of the conventions. Furthermore it will work towards ensuring that global environmental threats are not considered as separate to national and local environmental concerns by integrating objectives into national and local strategic planning processes.

Th e main output is a national capacity self-assessment report and action plan. It provides a summary overview of the existing situation for each of the conventions; identifi es priority issues and a description of how they will be addressed and capacity development needs relating to implementation of the three Rio Conventions. Cross-cutting issues and opportunities for synergies have been analysed in depth with the purpose being that resources are used more eff ectively.

Th e fi nal result of the NCSA, namely the identifi ed constraints and, in particular, the identifi ed capacity needs, creates a base for mobilization of new domestic and international fi nancial funds for strengthening of the capacities for global environmental management.

Th e NCSA process has not been undertaken in isolation, nor has it just been focused on environmental issues and environmental stakeholders. Close collaboration has been established with relevant ongoing projects and programmes in the country (BSAP, NEAP 2, climate change activities and other projects from bi- and multilateral technical support, as well as the key processes – approximation to EU, decentralization, reform of the public administration). Besides the environmental, the analysis of issues covered also the wider political, socio-economic and organizational aspects. By mainstreaming the priorities identifi ed within the NCSA into activities of international donors in the country, as well as into the main national planning documents and ongoing and future reforms the benefi ts to the country can be optimized.

I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

15

Figure 1)Map of the Republic of Macedonia

A. Physical Geography

Th e Republic of Macedonia is a land-locked country in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula positioned between 40°50’ and 42°20’ North Latitude, and between 20°27’30” and 23°05’ East Longitude. It borders Albania to the west (191 km), Greece to the south (262 km), Bulgaria to the east (165 km) and Serbia and Montenegro to the north (231 km). Th e total length of the border is 849 km, rounding an area of 25,713 km2.

II COUNTRY FRAMEWORK

17

A.1 Relief and SoilsTh e Republic of Macedonia has a very complex geology and developed relief which

ultimately lead to a great variation of soil types.Mountains represent the large relief forms covering approximately two thirds of the

country territory. Principally they are part of the old Rodope group in the eastern part and

young Dinaric group in the west part of the country. Eastern mountains are in general lower than 2,000 metres with the highest, Mount Osogovo, at 2,252 m. Th e Dinaric are a much higher mountain range at over 2,500 metres, with Golem Korab being the highest peak in Macedonia – 2,764 m. In between these groups of mountains are the Vardar zone along both banks of the Vardar River and the Pelagonian horst anticline in the central part of the country.

Valleys and Plains intersect the mountainous relief structures, covering roughly one third of the country. Th e most distinct valleys are those extending along the Vardar River, including the Skopje Valley (1,840 km2), while the largest plain in Macedonia is the Pelagonia Plain, in the southwest, occupying an area of some 4,000 km2 at average altitude of 600 metres.

Karstic relief is specifi c for Macedonia mostly represented with Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Palaeogenic and Neogenic limestone, found mostly in the central and western part of the country. Th e relief includes surface karstic forms of depressions, crevices, fi ssures and karstic plains as well as underground forms including 164 caves and 12 pits and sinkholes.

A.2 HydrographyMacedonia is considered rich in waters with 4,414 springs recorded and mapped, which

capacity reaches 6.63 billion m3 per year. In hydrological terms the Republic of Macedonia is divided among the three watersheds of: the Adriatic Sea (15 percent of the territory) with main outfl ow Crn Drim River; the Aegean Sea (85 percent of the territory) with the Vardar River, and Strumica River as main water fl ows; and the Black Sea which territory is insignifi cant.

Th e Vardar River is the largest, containing 80 percent of the water fl ow going out of Macedonia. Its total length is 388 km, of which 300 km run in Macedonia while the remainder in Greece fl ows into the Aegean Sea near the Th essalonica Gulf. At the exit-point from Macedonia its run-off is 174 m3/sec. Th e Vardar’s major western tributaries are the Crna River (207 km in length) and the Treska River (138 km), while the longest eastern tributaries are the Bregalnica River (225 km) and the Pchinja River (135 km).

Being a land-locked country Macedonia is proud of its natural and man-made lakes. Of the natural ones, the most attractive are the tectonic lakes of Ohrid, Prespa, and Dojran. Lake Ohrid is the largest with an area of 358.8 km2; of which 229.9 km2 belong to Macedonia and the remainder to Albania. Its deepest point is at 287 m allowing for the temperature of the water to reach 25°C during the summer period, although the altitude is 695 m. Th e lake has a hydrological connection with the upper Prespa lake, which has an area of 274 km2, shared with Greece and Albania. Th e smallest, Lake Dojran, unlike the former two located in western part of the country, is situated in the south-east and has an area of 42.7 km2 shared with Greece.

A.3 ClimateDue to specifi c natural and geographic characteristics, there are two main types of climate

in Macedonia: modifi ed Mediterranean and moderate continental. Th us, two prominent seasons occur: cold, wet winters and dry, hot summers interlinked with transitional spring and autumn. In addition to these, in the high, mountainous areas there is also a mountainous climate characterized by short, cool summers and considerably cold and moderately wet winters, where precipitation is mainly in the form of snow.

Th e average annual temperature is 11.3°C. Th e hottest towns are Valandovo and Gevgelija (sub-Mediterranean region), with temperatures of 14.5°C and 14.3°C, respectively. In the mountainous climatic areas, the mean annual temperatures are: 4.7°C Popova Shapka (1,750 m), 6.8°C Lazaropole (1,330 m) and 8.2°C Krushevo (1,230 m). Th e average precipitation of

18


the Republic is 683.7 mm/year. Th e areas of highest precipitation occur in Mavrovi Anovi and Resen, with 1,197 mm and 757.9 mm, respectively, and the least in Ovche Pole Plain with only 490.3 mm.

Based on measurements and observations of the basic climatological parameters, several rather homogeneous climatic regions and sub-regions are defi ned in Macedonia: Sub-Mediterranean; Moderate Continental/Sub-Mediterranean; Hot Continental; Cold Continental; Sub-Forest-Continental-Mountainous; Forest-Continental Mountainous; Sub-Alpine Mountainous; Alpine Mountainous.

B. Demographic Framework

Macedonia is a small country with a total population of 2,022,547 inhabitants (census of 2002), with an average population density of 78.6 inhabitants/km2 of whom roughly 60 percent live in urban areas. High population is concentrated in the larger cities (Skopje – 467,257 inhabitants, Bitola – 86,408, Kumanovo – 103,205, Prilep – 73,351 and Tetovo – 70,841); the inappropriate positioning of the industrial capacities and an inadequate communal infrastructure create serious problems in ensuring good quality of the environment.

Demographic, economic, social and environmental characteristics within the population demonstrate signifi cant rural-urban diff erences. According to the census of 1994, 121 rural settlements have been completely abandoned. While the processes of industrialization and urbanization have had a positive infl uence on the development of towns and their nearby villages, they have negatively impacted upon the distant hill and mountain villages.

An important demographic feature of the country is its multiethnic composition which aff ects all areas of living and further development. Roughly two thirds of the inhabitants are ethnic Macedonian, while one quarter is ethnic Albanian. Th is is further underlined by their religious affi liation, since the former are mostly orthodox Christians while the latter are Muslims.

Age Total (%) Men Women

0-14 426.280 (21,1) 219.628 206.652

15-64 1.381.352 (68,3) 698.997 682.355

65+ 213.712 (10,6) 96.428 117.284

Unknown 1.203 (0,0) 324 879

Total 2.022.547 1.015.377 1.007.170

Table 1. Total population

of the Republic of Macedonia

by basic age groups

and sex

Table 2. Total population

of the Republic of Macedonia

according ethnic

affi liation

Total Macedonians Albanians Turks Roma Vlachs Serbs Bosniacs Others

Figures 2.022.547 1.297.981 509.083 77.959 53.879 9.695 35.939 17.018 20.993

% 100,00 64,18 25,17 3,85 2,66 0,48 1,78 0,84 1,04

Source: State Statistical Offi ce, Release 2.1.3.30, Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Macedonia, 2002 – Final data

Source: State Statistical Offi ce, Release 2.1.3.30, Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Macedonia, 2002 – Final data

II. COUNTRY FRAMEWORK

19

A. Biodiversity

Th e Republic of Macedonia ratifi ed the UN Convention on Biodiversity in 1997 and become Party to the Convention on 2 March 1998.

A.1 Status of BiodiversityTh e assessment of the status of biodiversity and threats has been made in order to identify

the general aspects of the protection, together with other global threats such as climate change and land degradation. Th e most important characteristics of biodiversity in the Republic of Macedonia are the heterogeneity and high degree of relictness and endemism.

A.1.1 FloraTh e vegetation of Macedonia represents a mosaic of diverse plant communities with

a variety of vegetation types. Among lower plant organisms, algae are a notably diverse group with 1,580 identifi ed species. Fungi are a very heterogeneous group of organisms with approximately 1,250 recorded species. Lichens number approximately 340 species.

Th e fl ora of higher plant groups is quite rich, with a mosaic of diverse fl oral elements (Tertiary relicts, Mediterranean, Greek-Anatolian, Ilyric, Caucasian, Middle-European, Eurasian, arctic-alpine, and cosmopolitan) and large number of endemic species (Macedonian, South Balkan, and Balkan); 210 families, 920 genera, and approximately 3,700 species represent it. Th e most numerous group is fl owering (Angiosperm) plants, with about 3,200 species, followed by mosses (350), ferns (42), and gymnosperms (15).

Among the lower plant groups, algae are represented by the greatest endemism, with 135 endemic taxa, or 8.5 percent of the total algal fl ora, most recorded in the Ohrid and Prespa lakes with fewer in Lake Dojran, Mount Pelister and in the Babuna River. Th e fl ora of higher plant groups have 117 endemic species in total, most of them recorded among the Angiosperms (114).

Th e Red List of endangered plant species within Macedonia has not yet been prepared, although there is suffi cient data to do so. Great numbers of higher plant species in Macedonia represent globally threatened species included in many international Red Lists, conventions and directives (IUCN Global Red List, Bern Convention, CORINE species), species of national importance (local endemic and relict species), endangered species (EN) and, unfortunately, a certain number of extinct species (EX).

III THEMATIC ISSUES

21

In the IUCN Global Red List of 1997 (Walter & Gillet, 1998) 70 taxa from Macedonia are included, out of which 18 local endemites.

A.1.2 FaunaA general characteristic of the Macedonian fauna is its high degree of taxonomic

diversity, represented by 9,339 species and 228 subspecies, or a total of 9,567 taxa. Th e major factors contributing to the great diversity of the country are its central position in the Balkan Peninsula and its exposure to varying climatic infl uences, modifi ed by complex and prevailing mountain relief, as well as the various petrographic and edaphic land conditions.

Th us far, on the territory of Macedonia 8,833 invertebrate species have been ascertained, from which the largest number (7,574 species) belong to the Arthropods. Th e vertebrate fauna of Macedonia comprises 506 species, out of which 58 species belong to freshwater fi sh, 15 amphibians, 32 reptiles, 319 birds and 82 species of mammals.

In addition, the complex zoogeographical structure, with faunal elements of various origins and zoogeographical affi liations (resulting not only from the geographical location within the country, but also from the complex historical development of the organisms, i.e. from the Tertiary through the Ice Age to the present), is manifested by a high degree of relict and endemic forms. Macedonian endemic faunal elements are represented by 674 taxa, including 602 species and 72 subspecies (7 percent of the total current number of recorded taxa). Th e degree of endemism at the phylum level, in descending order, is as follows: Porifera – 60 percent, Plathelmintes – 41 percent, Mollusca – 35.8 percent, Annelida – 29.6 percent, and Protozoa – 28.3 percent. Among the Vertebrates (Vertebrata), the highest degree of endemism appears within the class Pisces – 34.5 percent, a rare curiosity even within Europe.

A.1.3 Threats to BiodiversityTh e basic factors, which have led to the current unfavourable state of the environment in

Macedonia, including biodiversity, are the general historical processes, bad socio-economic situation, inadequate implementation of spatial planning, and inappropriate land use. In the desire to accomplish economic development, the natural resources are used beyond the limits of their sustainability, which produces a real threat to natural ecosystems and for extinction of endangered plant and animal species and varieties.

A preliminary ranking of the main economic sectors by their impact on biodiversity includes: agriculture; fi shing (over-fi shing, especially in Lake Ohrid); transport (fragmentation of habitats); energy (pollution, construction of hydropower reservoirs and, especially, the conveyance of energy); industry and mining (so-called ‘hotspots’, abandoned mines and landfi lls); tourism (weekend settlements and incomplete communal infrastructure in the tourist resorts); construction (use of agricultural land of high cadastral class for non-productive purposes).

Several basic reasons for the permanent loss of biological diversity can be distinguished, including: a low level of education concerning the environment and a lack of information (especially in rural areas); low public and institutional awareness of the importance of biodiversity, including NGOs; growing poverty (deforestation, through illegal forest cutting, excessive hunting and fi shing, unsustainable agriculture, etc.); inadequate and incomplete legislation that was in place before adoption of the new Law on Nature (and which was not able to clarify and avoid overlapping responsibilities of implementing institutions); uncontrolled urbanization, de-agrarization and industrialization; migration of the population from villages to towns, decline of economy and use of old technologies (low fuel quality, untreated waste water and gases); overuse of agricultural inputs – fertilizers, pesticides, and

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herbicides; inadequate treatment and disposal of solid waste; climate change and threat to specifi c habitats.

A.2 Status of Biodiversity Conservation

A.2.1 Protected Areas Management

Macedonia has a total of 7.31 percent of its territory under some form of protection with a management that varies in terms of the responsible institutions and responsibilities. Th e goal of the international community is to raise the percentage to 12 percent on a national level, and hence, there are some eff orts towards the enlargement of the system of protected areas (National Physical Plan; National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan). Management of protected areas is regulated by the Law on Nature Protection (Offi cial Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia, No. 67/2000). It is expected that the Law is to be implemented from mid-2004 upon completion of the local elections in the country. Th e MEPP manages the Strict Natural Reserves (I category), or may allocate the management responsibility to other institution. Special Public Institutions manage the three National Parks: Pelister, Mavrovo and Galicica. Th e management with protected areas of III to V category is appointed to the entities determined with the act of declaration of these areas under the responsibility of responsible institutions, in correlation of responsibilities of diff erent ministries (MEPP and MAFWE).

IUCN Category No. of sites site size ha % of the Country

I – Strict nature reserves (scientifi c) 4 12.855 0,50

II – national park 3 108.338 4,21

III – natural monuments 33 61.655 2,40

III – Individual stems or group of stems 17 0 0

IV – Natural reserves, areas of special natural features 3 2.338 0,09

V – Individual plant and animal species outside nature reserves

14 2.709 0,11

TOTAL 74 187.895 7,31

Table 3. Protected

Areas in Macedonia

a) National Parks ManagementTh ere are three national parks in Macedonia; Pelister (12,500 hectares) is the oldest

one (established in 1948), Mavrovo (73,088 hectares) is the largest one and Galicica (22,750 hectares). Th ey will be transformed into Public Institutions and continue to manage the parks similarly as until now. Th e management of the National Parks has been more or less independent and relatively fi nancially sustainable process. Exploitation of forest resources (wood mass) in the park has been the main source of revenue generation for management. According to the new Law on Nature Protection, the MEPP shall monitor the management of the national parks. Th is rationalizes their management under one organization’s mandate for comprehensive management of the environment in the country.

b) Management of Natural LakesTh e MEPP is responsible for protection and the MAFWE for water management of the

lakes, yet neither has clear responsibility for their protection or management.

III. THEMATIC ISSUES

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Source: MEPP

Lake Ohrid Due to its age, geographic isolation and favourable hydrographical conditions, 216 endemic taxa are present in Lake Ohrid. Some of the species are living fossils, and they remain unchanged from the Tertiary period up to now. But, also from the relict species due to sublacustrine speciation new taxa were formed on a level of subspecies, species, genera, and even families. Finally, the reed beds in the littoral zone have a high ecological signifi cance as a biotope for various aquatic birds, as well as for fi sh spawning grounds. Because of its rich history and unique fl ora and fauna, Lake Ohrid was declared an UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site in 1980. Th e fact that Lake Ohrid is a trans-boundary lake, presents additional challenges to its sustainable management. To address these issues, GEF is implementing a trans-boundary protected area management project.

Lake Prespa Th e deepest part of the lake was 54 m, before the decrease of water level, which is one of the basic reasons for the signifi cantly smaller number of endemic species (24). Th e problems of Lake Prespa are similar to those of Lake Ohrid. As of 1994, the strict natural ornithological reserve Ezerani, situated on the north shore of the Lake Prespa exists. It is included on the World Ramsar list. Lake Prespa and surrounding protected areas (in all three countries) are being included in a larger trans-boundary Prespa Park Project currently being implemented with the support of GEF and KFW.

Lake DojranTh e level of Lake Dojran has dropped considerably during the last 15 years, thus endangering the survival of habitats, including 12 endemic taxa. Th e Dojran lake hydrosystem supplies additional water quantities which has brought a water level increase in the last three years.

c) Management of other protected areasOther protected areas except for the Strict Natural Reserves do not have adequately

regulated management. Except for the act for their declaration as protected areas, there is no other documentation (evaluation, management plans, etc.). Strict Natural Reserves (Ezerani and Tikves), with a decision of the Government of RM, have been given for management to NGOs, which do not yet have the capacities for management of reserves.

A.2.2 Management of Non-protected AreasBiodiversity protection outside protected areas besides with the Law on Nature

Protection (O.G. of RM 67/2004) is regulated with the National Spatial Plan and the CITES convention.

Th e present status of species protection in the country is at a very low level. National Red List and Red Data Books of Th reatened Species have to be prepared, thus providing conditions to implement the IUCN recommendations. Cadastres of protected areas, action plans and evidences of species do not exist in Macedonia (except for certain threatened species of plants, animals and fungi), as well as monitoring outside of protected areas. All these issues are listed as high priorities in the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. Th e new Law on Nature Protection has provisions for all of these aspects of biodiversity conservation.

A.3 Strategy and Policy Framework in Biodiversity

A.3.1 Policy FrameworkTh e fi rst strategic document on environment adopted in 1997 was the National

Environmental Action Plan (NEAP). It is the fi rst document that treated biodiversity as a separate part of the environment. Elaboration of NEAP-2 begun in 2004 with a long-term ambition of the state to integrate all environment protection aspects and provide sustainable environmental and economic development. Th e Country Study for Biodiversity of the

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Republic of Macedonia – First National Report was published in the second half of 2003. Th e study represents an overview of the situation in the country relating to species and ecosystems diversity, the level of threats, as well as the uses of biodiversity for commercial purposes and the impacts driving its alternation. Th is study was a solid basis for preparation of the ‘Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan’, fi nished in 2004, defi ning the priorities for eff ective and integrated conservation, as well as indispensable actions, projects and programmes for biodiversity conservation. Th e BSAP should be attained in the period 2004-2008.

A.3.2 Legislation Framework

a) National legislationCurrently, Macedonia is undergoing a process of harmonization of the legislation with

the EU directives. As outputs of the ‘Capacity Strengthening of MEPP’ Project within the PHARE 1999 Programme the following legal acts were prepared:

− Law on Environment (proposal, currently in parliamentary procedure for adop-tion);

− Law on Water (proposal, currently in parliamentary procedure for adoption);

− Law on Nature Protection (O.G. of RM 67/2004);

− Law on Air Quality (O.G. of RM 67/2004); and

− Law on Waste Management (O.G. of RM 68/2004 and 71/2004).

In the second phase of the above-mentioned project elaboration of sub-laws and ordinances is anticipated, as a result of these laws.

Th e Law on Nature Protection was adopted in 2004, thus superseding the Law on the Protection of Natural Rarities and the Law on the Protection of National Parks. Th e basic purpose of this new law is comprehensive protection and nature conservation, and biodiversity protection is the most signifi cant part of the law. In the law, the duties, obligations and responsibilities for nature protection are stipulated, completely harmonized with European directives on nature protection. In this way the creation of a network of protected areas with bio-corridors, in accordance with Natura 2000, the stipulations of the Bern Convention and the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Strategy, has been enabled. Th e law has special chapters for species conservation, and thus urgently imposes the need for elaboration of a National Red List, as an obligation of this law.

b) International conventions and agreementsMore than 30 global and regional conventions, protocols and their amendments that

apply to the matter of biodiversity conservation are an integral part of the national legal system. Macedonia is also a party to several other multilateral conventions, agreements and protocols that are indirectly connected to biodiversity conservation. By ratifying these objective acts the state accepts a great number of obligations. Some have already been conducted, but most of them have yet to be promoted in the national legislation. Th erefore, it can be claimed that the existing national legislation regarding biodiversity conservation is not yet fully adequate to the ratifi ed international conventions and protocols. So, the priority objective of the legislation policy within the sphere of biodiversity conservation should be the implementation of international agreements.


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A.3.3 Institutional FrameworkTh e aspects of biodiversity management are penetrating into all sectors of the society

and in that respect, the institutions that have direct or indirect relations to biodiversity issue, are numerous. Th ey can be divided into two main groups according to their function; namely institutions that have a regulatory function and institutions that have an operational function.

Th e direct responsibility for the biodiversity conservation lies with the MEPP, whilst other ministries also have some of the responsibilities for biodiversity management. Th e role of the MAFWE is particularly signifi cant, as responsible for management in agriculture, forestry and water economy.

At the local level, structure for management of biodiversity does not exist at the moment.

Many institutions at the national level have a direct or indirect responsibility for operational biodiversity management and conservation including (administrations of the three national parks Mavrovo, Pelister and Galicica; Public Enterprises – ‘Macedonian Forests’ and ‘Public Enterprise for Pastures’).

A.4 National Priority IssuesTh e national priority issues have been ascertained taking into consideration the strategic

approaches established within the BSAP as well as the recommendations of UNDP within the frame of the eff orts to develop a comprehensive and strategic approach towards capacity building in order to meet the global environmental challenges.

Th e priority issues were ranked in the Biodiversity Th ematic Report by four criteria: problem level, concern, ability to adequately address issue and priority. Th e priority issues are:

1. Adopt appropriate measures for in-situ conservation of the natural ecosystems and species, restoration of degraded ecosystems and recovery of threatened species;

2. Identifi cation and monitoring of components of biological diversity important for its conservation and sustainable use;

3. Decreasing of the number of threatened species and habitats (especially wetlands and forests);

4. Strengthening the capacities of the national and local agencies responsible for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of biodiversity, with assistance of external agencies;

5. Increasing of the national and international investments in biodiversity conservation;

6. Reaching the eff ective national biodiversity planning;

7. Adopt appropriate measures for ex-situ conservation for the biodiversity compo-nents;

8. Improvement of the public awareness for biodiversity in general and for the impor-tance of the measures required for the conservation of biological diversity;

9. Establishing and implementing the legal obligation for Strategic Environmental As-sessment and EIA for all plans, programmes, polices and other interventions in nature;

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10. Promote and encourage national and international investments, local resources, including institutions, agreements, fi nancial mechanisms, plans and programmes relating to the conservation, and sustainable use of biodiversity;

11. Access fi nancial resources provided via the fi nancial mechanism of the Convention;

12. Incorporation (integration) of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity within the overriding priorities of the country – economic and social development and poverty eradication;

13. Develop and introduce economically and socially sound measures that act as incen-tives for the conservation and sustainable use of components of biological diver-sity;

14. Achieve successful conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity through imple-mental and cross-sectoral integrated planning of the activities, including the par-ticipation of all interested groups;

15. Overcome the lack of information and knowledge concerning biodiversity as a basic prerequisite for the successful planning and conducting of conservation measures, as well as establishing and maintaining programmes for scientifi c and technical education and training;

16. Strengthening the capacity of the institutions related to the biodiversity research;

17. Monitoring and evaluating the eff ectiveness of measures concerning conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in order to measure their progress and success regularly;

18. Establishing and regularly operating the clearing-house mechanism;

19. Approximation of the national laws to European legislation and implementation of international obligations, as well as legal intersectoral harmonization;

20. Develop and introduce measures regulating the access to genetic resources and providing access for technology transfer that are relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

Th e most serious national issues regarding biological diversity protection are those listed from numbers 1 to 6. As for the level of concern, all these issues are ranked as high to medium; the ability to adequately address the problem is assessed as medium.

A.5 Assessment of Capacity ConstraintsBased on the extensive in-depth analysis of the questionnaires on systemic, institutional

and individual levels, as well as the discussions carried out both in and out of the working group, and the experts’ experience and knowledge, it may be concluded that signifi cant constraints in the area of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources exist at all levels. Th e summary of the constraints1 is given in the following text:

A.5.1 Systemic Level1. Th e performance of the overall environmental policy is at the low-medium level;

implementation eff ectiveness of strategic documents is low in practice.

1. Th ese constraints have been taken from the NCSA Biodiversity Th ematic Report of January 2004. In the meantime, during 2004, number of laws pertaining to nature protection, and hence, the biological diversity have been adopted and/or entered into procedure of adoption, by which a signifi cant step forward has been made in legal harmonization.


27

2. Th e current unfavourable political, economic and social situation is a constraint for better biodiversity conservation;;

3. Th e legal framework2 in relation to biodiversity conservation is inadequate. It is bur-dened with overlaps, gaps, and inconsistencies.

4. Th e responsibility of the institutions, their activity, coordination, and transparency in the fi eld of biodiversity is low.

5. Systems’ level resources (human resources, database and their accessibility) and fi -nancial resources are on an unsatisfactory level.

6. Th e inter-institutional collaboration in relation to biodiversity conservation is as-sessed as insuffi cient.

A.5.2 Institutional Level1. Only a few of the institutions are dedicated only to biodiversity conservation. Th e

existing institutional structure (scientifi c, conservation and administrative) should be reorganized in terms of their sustainability.

2. Improvement of the institutional processes (planning, quality management, moni-toring, and evaluation) is desirable.

3. Th e human resources available within the scientifi c institutions can satisfy the needs, but within administrative (ministries, governmental organs) and institu-tions directly connected to conservation (public enterprises, directorates, regional branches) they are not suffi cient;

4. Financial resources available for biodiversity conservation are not suffi cient and cannot provide eff ective operation;

5. An information database and national information system have not yet been estab-lished;

6. Th e infrastructure of the institutions is still operational, although in most of the cases it needs renewing, which is not fi nancially supported.

A.5.3 Individual Level1. Th e current educational level and knowledge is suffi cient only in the scientifi c insti-

tutions. Th e situation in the administration institutions is diff erent and they need strengthening in that respect;

2. Access to information, as well as the exchange of information in scientifi c institu-tions is at a satisfactory level. Th is is not the case in the administrative institutions;

3. Insuffi cient exchange of information between the individuals in the institutions and between the institutions on the state level is present;

4. Th e individual motivation for dealing with the biodiversity issues is low (mainly due to the fi nancial aspects), and the utilization of individual experience of the expert and scientifi c community by the institutions involved in the biodiversity protection is not suffi cient.

5. Th e habits for teamwork do not exist. Th e links between individuals directly in-volved in biodiversity protection with the similar domestic or foreign institutions, alliances, non-governmental organizations are not satisfactory;

2. See previous footnote.

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6. Communication skills among the individuals involved in direct biodiversity con-servation are quite low, especially where access to the contemporary information technology is concerned.

A.6 Capacity-Building Opportunities

A.6.1 Creating new capacityIndividual level. Apparently no new individual capacity should be required to meet

most of the priority issues. In Macedonia knowledge is lacking on species diversity (especially invertebrate fauna) as a basis for planning and implementation of conservation measures. During the last few decades not enough capacity was built in Macedonia concerning this particular issue.

Institutional level. Th e departments within the MEPP working on biodiversity issues could be a good basis for the creation of an independent institution to handle expert and administrative issues (for example: biodiversity department within the Offi ce of Environment within MEPP). Its creation shall increase the ability of the country to meet several of the priority issues. Within the MEPP there are no departments – or at least individuals – which/who are dealing with biodiversity conservation. Th e same situation is present in other related ministries. Also there are no employees or departments for intersectoral cooperation concerning biodiversity conservation. Th ere are numerous gaps and misunderstandings regarding the sustainable use of biodiversity, because within MAFWE there are no departments (or personnel) specifi cally responsible for biodiversity in the sectors managing agriculture, forestry or water. Th e main users of the biodiversity components, the Public Enterprises also experience insuffi cient capacity.

Systemic level. Current opportunities for the improvement of legislative and institutional set-up concerning the sectors relating to biodiversity conservation in the thematic report were assessed as very weak. In the meantime, the Law on Nature Protection has been prepared and entered into adoption procedure, important as a framework law for harmonization of other sectoral laws (Law on Forests, Law on Hunting, Law on Plant Protection, Law on Fishing). Th e harmonization is being carried out slowly, most probably due to lack of implementation capacities. It is expected that full implementation of this law could provide adequate biodiversity conservation. Th e current socio-economic context of the country has resulted in biodiversity degradation and consequently in its less eff ective conservation. Bearing in mind that the sectoral capacities at the systemic level are insuffi cient, the lack of National Red List of Th reatened Species and Red Data Book, the defi nition of precise measures3 is the next step in strengthening of capacities at the systemic level.

A.6.2 Mobilizing/Redeploying Existing CapacityIndividual level. Although individual capacities need no particular strengthening,

redeployment or exchange could be very useful for improvement of some aspects of biodiversity conservation (Priorities no. 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 16).*

Institutional level. Possibilities for redeployment of either human or technical resources for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources do not exist at the institutional level within governmental structures. Public institutions, such as the national parks administrations and zoological gardens do not have a possibility to either mobilize or re-deploy personnel. Th e scientifi c and educational institutions maintain the largest human capacity in the country that could be used by the MEPP for consultation and advice in the

3. In the meantime the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2004) has been adopted. * See page 26


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process of planning of the biodiversity management, conservation, and sustainable use of natural resources.

Systemic level. As shown in the analysis above, amendment and harmonization of the legislation and the organizational set-up, hence also redefi nition of the responsibilities and the mandate of institutions is needed.

A.6.3 Enhancing Existing Capacities

Individual level. Individuals in most of the governmental institutions responsible for biodiversity need improvement of their knowledge on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Also individuals in the national parks and zoological gardens are faced with a low level of knowledge on the concept of biodiversity in general. On the other hand, the experts of the scientifi c and educational institutions are not engaged suffi ciently for training for a wide range of the existing capacities

Institutional level. Th ere is a great need and possibility for the enhancement of the existing capacity on the institutional level, both in human and technical resources within all institutions concerning biodiversity conservation, and sustainable use of natural resources.

Systemic level. Implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan is seen as the biggest opportunity for the systemic level capacity enhancement regarding biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

B. Climate Change

B.1 Greenhouse Gas EmissionsTh e fi rst GHG Inventory in Macedonia is being prepared for the First National

Communication on Climate Change. Th e total GHG emissions in 1998 amount to 15,08 million tonnes CO2-eq, out of which over 74 percent come from the energy sector, followed by agriculture (10 percent), waste (>8 percent), industrial processes (7 percent), and land use change and forestry – LUCF (<1 percent). Th e contribution of CO2 to the total GHG equivalent emissions is the highest, about 66 percent, while the share of CH4 and N2O is 25 percent and 9 percent respectively

Figure 2. GHG emissions under the baseline scenario and under the mitigation scenario

30


B.2 GHG Abatement Analysis Th e GHG abatement analysis for the First National Communication on Climate Change

comprises detailed considerations of the existing situation in various sectors with predictions following the: (1) ‘business as usual’ (baseline) scenario, along with (2) possibilities for GHG emission reduction – mitigation scenario – in the long-range planning for the period 2000-2020-2030 (Figure 2).

Th e energy sector in Macedonia provides the highest GHG abatement potential. Some solutions for improvement of the national energy effi ciency and reduction of environmental impacts have been identifi ed. In the electricity production, the national hydro potential has been analysed, in order to increase the effi ciency of new plants, leading to signifi cant reduction of GHG emissions from the fossil-fuelled power plants. Furthermore, partial substitution of the lignite with liquid fuel (up to 30 percent) has been analysed.

In heat production, it is necessary to create conditions for wider use of natural gas in order to substitute signifi cantly larger quantities of solid and liquid fuels, used presently, thus reducing the GHG emissions. At the moment, Skopje heating company Toplifi kacija AD uses natural gas as a heating resource, but further extension of the gas line is needed to make the gas accessible to larger industrial users and households.

In GHG emissions from the industrial processes, there are three contributing sub-sectors: metal production 56.8 percent, mineral production 35.5 percent, and chemical industry 7.8 percent.

Present status in the waste sector is not in favour of precise planning of GHG abatement, due to a lack of contemporary waste treatment. Solid municipal waste is collected practically without any primary selection and is disposed of in open landfi lls. Utilization of secondary raw-materials is rather symbolic. Although the amount of hazardous waste is relatively small, the lack of any facility for hazardous waste treatment is a problem.

CH4 and N2O emissions dominate the agricultural sector, originating mainly from animal production and agricultural soils.

In the land use change and forestry sector, two main activities are considered, when CO2 is absorbed and emitted. Th e baseline scenario provides amounts for the CO2 absorption and emission from this sector in 2010 and 2020, taking into account the projected trends in the forestry: enlargement of the forest area by aff orestation, increasing the annual biomass increment by improving the fl oristic forest structure, decreasing the annual amounts of traditional wood fuel consumption.

B.3 Vulnerability AssessmentTh e climate and the climate changes have an impact on all segments of the society,

including ecosystems, national economy in various sectors (agriculture, forestry) and human health. Th e possible negative impacts have been identifi ed in FNC and the adaptation measures in the most vulnerable sectors: agriculture, forestry and land-use change, water resources, biodiversity and human health, have been proposed. Climate change, especially global warming will cause negative eff ects on the soil production, causing degradation, desertifi cation, and soil erosion. Th e adaptation measures have to be undertaken on both the farm and national levels.

Th e change in temperature regime and perturbation of the precipitation distribution over the year will cause disturbances in the ecosystems. Considerable movement of plant and animal species in a south-north direction, as well as along the vertical gradient are expected. As adaptation measures, long-term activities have been proposed, such as: establishing scientifi c infrastructure, training the experts, collection of data and establishment of database


31

on climate change impact, establishment of intersectoral body and the raising of public awareness.

Water resources are also very much infl uenced by climate change. According to the hydrological analysis it can be concluded that the most vulnerable regions in Macedonia are the eastern and south-eastern parts, while the most vulnerable water economy sectors are water supply and irrigation. Th e proposed adaptation measures in various segments include modernization of the hydro-meteorological network, establishment of data monitoring, reconstruction and rehabilitation of existing structures and water economy systems and integrated water resources management.

Th e climate and climate change infl uence human health. Th e eff ects can be recognized as direct and indirect eff ects. Direct eff ects involve mostly physical impact that acts to cause physiological and psychological stress (e.g. temperature) and body injuries (storms, fl oods). Th e indirect eff ects may be manifested through diverse pathways, such as transmission of diseases, change of air and water quality, as well as through food availability and quality.

B.4 Legal and Institutional Structure

B.4.1 LegislationTh e climate change related legal framework is rather multidisciplinary and encompasses

a rather wide list of issues such as: subsidies for the promotion of energy conservation, use of renewable energy sources and, energy effi cient technologies; limitation of air pollution; limitation of water pollution; planning regulations; provision of production, installation, and operation permits; provision and monitoring of environmental terms of facilities, and others.

In the last few years, since the MEPP was established, signifi cant progress has been observed regarding adoption of new laws and regulations, ratifi cation of conventions and protocols (Kyoto) and implementation (inspection services). Besides the ministry and responsible departments, this advance is due to the National Climate Change Committee, the Climate Change Project Offi ce within the MEPP and ICEIM MANU.

Th e Law on Energy is the main sectoral law which regulates the issues regarding energy and provides, inter alia, basis for the development of a Strategy for Energy Effi ciency and for the establishment of a Fund for Energy Effi ciency that will provide the fi nancial resources for the implementation of that strategy.

According to the Environment Law, the MEPP is responsible for the preparation of an inventory of air, water and soil polluters. Relevant water and water pollution legislation include: the Law on Water, the Law on Communal Works, and the Law on Waste. Th e Law on Waters (1998) regulates the regime of water use, water economy agreement, water economy permission, fl ood protection measures, erosion protection measures, protection against water pollution, recommendations on design and utilization of hydrosystems, such as dams and reservoirs, and irrigation systems. Responsible institution is the Administration for Water Management. Th e new Law on Water, presently in parliamentary procedure, is based on the present EU water legislation, mainly on the Water Framework Directive (EU/60/2000). One of the basic reasons for proposing the adoption of the new Law on Water is the absence of the integrated approach to the regulation of the water management issues, as well as inadequate and inappropriate institutional set-up. With implementation of this law, these constraints are expected to be overcome.

Th e Law on Communal Works, the Law on Water Supply, Collection and Treatment of Urban Wastewater regulates the works on communal infrastructure. As primary structures, besides others, the sewer systems and waste-water treatment plants have been included. Th e

32


emission of the gases CH4, CO2, NH3, H2S, and others, as the result of the anaerobic processes at the waste treatment plants, is not regulated.

Th e Law on Waste Management sets out the manner and conditions of waste collection, transport and processing, and waste disposal at arranged landfi lls, landfi ll maintenance, and waste traffi c. Th e law sets out also the responsibilities and duties of involved institutions in waste management, planning and improving the existing practice.

Th e Law on Air Quality of 2004 is important for providing for the monitoring of the air quality (monitoring of the indirect GHG, such as SO2 and NOx), as well as for providing the maximum allowed emissions of indirect GHG and other polluting substances.

B.4.2 Institutional frameworka) Governmental InstitutionsTh e MEPP is the institution responsible for coordination of the climate change related

activities. A Climate Change Project Unit has been established with the MEPP with GEF/UNDP Projects on preparation of National Communications and related projects. Th e National Climate Change Committee as an interministerial body is entitled to observe and coordinate the implementation of UNFCCC. Other ministries with responsibilities in the fi eld are the Ministry of Economy (energy, industry), MAFWE, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transport and Communications, and others.

b) Academic InstitutionsBesides the two universities in Skopje and Bitola, few new universities, faculties and

educational institutions have been established recently. Scientifi c-educational institutions relevant to climate change are the faculties of agriculture and forestry; natural sciences (chemistry, physics, biology, geography, etc.); mathematics; technical sciences (civil, electrical, mechanical, and environmental engineering, chemical technology and metallurgy, mining and geology, transportation, etc.). Th e Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts has the main role in the science in the country.

c) Non-Governmental InstitutionsTh e awareness regarding climate change issues in Macedonia has not been raised at

a suffi cient level until now. In Macedonia, the NGO sector gradually gets more active role in the activities on the climate change programme, as well as the professional associations. Macedonian Chamber of Commerce, as professional association should also be involved in the future activities. Th ere is a certain number of active NGOs (Proaktiva, MACEF, DEM and others) that have implemented several successful projects mainly directed to mitigate the air and water pollutions and emissions of industrial gases.

d) GHG Inventory and Emission MitigationGHG inventory is being prepared according to the IPPC methodology. Th e inventory,

as part of the First National CC Report includes emissions and absorptions of the three basic GHGs: CO2, CH4 and N2O, for the period 1990-1998.

Th e mitigation of the GHG emissions comprises measures and policies, as well as implementation of national priorities. In formulation of the mitigation priorities, the role of the Ministry of Economy is particularly important in order to provide the necessary balance technological and economic conditions. Th e formulation of economic policy regarding energy prices and taxes is responsibility of the Government. Th e Government of Macedonia is responsible for the development of energy supply and demand projections. Th e legal and institutional frameworks for an adequate permitting and enforcement system are being proposed with the newest environmental legislation, based on EU IPPC Directive.


33

e) Vulnerability and AdaptationTh e authorized institution for climate-meteorological, hydrological, and water quality

parameters is the Hydro-Meteorological Institute. For the biological and water quality observation of the natural lakes and data collection the responsible institutions are the Hydrobiological Institute, the Health Protection Institutes, the MEPP and the MAFWE. Th e National Committee on Climate Change has a signifi cant role in climate change issues and monitoring. As an intergovernmental body established by the Government its main responsibilities include supervising and coordinating the implementation of climate change convention and initiating related programmes, projects and research activities on a national level.

B.4.3 International Policy Tools International policy development relating to GHG emissions is based on the UNFCCC

and the Kyoto Protocol. Th e ultimate objective of the Convention is the stabilization of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Th e Convention calls for all parties to commit themselves to implementing numerous objectives. Macedonia ratifi ed the Kyoto Protocol in 2004. Th e draft EU Directive on Emissions Trading for GHG emissions is currently under discussion within the European Council of Ministers for the Environment and it is expected that this scheme will be implemented by 2005 and will provide signifi cant experience before the fi rst commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2008-2012) starts.

Macedonia ratifi ed the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and the Protocol on Energy Effi ciency and Related Environmental Aspects in September 1998.

B.4.4 Climate Change Related Activities a) National ProjectsMacedonia’s First National Communication (FNC) on Climate Change is the very

fi rst national report on the country’s conditions regarding climate change issues, prepared following the guidelines adopted by COP for the preparation of national communications by parties not included in the Annex I to the Convention.

Upon completion of the FNC to UNFCCC, and in accordance with GEF operational guidelines on ‘Expedited Financing of Climate Change Enabling Activities (Phase II)’, Macedonia received interim fi nancial funds for enabling activities in the climate change area. Th ese funds contributed to maintaining and enhancing the established capacities by extending the analysis of GHG emissions mitigation in the energy sector, thus helping to ensure continuity with ongoing enabling activities. Phase II of the Project continued activities on the basis of the fi ndings in the FNC. As a result of the project, a summary report on assessment of the GHG emission abatement potential of selected technologies in the country has been prepared. Th e Report, named Evaluation of Technology Needs for GHG Abatement in the Energy Sector, includes comprehensive analysis of each technology and a database of the industry, residential and the tertiary sectors. By evaluation of the possible energy effi ciency, energy saving and measures regarding renewable energy sources, the project identifi es the GHG abatement potential. Th is analysis will be used in the Second National Communication (SNC) to the UNFCCC. Th e activities of Phase II are in close collaboration with all other ongoing projects in this sector (including the NCSA project), to ensure that areas of synergy will be identifi ed where possible and to avoid duplication for cost eff ectiveness.

b) Regional CooperationIn the process of preparation of the First National Communication on Climate Change,

Macedonia cooperated on a regional level with the other Balkan countries through networking

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and by inviting experts to participate in national workshops, and with countries from the CIS region, through workshops organized by the National Communication Support Programme (NCSP).

Within the scope of the NCSP, the project ‘Capacity Building for Improving the Quality of GHG Inventories’ started in May 2003. Th is project initiated a regional programmatic approach developed to build capacity for improving the quality of data inputs to national GHG inventories, using the good practice guidance of the IPCC for cost-eff ectiveness. Th e project will build on the expertise gained during the preparation of the initial National Communications. By strengthening the institutional capacity for preparing inventories and by establishing a trained, sustainable inventory team, the project will help countries to reduce uncertainties and improve the quality of inventories for Second National Communications. Th is, in turn, will allow countries to improve national strategies for reducing GHG emissions. Th e project includes common activities for all participant countries carried out under a regional umbrella.

B.5 National Priority Issues

Th e analyses in the thematic area of climate change within the NCSA process have identifi ed the following national priorities:

1. Eff ective national planning to achieve GHG emissions abatement through prepara-tion of a National Action Plan;

2. Vulnerability and adaptation measures in accordance with the First National Com-munication to the UNFCCC;

3. Performing research and systematic observation;

4. Enabling and encouraging the technology transfer;

5. Enhancing the education and raising the public awareness.

B.5.1 National Action Plan for GHG Emission AbatementTh e effi cient planning of GHG emissions abatement is strongly dependent on

interministerial cooperation since the development of NAP should apply the sectoral approach, analysing the potential for GHG emission reduction in diff erent sectors.

Measures in the power generation sector contribute most to the GHG emission abatement. Th eir implementation would contribute to 2/3 of the total possible reduction of GHG emission (in 2020). In addition, the electricity saving measures are of a major importance in the GHG abatement policy. Energy effi ciency measures in the demand sector and the use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) are also among the fi rst priorities, as indicated by the corresponding national programme. RES technologies advance rapidly as a result of growing international concern for the environment. Geothermal energy is already being exploited to a great extent in Macedonia and the perspective for solar and wind energy use is very promising in the near future.

Industry is a great energy consumer and, consequently, has big abatement potential. Th e current status of Macedonian industry is far from satisfactory: the equipment is old, the infrastructure is poor, and the production costs are high, i.e. in a permanent struggle to survive. Th eir common feature is a lack of fi nances, big debts and accumulated loan interests, poor or even absent plant maintenance, dissatisfi ed and unpaid workers, etc. In such circumstances, climate change (GHG abatement/mitigation) and environmental concerns in general cannot be the top priorities for the industry.


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Th e Transport system is a very complex one, so the transport-related environmental problems can only be addressed in a systematic manner requiring well-planned and coordinated national policy. Regardless of the transport development scenario in Macedonia, eventually, growth is expected in both the number and the usage of the vehicles, which will result in increased fuel consumption and GHG emissions. To alleviate this unfavourable situation, complex measures have to be undertaken, principally directed towards the reduction of the fuel consumption, such as more effi cient public transport (improvement of the management and the control systems), energy effi ciency of the vehicles (improvement of the structure of the vehicles, for example through tax and customs incentives), environment-friendly motors, decrease of the ‘vehicle-kilometres’ number, etc.

Waste treatment in Macedonia is at a relatively low level for many reasons. Diff erent aspects of waste management have to be promoted, as well as reduction, recycling, re-use and primary waste selection. Th e private sector has to be motivated to participate in such a waste processing cycle. Following the analyses made in the FNC and within the NCSA, technical measures and institutional options for the implementation of integrated solid waste management concept are proposed, such as raising of the public awareness, reduction, recycling, re-use and primary waste selection, change of legislation etc.

Th e assessment of capacity constraints in these sectors has been made through analysis of the existing legal and technical documents and through a wide consultative process and working group discussions. Th e eff ective national planning in order to attain mitigation of GHG emissions is mostly limited by the lack of fi nancial means and the low potential to attract foreign investment, as a result of the poor economic situation and the political circumstances in the country. In many cases the communication between the ministries is broken, and administrative barriers exist. Regarding the energy effi ciency measures and RES, the main constraints are lack of expertise and low preparedness to use new technologies, combined with low awareness and interest to solve the vital issues regarding energy. Regarding climate change issues, low interest for investment exists, since fi nancial criteria are primary. Diff erent stakeholder interests are a serious constraint, taking into account that the number of independent decision-making entities exist, whose interests are diffi cult to adjust. Th e realization of the foreseen measures may be supported by appropriate administrative measures, focused on required regulations, and by economic policies trying to infl uence the behaviour of the stakeholders.

B.5.2 Vulnerability and Adaptation MeasuresTh e First National Communication (FNC) on Climate Change elaborated vulnerability

assessment and proposed adaptation measures. Th e vulnerable sectors where adaptation measures have been proposed are: agriculture,

land-use change and forestry, biodiversity, hydrology and water resources, and human health. Th e measures are concisely defi ned within the FNC.

Emissions of CH4 and N2O are dominant in the agricultural sector, resulting mainly from animal production and agricultural soils. Some of the proposed measures include improvement of the animal productive capacities, their feeding and manure management, as well as the enlarged use of synthetic fertilizers.

In the sector of land-use change and forestry (LUCF) the following measures concern the increase of the sink capacity of the forests: aff orestation, public awareness raising, increase of the annual biomass increment, decrease of the annual amount of traditional wood fuel consumption and preventive actions against forest fi re.

Th e negative impact of climate change on biodiversity has already been identifi ed and therefore appropriate adaptation measures have been proposed, including: establishment

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of scientifi c infrastructure for the evaluation of climate change impact on biodiversity and terrestrial ecosystems, public awareness, elaboration of bio-corridors and migration paths of diff erent species in climate change conditions, enlargement of the protected areas, establishment of a seed bank of endemic and other important species in biodiversity and preservation of vulnerable animals in captivity.

In the water resources sector there’s an array of adaptation measures. Th e monitoring of required meteorological, and especially hydrological, parameters is far from satisfactory. It is necessary to undertake the following priority activities: modernization of the network and establishment of data monitoring of hydro-meteorological and water quality parameters with modern and usable database. In the water supply sector, dual supply systems for potable and non-potable water and water losses reduction are proposed in the FNC, while in the irrigation sector, the proposed measures comprise: covering-lining of canals; introduction of drip, micro-spray, and other low water consumption irrigation systems; night-time irrigation and systems management.

Within the human health sector the fi rst step of adaptation is to launch a monitoring and surveillance system for potential impacts of climate change on human health. Primary and secondary adaptive measures, intersectoral and cross-sectoral adaptation strategies are needed, such as evaluation of the impacts according to SRES of IPCC, utilization of DPSEEA and DALY calculation methodologies, and fi nally defi ning of the mitigation measures (central database, Clearing House Mechanism, legal, administrative and political measures), in order to reduce the potential impacts on human health.

Strengthening the capacity and implementation of these measures, have to be followed by appropriate fi nancial support. Th e major implementation actors shall be the governmental and academic institutions, public and private sectors, and other stakeholders. Th e basic funding sources should be: the national budget, commercial loans, direct investment, international grants and fi nancial and technical assistance, as well as some newly proposed, such as a fund based on GHG emission taxes (for example, Energy Effi ciency Fund and Agency, proposed by the Evaluation of the Technology Needs in the Energy Sector in Macedonia). Th e basic constraints in the vulnerable sectors are: the lack of international and domestic funding, insuffi cient cooperation between the ministries and the low awareness of the importance of climate and climate change data collection. In the water resources sector, the major constraint is the poor regional cooperation, then the low level of foreign investment, the low water fee collection rate and lack of expertise and awareness on nature resources protection. Regarding biodiversity, the constraints are the lack of knowledge and capacities on individual level on natural resources protection and the low public awareness.

B.5.3 Research and Systematic ObservationTh e national hydro-meteorological observation system consists of climatological,

meteorological, phenological and air monitoring stations, as well as monitoring stations for surface and groundwater. However, the state of systematic monitoring of the meteorological and hydrological parameters is unsatisfactory, and research and investigations practically do not exist.

Observation and research include: air quality monitoring; measuring of stationary sources emission; monitoring and assessment of trans-boundary, monitoring of qualitative and quantitative characteristics of surface water, periodic control of domestic and industrial waste water, monitoring of chemical and toxicological water pollution, and periodically carrying out radiological and biological analyses. Systematic monitoring of groundwater does not exist even in the most vulnerable ecosystems.

Besides the operational observation networks, new research is needed to provide a signifi cantly more complete picture of how biological and ecological systems may have


37

responded to recent climatic change and variability, including possible biological or ecological responses to extreme events.

Th e capacity constraints in this priority issue are found on a systemic and individual level, in close relation to the lack of fi nancial means and the low interest of the public sectors. New in-situ observation is needed in order to measure the parameters showing the global changes, such as temperature, precipitation and water resources, weather and other natural hazards, emission of harmful substances and the consequences to the environment of human activities and of natural phenomena.

Establishment of a long-term high-quality database in Macedonia has to be taken as high priority. Th e actions expected to reduce the identifi ed constraints are delineation of several parallel plans and programmes for rehabilitation, extension and management of the existing monitoring systems as part of the national strategy on systematic monitoring and research, followed by involvement of responsible institutions, provision of various kinds of national and international support and eff ective management with existing means.

B.5.4 Technology TransferTh e transfer of technologies, defi ned as the fl ow of experience, know-how and equipment

between and within countries, is among the priorities under the UNFCCC. Within the GEF/UNDP Climate Change Enabling Activities project, an Evaluation of the Technology Needs in the Energy Sector in Macedonia has been conducted. Th e analysis, made both on the side of production and demand, evaluated possible measures connected with energy effi ciency, energy saving and use of renewable energy resources. Th e criteria used were: environmental eff ectiveness, costs, diffi culty of implementation and the so-called ‘win-win’ criterion. Projects most viable for further development and implementation have been identifi ed.

Th e current state of technologies used in various sectors relating to climate change is far from satisfactory. Th e harmful eff ects of the obsolete technology, as well as the consequences of the poor, inappropriate and neglected maintenance of plants and equipment, does not refl ect the real situation, due to signifi cant decrease in the industrial activities. Th e need for immediate and almost complete replacement of the existing with modern technologies with lesser energy consumption, higher productivity, lower emission, closed production cycles, etc., is more than evident.

Th e capacity constraints in this sector mainly consist of a lack of domestic investment capital and the low level of foreign investments. Th e need for training and other knowledge and skills acquiring programmes has been identifi ed. Th is, however, is assessed as realistic and attainable in the short term. Th e problems get more serious if we move from individual, through the institutional towards the systemic level. Effi cient technology transfer shall be realized by strengthening of the small and medium enterprises.

B.5.5 Education and Public AwarenessEducation, public awareness and training about climate change issues in Macedonia are

at insuffi cient level, although the process of preparing the First National Communication has contributed a lot to the raising of awareness among all relevant stakeholders. Raising public awareness is one of the most important approaches to support the climate change strategy and policy. Th is process requires the coordinated eff orts and cooperation of policy makers, industry stakeholders, professional organizations and NGOs.

Th e environmental issues, especially on climate change are not suffi ciently present in the educational curricula of primary and secondary schools and the universities. However, the relevant institutions and individuals are aware of the need to increase the coverage of these issues at all educational levels.

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B.5.6 Assessment of the Capacity ConstraintsTh e assessment within the NCSA in the area of climate change showed the existence of

capacity constraints at systemic, institutional and individual levels. Th ey can be presented as follows:

Th e highest appearance of the capacity constraints is at the institutional level and that is for all fi ve priority issues in the thematic area of climate change. Understandably GHG emission abatement is an issue with the highest number of constraints, such as insuffi cient fi nancial means, low level of foreign investment, lack of communication mechanisms, insuffi cient technology transfer capacities, insuffi cient monitoring capacities, inexistence of a consistent and quality database, data availability and accessibility, diff erent stakeholder interests, etc. To cope with these constraints, institutional structure requires reorganization and the necessary fi nancial resources have to be provided. Inter-institutional cooperation is insuffi cient. Training programmes, often inadequate, are accessible only to a limited number of interested individuals. Th e information database in the Republic of Macedonia should be improved and made available to the relevant stakeholders, thus contributing a great deal to an improved institutional cooperation.

Th e systemic level is highly dependable on the political, economic, and social situation in the country, which in Macedonia’s case is inappropriate. Th e main constraints lie in the inadequate legal framework, general economic condition, inexistence of strategy for energy effi ciency, insuffi cient capacities for technology transfer, insuffi cient tax and customs incentive measures, insuffi cient fi nancial means, low level of foreign investment attraction, lack of communication mechanisms between the relevant ministries and other institutions, including administrative obstacles, as well as the fact that climate change issues are not high on the list of national priorities. Also, the eff ectiveness of the strategic documents implementation is very low.

Th e individual level is not so weak and is a low level constraint, since the level of education, knowledge and experience seems to be suffi cient. Th e access to the up-to-date information technology is, however low. Individual environmental awareness in scientifi c circles is estimated as very high; however, the overall public awareness is still low. Th e utilization of individual experts’ experience is not suffi cient.

Th e most frequently identifi ed constraints at all levels are the lack of fi nance, low inter-institutional cooperation, lack of regulations and standards, low public and individual awareness and insuffi cient knowledge and experience. In addition, the diff erent interests of the stakeholders, administrative barriers, lack of expertise and studies, low fee-collection rate, lack of environmentally educated and trained people, etc., are also considered as constraints in the thematic area of climate change.

C. Land Degradation and Desertifi cation

C.1 Land and Resources Management

C.1.1 Land ManagementLand management in Macedonia diff ers from other countries, because of a rather

diff erent approach to natural resources management. In Macedonia, the property owner is the owner of the soil, and has the right to use the arable soil layer, while all other resources on, above and below this layer (natural and other resources) are state property.

Most of the agricultural land is under private ownership (70 percent); however, only 11 percent of the forests are private property. An average size of private forest parcel is around


39

0.6 ha. Th e average area of an agricultural parcel in Macedonia is 0.33 ha. Fragmentation of the land in Macedonia is one of the problems for sustainable land management

Presently, the concept of integrated spatial or land management is not practised in the country, but rather resource management, in which each natural resource is managed by diff erent enterprise.

C.1.2 Water Management Th e major use of water in Macedonia is for irrigation with about 106 irrigation schemes

covering a projected area of 163,693 ha, i.e. 40.9 percent of potential that irrigation area. However, due to numerous problems, the irrigated area continually decreases reaching its minimum of 34,696 ha in 1999.

According to the Spatial Plan of the Republic of Macedonia of 2004, present water demands for irrigation, water supply, industry, fi sheries, and biological demands can be met in an average year and in a typically dry year, with the probability of 25 percent.

Th e water management sector in Macedonia is facing many organizational and fi nancial problems. Th e fi nancial situation of the water management organizations is very weak; irrigation schemes are operated ineffi ciently, the legal status of the water management organizations and the Public Water Economy Enterprise is not defi ned. Also, despite the extremely low water price, the users do not pay for consumed irrigation water.

According to the current legal framework, water resources and water management on a systemic level are the responsibility of several ministries, with the MAFWE being the champion. Th e responsibilities of this ministry relate to water management, monitoring and research of the conditions of waters, maintenance and improvement of the water regime, and other activities including water resource policy making. Besides the MAFWE, the MEPP performs continuous measurement and monitoring of the condition and change of the water and land quality, defi nes the type of monitoring, methodology and monitoring parameters and protection of waters from pollution. Yet, the major weakness of the sector is overlapping of activities among relevant ministries.

In order to resolve the existing problems within the water management sector, the Law on Water Communities that was passed in summer 2003. A new draft-Law on Water Management Organizations and new Law on Water (prepared by the MEPP in collaboration with the MAFWE) are in adoption procedure at the moment. Th e new Law on Water foresees a body for water management on catchment level, resolving the problem of integrated water resources management.

C.1.3 Agricultural ManagementTh e agricultural sector contributes 17-21 percent of the Gross National Product (GNP)

while the primary agricultural production and food processing industry participate with over 30 percent of the gross domestic product.

Th e process of transformation of the state ownership in the agricultural sector goes slowly and is not yet fi nalized. Most often used method is by privatization or by dividing the so-called ‘agrokombinat’ (large state owned enterprise) into smaller units, which are then privatized.

Th e transfer of the agricultural population into a non-agricultural and the process of degradation and downsizing of the farm holdings are considered negative trends, and should be resolved through better agricultural policy. Agricultural management is particularly complicated because there are around 170,000 farmers, a large number of production enterprises (‘agrokombinats’ and their parts, privatized and under state ownership) and processing enterprises.

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C.1.4 Forest Management Th e Public Enterprise ‘Macedonian Forest’ manages almost all forests under state

ownership. A small fraction only is managed by the Directorate for National Parks and by the public municipal enterprises. All forests and forestlands are distributed over 193 economic units with a maximum area per unit of 10,000 ha. Th e management is based on special ten-year forest-management plans. Well-trained staff , from the enterprise branches or from the Faculty of Forestry, develop these ten-year forest management plans for every economic unit, covering all issues/activities: silviculture, protection, harvesting, planting, forest road network, etc.

Th e leading principles in forest management in Macedonia are forest reserves increase and improvement and wood-mass production. Th e wood-mass production accounts for about 95 percent of all incomes. Many extremely eroded terrains have been aff orested for comprehensive environmental protection and soil and water protection. In Macedonia around 55 percent of the annual forest growth is cut.

Forest fi res (95 percent caused by humans) are one of the biggest problems for the forestry and the environment in Macedonia. Forest fi res destroy about 3,200 ha of forest every year.

C.1.5 DroughtDrought is a common phenomenon in Macedonia, which causes many problems in

agriculture, forestry and water management. Some analyses show a 50-60 percent decrease in crop production in non-irrigated areas, as a result of drought, especially in eastern parts of the country. Forest drying and decrease of forest growth are current phenomena observed in the forestry sector. Drought has a directly harmful eff ect on water management. Long-term water shortages directly infl uence water resources of catchments areas, disturbing the water balance conditions. Th e drought periods are characterized with discharges under the annual averages at almost every river in Macedonia. In addition, drought causes lowering of the water level of natural lakes and artifi cial reservoirs. Besides the impact on the quantity, drought has an impact on the quality of water resources.

C.2 Status of Land Degradation and Desertifi cation in MacedoniaExcept regarding the erosion there are not many data on other types of land degradation

and desertifi cation in the country. In addition, there are neither advanced researches nor data at that level. In general terms, land degradation is the decline of the natural land resources, commonly caused by improper use of the land, while desertifi cation is not a natural expansion of existing deserts but rather degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. Land degradation in dry lands is usually described as desertifi cation, because it leads to the formation of deserts. Land degradation encompasses soil degradation, deterioration or loss of vegetation, and landscape functions.

C.2.1 Soil Degradation in Macedonia Due to climatic conditions and other factors relating to soil acidifi cation, this type of

soil degradation is insignifi cant in Macedonia. Th ere are only 11,000 ha of naturally salty soils located in the driest region of Macedonia. Although it is a notorious fact that irrigation leads to salinization, due to the absence of monitoring or any research, its intensity, dimension, and state in Macedonia cannot be exactly defi ned. Depending on the year, water availability, and drought intensity, an area of about 30,000-80,000 ha is irrigated that could be defi ned as vulnerable in respect of salinization and land degradation. Th e loss of organic matter, nutrients and bioactivity are normal for areas with intensive agriculture, emphasized by use of agro-technical measures.


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As a result of modernization, urban growth and migration processes, soil sealing becomes big problem. A lot of high-class agricultural land was sealed by various kinds of infrastructure, such as in Skopje, Bitola, Kumanovo and Tetovo. According some researches the annual loss of agricultural land as a result of urbanization is as high as 0.5 percent of the total.

C.2.2 Soil Pollution Apart from incidental measurements of soil pollution at certain cases for special purposes

or studies, no systematic long-term monitoring systems exist regarding soil condition and pollution, and therefore, the data are scarce.

Consumption of mineral fertilizers declined from 43,000 tonnes to 24,000 tonnes in 1982-92, while consumption of nitrates increased from 35,000 tonnes to 48,000 tonnes. With such an approach there is a feeling that over-fertilization is not a problem of land degradation and possible source of desertifi cation in the country.

With the exception of the Drisla landfi ll in Skopje, all other solid waste dump sites are illegal without any measures for leakages, which pose a hazard. Due to inexistence of systematic monitoring programmes, the eff ect of the landfi lls remains unknown.

Large quantities of industrial and hazardous wastes are generated in mining, metallurgical, fertilizer and chemical industries as well from power plants. Soil pollution from industrial waste has been a serious issue. Soil analysis in the Veles area has indicated excessive levels of lead and zinc in surrounding soils, leading to the contamination of plants. Th ere are no data on degraded area by industrial and hazardous waste, however some estimations show at least 6,000 ha contaminated by this waste.

C.3 Soil Erosion Natural conditions in Macedonia contribute to the high rate of erosion processes. In

addition, inadequate practices in arable farming, grazing management and deforestation in the past have contributed to erosion. Processes of water erosion are dominant in the country. Th ere are high losses of topsoil, humus and nutrients from the agricultural land located on the steep slopes. Torrent erosion is also a signifi cant problem as well as landfalls in the western part of Macedonia. Inadequate ploughing and irrigation lead to diff erent processes of sheet and rill erosion. Other types of erosion are less signifi cant.

According to the report of the European Environment Agency (Europe’s Environment: the Debris Assessment, 1995), Macedonia, together with Serbia & Montenegro and Albania was in the “red zone of water erosion in Europe”.

Th e Erosion Map of Macedonia was developed in 1992, while its digital version was fi nished in 2002. Th e Map was developed according the empirical methodology of Gavrilovic, with fi ve categories and 12 sub-categories of erosion intensity. According the Erosion Map, 96.5 percent of the total area is under the processes of erosion, with more than one third within the stronger categories (I – III). Th e total annual production of erosive materials is 17 x 106 m3/year or 685 m3/km2/year, half of which is transported and a further half deposited into natural lakes and artifi cial reservoirs.

C.4 Priority Issues Regarding Desertifi cation and Land Degradation in Macedonia

As a Party to the UNCCD, Macedonia acknowledges the obligations of the Convention. It is not easy to provide the means to fully comply with the obligations, especially in a small country with limited natural, human and fi nancial resources. Th erefore, the issues regarding desertifi cation/land degradation should be raised from a national to regional level and

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solutions sought on a regional basis. Such an aggregation of resources would infl uence the support of international community (fi nancial, expertise and other resources) of the activities connected to attainment of the obligations in the region.

Th e capacity development objectives regarding UNCCD are divided into fi ve groups:1. Strategies, plans and legislation2. Monitoring and data3. New approaches and technologies4. Plans and management5. Public awarenessStrategies, plans and legislation regarding UNCCD are included in the fi rst group

of objectives, because they practically do not exist in the country. A national body for the Convention also has to be established, in order to coordinate activities because of the multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach. A National Strategy for implementation and Action Plans on national and local levels have to be prepared. Th e suggested approach is mainstreaming, or building-in the issues of land degradation/desertifi cation and drought in the ongoing and future main strategic documents, action plans and legislation.

Th e second group of capacity development objectives deals with the monitoring and the data. Capacities exist in the sectors connected with land degradation and drought, but they have to be updated and strengthened. Transparency and access to monitoring data has to be improved. Th ere is a need to build up capacities for monitoring of the soil, degraded land and desertifi cation processes.

Th e group of objectives regarding new approaches and technologies encompasses a series of priorities of new approaches and technologies dissemination to the end users, especially to the large rural population.

Management plans include priority issues dealing primarily with land and water management, but also with modern and sustainable management of other natural resources.

Finally the fi fth objective group includes issues of public awareness, one of the most important elements of the individual capacities level. Th ere is a strong need to enhance the awareness of the land degradation/desertifi cation issues at all levels of society.

Th e capacity development objectives have been structured and derived from the UNCCD structure without prioritization.

C.4.1 Country obligationsMacedonia has accepted a number of obligations of the UNCCD, including the general

and the obligations following Article 4. Macedonia has neither an integrated strategy nor partial analysis for the various processes of desertifi cation and drought. It has to be prepared paying particular attention to physical, biological and socio-economic aspects, as well as to coupling the measures to combat desertifi cation and land degradation to poverty alleviation eff orts. Establishment of a national UNCCD body is needed.

It is necessary to put emphasis on combating land degradation and desertifi cation in the sustainable development documents and practice.

Sub-regional, regional and international cooperation are essential in keeping pace with modern achievements, therefore Macedonia needs to develop a national action plan for the strengthening of this cooperation, with the participation of all interested stakeholders.


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Institutional organization is an important issue as well. Macedonia in this respect does not have suffi cient capacities able to approach the problem of drought, land degradation, and desertifi cation from a multidisciplinary point of view. However, there are individual capacities scattered around in diff erent institutions, which need to be trained, equipped and guided towards better cooperation. Cooperation in the fi eld of environmental protection and conservation of land and water resources is very important for land degradation and desertifi cation, and the two ministries dealing with land and water (MEPP and MAFWE) should promote it among all stakeholders.

In order to promote and better use the existing bilateral and multilateral fi nancial mechanisms it is necessary to prepare a good information base, leading to information centres through which the stakeholders would get the necessary information.

1. STRATEGIES, PLANS AND LEGISLATION

Development of National Strategy for integrated approach to land degradation, desertifi cation and drought, with particular emphasis on socio-economic issues

Preparation of National and Local Action Plans on land degradation, desertifi cation and drought

Establishment of a national body (under UNCCD) responsible for land degradation, desertifi cation and drought

Preparation of a Strategy for solving the problem of strongly fragmented land

Preparation of a Rural Development Strategy with incorporation of issues of land degradation, desertifi cation and droughtMainstreaming of the of issues of land degradation, desertifi cation and drought in the existing and future legislation

2. MONITORING AND DATA

Preparation and update of the basic maps (pedological, vegetation, erosion, land-use, land susceptible to desertifi cation, etc.) and digitalization in GIS

Establishment of a national information centre

Establishment of a monitoring system for land, land degradation and vegetation

Assessment of the status of desertifi cation on national, sub-regional and regional level

Inventorization of the harmful impacts and damages of drought and measures undertaken against the drought

3. NEW APPROACHES AND TECHNOLOGIES

Establishment of a National Training Centre for Technology Transfer (NTCTT)

Adoption and development of complex methodology for combating drought, land degradation and desertifi cation

4. MANAGEMENT PLANS

Improvement of the system of land management and introduction of a land information system

Incorporation of the issues of land degradation/desertifi cation in the management practices of agriculture, forestry and water economy

5. PUBLIC AWARENESS

Improvement of the public awareness regarding the issues of land degradation/desertifi cation

Table 4) Selected capacity development objectives in the area of land degradation/desertifi cation in Macedonia

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Mitigation of the eff ects of drought is one of the priorities at the country level. Various measures should be developed primarily in agriculture and forestry sectors for conservation and rational use of soils and water.

Th e issue of drought has to be addressed on a regional level. Combating desertifi cation should start much earlier than its appearance, as it is an irreversible process. Development of National Action Plan (NAP) for Combating Desertifi cation is one of the urgent priorities of Macedonia as a country that has ratifi ed the UNCCD convention.

Raising awareness on the issues of land degradation/desertifi cation and mitigation of the negative eff ects of droughts are part of the undertaken obligations.

C.4.2 National Assessment, Planning and MonitoringTh e information and data on land degradation and desertifi cation in the country are very

limited. Some individual activities at a scientifi c or professional level do not off er suffi cient information to assess the possible risk. On the other hand, numerous data could be gathered out of numerous national assessments in other areas, but the problem is the communication among diff erent stakeholders that have those data.

In addition, no monitoring of the land degradation and desertifi cation is in place, although some of the parameters are followed within other monitoring systems, including the hydro-metrological.

C.4.3 Action Programmes, Scientifi c and Technical Cooperation and Supporting Measures

Action programmes are very important for fulfi lling the obligations from UNCCD; however such things do not exist in the country. Th e purpose of the programme is to identify the factors that contribute to desertifi cation and practical measures necessary to combat desertifi cation and mitigate the eff ect of drought. Th e national action programme should include measures in some or all of the following priority fi elds such as: promotion of alternative livelihoods and improvement of national economic environments with a view to strengthening programmes aimed at: the eradication of poverty and ensuring food security; demographic dynamics; sustainable management of natural resources; sustainable agricultural practices; development and effi cient use of various energy sources; institutional and legal frameworks; strengthening of capabilities for assessment and systematic observation, including hydrological and meteorological services, and capacity building, education and public awareness.

Th e need to establish a National Committee to Combat Land Degradation/ Desertifi cation is urgent. Th e task of the Committee shall be to supervise and coordinate policy making and implementation, programme and project implementation, as well as to initiate new ones on the national level.

Th ere is a lack of appropriate institutional set-up (e.g. National Committee, expert steering groups, etc.) within the MEPP and the MAFWE to coordinate activities for a better implementation and development of NAP.

C.4.4 Scientifi c and Technical CooperationScientifi c and technical cooperation should in principle be capacity building on

individual and institutional level. Th ese activities are carried out continuously for a longer period through the department for scientifi c cooperation of the MES in collaboration with UN system and other donors. Land degradation and desertifi cation should be included in the national priorities for cooperation.


45

Th e research and development should be internationalized. Th e main goal of Macedonian research and its scientifi c workers should be to keep pace with scientifi c society of the developing countries. Technology transfer is a very important part of international cooperation. Th e cooperation with technology transfer centres all over the world is one of the activities that should be promoted. Finding resources for the adaptation of already developed technologies to local environment in the country and in the region is an essential part of success of such cooperation. TT centres exist at the Faculty of Agriculture and Food, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, all at Ss Cyril and Methodius University and at the Technical Faculty in Bitola.

C.4.5 Capacity Building, Education, and Public AwarenessTh e need for the building of national capacities for the implementation of the Convention

is evident. High priority should be given to the establishment of a National Committee on Desertifi cation and Land Degradation.

It is necessary to organize campaigns about desertifi cation and land degradation for the general public, promoting access by the public to relevant information, wide public participation in education and awareness activities, develop and exchange educational and public awareness material, and utilize relevant educational material available in competent international bodies. Besides this, issues regarding land degradation should be incorporated into the curricula of all education levels.

C.4.6 Financial resourcesGiven the central role of funding in achievement of the objective of the Convention,

the parties should make every eff ort to ensure that adequate fi nancial resources are made available for the programmes to combat desertifi cation and mitigate the eff ect of drought.

Macedonia, in collaboration with developed country parties, has to use all the possible methods and ways for mobilizing and channelling the international fi nancial resources available for combating desertifi cation and land degradation, but also fi nd mechanisms on a national level for fi nancing of the activities.

C.5 Assessment of Capacity Constraints Macedonia is very vulnerable with regard to desertifi cation and land degradation

since it is a crossroads of several climatic and natural conditions. Th erefore the analysis of capacity constraints has not been an easy task. A general SWAT analysis has been prepared as presented in the following text.

C.5.1 SWAT analysis of the capacity constraints for the realization of priority issues regarding desertifi cation and land degradation in Macedonia

a) Systemic LevelStrengths – Well-developed institutions at the systemic level (Parliament, Government,

ministries, legal system, fi nancial system, etc.). Weaknesses – Duplication and overlapping of the responsibilities of diff erent ministries;

low level of coordination at national and local level; low level of political will for fulfi lment of obligations to the UNCCD; insuffi cient legal framework for implementation of the Convention; low fi nancial capabilities of the country.

Opportunities – Organized international network of funds to be used for implementation of the national action programmes; at the regional level the awareness is increasing, therefore effi cient networks could be established for project preparation and for effi cient combating

46


of land degradation and desertifi cation; central position in the Balkans makes the country attractive for trans-boundary projects.

Th reats – the population has no adequate attitude for environmental protection; inert administration, which waives many good and important projects.

b) Institutional Level Strength – institutions with good reputation in areas relating to land degradation and

desertifi cation; experience with preparation, carrying out and implementation of national and international projects; long experience in cooperation with foreign counterparts on complex projects.

Weaknesses – the low level of cooperation and data exchange among institutions; no responsible body for CCD; low level of profi tability in agriculture and forestry sector; deep involvement of politics in the work of the public enterprises and resources management.

Opportunities – institutions are very important for the successful implementation of all activities; they can cooperate with similar institutions from the region on international projects; promotion of agriculture and forestry sector.

Th reats – the political background and low personal capacities of managers in public enterprises; undefi ned area of responsibility of some of the institutions regarding land degradation/desertifi cation sometimes hamper the cooperation and coordination of activities.

c) Individual LevelStrength – a large number of highly educated and skilled people with large experience

in the fi elds relating to land degradation and desertifi cation; educated professionals with expertise in their fi eld of activity.

Weaknesses – suitable integral education for land degradation and desertifi cation does not exist at any educational level; low income of the employees in the institutions; basic working environment (equipment, literature, fi nances) gives no opportunity for the successful performance of very simple research and monitoring activities; low motivation for additional eff orts to acquire new skills and technical capacities; no possibilities for the employees to implement the newly gained skills and techniques.

Opportunities – highly skilled and experienced staff from the institutions give a good opportunity for preparation and development of good projects; they can collaborate on joint projects with other scientists from abroad on international projects.

Th reats – brain drain.


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A. Cross-cutting Capacity issues

Th e three thematic assessment reports have identifi ed each thematic area’s specifi c capacity issues including an initial prioritization made to a greater or lesser extent. Th e approaches of all three WGs have been diff erent, resulting in a variety of presentations of the capacity defi cit areas and issues. Th e common capacity issues have been implied in the reports, even though streamlining them has not been straightforward. In order to determine the general common issues, following a series of consultations, occurrence in more than one thematic area, irrespective the level was taken as a general criterion. As an ultimate result of this analysis, the following nine areas of capacity defi cit were identifi ed:

1. National policy; 2. Legal and regulatory framework; 3. Incentive systems and economic and market instruments; 4. National and international funding; 5. Technology transfer; 6. Institutional mandate, management capacity and performance; 7. Monitoring and observation, data management; 8. Public awareness and education; 9. Scientifi c expertise.Within these wider common areas of capacity defi cit, capacity development objectives

were formulated in a similar manner. In doing this, the key criterion of identifi cation was to have the objective in the respective area identifi ed as a priority for at least two Conventions. By this, a matrix has been produced in which the following elements were considered:

− area of capacity defi cit,− capacity development objectives,− priority issues/capacity constraints separately in the three areas: biodiversity, cli-

mate change, land degradation/desertifi cation,− each constraint’s level (systemic, institutional, individual).Since the number of identifi ed constraints in all thematic areas was very large, they

have been systematized and reformulated in order to express a wider consideration, covering constraints identifi ed in at least two thematic areas. Th e end product of the above-mentioned exercise has been a matrix containing nine areas of capacity defi cit, fi fteen capacity development objectives and a large number of constraints. Th e matrix is presented in a table below.

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IV CROSSCUTTING CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SYNERGETIC CAPACITY BUILDING APPROACHES AND PROJECTS

Table 5.Capacity Constraints Matrix

Th e identifi ed constraints were analysed in depth using the methodology of ‘problem tree’ development. Namely, in order to reach the root cause of a constraint, a question “why” was asked, which led to building of an extensive list of second, third, fourth and even more levels of root causes for a particular capacity constraint.

Th e basic idea in production of such a large number of root causes was eventually to identify the ones that are common either to more capacity defi cit areas or to more thematic areas. Th e underlying idea has been, to be able to tackle the root causes instead of the identifi ed and reformulated constraints. In this way, the proposed actions and measures would provide synergies across the thematic areas and capacity levels.

Th e second part of the cross-cutting/synergy analysis was identifi cation of opportunities for capacity development across the three Convention areas. Th e analysis has been undertaken based on the structured Capacity Constraints Matrix, and the respective constraint list

NoCommon Capacity Defi cit Area

Capacity Development Objectives cross-cutting across the areas ofBIODIVERSITY / CLIMATE CHANGE / DESERTIFICATION AND LAND DEGRADATION

Constraints to achieving capacity development objective

1. National policy

1.1. Reaching eff ective national planning

1. Low- to medium-level implementation eff ectiveness of the existing strategic environmental policy documents;2. Inexistence of strategic planning documents and inexistence of reliable and competent studies for effi cient planning and policy development3. Opposed interests, poorly coordinated and not-so-well organized stakeholders in the sector;4. Limited funds for preparation of comprehensive, integrated planning;5. Low political will for tackling sensitive issues (land reform, rural development strategy);6. Limited expertise and capacity of key (planning, governmental) institutions;)

1.2. Integration of the biodiversity, climate change and land degradation/desertifi cation concerns within the strategic plans and overriding priorities of the country – economic and social development and poverty eradication

1. Limited systems’ level resources (human resources, database and their accessibility as well as fi nancial resources);2. Opposed interests, poorly coordinated and not-so-well organized stakeholders in the sector;3. cal experts’ experience with socio-economic issues;

2.Legal and regulatory framework

2.1 Adaptation of national legislation to Rio Convention obligations2.2 Approximation of national legislation to EU

1. Bureaucratic constraints in the corresponding ministries;2. Lack of fi nances and initial investments;3. Diff erent stakeholders attitude;4. Lack of relevant legal and technical expertise.

3.Incentive systems and economic and market instruments

3.1 Development and introduction of incentive systems for promotion of Rio Conventions

1. Unfavourable administrative framework for development and implementation of measures for support of biodiversity conservation, climate change abatement and adaptation and land degradation;2. Inexistence of tax and customs incentive and subvention system for implementation of appropriate technologies;3. Low awareness and lack of political will of decision makers. Lack of relevant knowledge and expertise;4. Big target group/stakeholders with diff erent attitude;

4. National and International Funding

4.1 Improvement of national funding systems for Rio Conventions

1. Insuffi cient fi nancing of conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, by stakeholders in both public and private sector;2. Lack of national budget sources for management of the protected areas;3. Lack of compensations and inadequate pricing for use of natural resources;4. Low awareness of decision makers; 5. Diff erent stakeholder interest.

4.2 Access to international funding mechanisms for Rio Conventions

1. Low awareness of the possible funding programmes and mechanisms of Rio Conventions on all levels;2. Lack of prioritization of projects eligible for funding;

5. Technology Transfer

5.1 Capacity building for Technology Transfer (TT)

1. Low level of cooperation among training centres and scientifi c/professional community;2. Insuffi cient engagement of the experts from the scientifi c and educational institutes by the appropriate ministries;3. Inexistence of National Training and Technology Transfer Centre; 4. Lack of funding.

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obtained through root-cause analysis. In this process, the stakeholder matrix created for the purposes of the separate thematic assessment reports proved to be very valuable. Stocktaking and identifi cation of linkages and interdependencies between ongoing and future projects/programmes and reform activities has been crucial for establishment of the structures of opportunities for capacity development.

Th e opportunities have been identifi ed in three wider categories:1. Ongoing processes and reforms; 2. Ongoing and future projects in the fi eld of environment and related sectors; 3. Possible projects/programmes/activities identifi ed by the NCSA.

6.Institutional mandate, management capacity and performance

6.1. Strengthening of the capacity of the relevant institutions responsible for management of resources in the three thematic areas

1. Lack of funding for sustainable management;2. Insuffi cient and incompetent staff and lack of personal knowledge;3. Diff erent fi nancial and economic interest and low level of communication of stakeholders;4. Low system support;5. Unclear defi nition of the institutions’ mandate (legal and political framework for environmental management);6. Unclear responsibility and accountability and unsuitable structural set-up.

6.2. Improvement of institutional cooperation and coordination

1. Unclear legal and political framework for environmental management;2. Unclear responsibility and unsuitable structural set-up;3. Insuffi cient and incompetent staff in respective institutions;4. Lack of interministerial communication & cooperation among stakeholders.

7.Monitoring & observation, Data management

7.1 Improvement of monitoring and observation systems

1. Lack of knowledge and data;2. Understaffi ng of the MEPP in respective departments for monitoring and cadastres;3. Overall incapacity of HMA (organizational, managerial, technical knowledge, fi nancial, equipment);4. Lack of funding;5. Low Institutional/Personal awareness;6. Low maintenance capability of data collection and owning institutions;7. Lack of political will.

7.2 Improvement of data management systems

1. Lack of information database and national information system;2. Lack of National Red List of Threatened Species and Red Data Book; 3. Lack of fi nancial resources;4. Low level of communication among the institutions and stakeholders;5. Low institutional, personal and technical capacities within the institutions;6. Data availability and transparency

8.Public awareness & Education

8.1 Improvement of public awareness regarding Rio Conventions

1. Lack of information database and National Information system;2. Low access to information;3. Low level of participation of NGOs and local communities in programmes for conservation and sustainable use of natural resources;4. Low communication among stakeholders in thematic area of land degradation/desertifi cation.

8.2 Improvement of educational and training curricula in respect to Rio Conventions

1. Insuffi cient coverage of topics in the curricula and syllabi on all educational levels;2. Lack of training courses, for all interested groups in conservation and sustainable use of natural resources;3. Lack of educated and trained teachers.

9. Scientifi c expertise

9.1 Upgrading of scientifi c expertise and research

1. Insuffi cient funding from the national budget for scientifi c projects;2. Lack of expertise and insuffi cient level of contemporary, up-to-date knowledge in certain specifi c areas;3. Lack of communication and cooperation among stakeholders in scientifi c community;

NoCommon Capacity Defi cit Area

Capacity Development Objectives cross-cutting across the areas ofBIODIVERSITY / CLIMATE CHANGE / DESERTIFICATION AND LAND DEGRADATION

Constraints to achieving capacity development objective

IV. CROSSCUTTING CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS

51

Th e soundness of these opportunities for capacity development identifi ed by the cross-cutting WG have been confi rmed through numerous consultation meetings, wrapped-up with a workshop where wider professional public and the key stakeholders participated.

Th e analysis of constraints and opportunities for capacity development is presented in the following sub-chapters, B and C. In the concluding part of the project, based of such identifi ed constraints and opportunities for capacity development, and again through a process of wide consultations, a Strategy for Capacity Development has been produced containing an Action Plan.

B. Constraints for Capacity Development Goals

Th is analysis has been performed after the identifi cation of nine areas of capacity defi cit and a number of capacity development goals for each of them. As a result of such approach the team was able to identify numerous manifold constraints. Many of these are common to further capacity defi cit areas, which could ultimately be an advantage when resolutions to the problems will be searched for.

B.1 National PolicyTh e area of National Policy is profoundly important for whatever issue is on the agenda

including the thematic areas that are the subject of the discussion of NCSA. Analysis made within the thematic working groups revealed two main goals in achieving appropriate capacity building in this defi cit area. Th ese two are: (1) reaching eff ective national planning and (2) mainstreaming of the biodiversity, climate change and land degradation/desertifi cation concerns within the strategic plans and major priorities of the country (economic and social development and poverty eradication). Analysis of the constraints for achieving the goals has shown great similarity between them, i.e. most of the constraints are common for both targets.

a) Low- to medium-level implementation eff ectiveness of the existing strategic environmental policy documents

Th e Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia does not explicitly mention the biodiversity, climate change and desertifi cation/land degradation, but its Article 8 puts the protection and promotion of the environment and the nature as one of the basic constitutional assets. In addition, Article 43 of the Constitution gives the right to all citizens to exercise the merits of a healthy environment as well the obligation to promote and protect the environment and the nature. Furthermore, all natural resources are goods of general interest for the State and they enjoy special protection. Th e inevitable conclusion is that the protection and the promotion of the environment, nature and people’s health are embedded as preferential and fundamental values.

However, besides the development of some strategic environmental policy documents the level of their implementation eff ectiveness is low to medium. Some of the major reasons for such a situation are identifi ed as the insuffi ciently expressed political will, lack of fi nancial resources, ineffi ciency of bodies responsible for implementation monitoring, a degree of non-compliance of the existing legislation and the proposed measures in the action plans and strategies, certain overlapping of the responsibilities of diff erent ministries and their insuffi cient coordination, lack of professional staff , some of the strategies seem high-reaching for the available state capacities.

Th e insuffi ciently expressed political will appears to be one of the most critical constraints in all capacity defi cit areas. Many reasons could be identifi ed for this including the existence of a higher national interest, but also insuffi cient understanding of the issues,

52


53

which results in insecurity of the decision makers in their actions. Financial resources go in parallel with the previous, since the established system in the central administration of Macedonia is centralization of the budget disbursement, where lower levels of managers, who are professional and experienced, have no possibility to fully plan and realize the funds for implementation of strategic documents. One of the important constraints for the implementation of the strategies and policies certainly is ineffi ciency of relevant bodies. Th is, in practice, should be the relevant ministry or other executive agency; however, they do not have always-appropriate capacity and the end result is a not fully implemented strategy or policy. In addition, these relevant ministries often overlap in their responsibilities or coordinate themselves very poorly. Th is constraint is one of the most critical with regards to any of the capacity defi cit areas.

Th e National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP), adopted in 1997, is one very good example of the existence of the above constraints. NEAP represents a fi rst step to the long-term ambition of the country to integrate all aspects of environmental protection. Its implementation has suff ered from very poor coordination, overlapping of responsibility, lack of fi nance, and ineffi ciency.

b) Inexistence of strategic documents and reliable and competent studies for effi cient policy planning and development

To reach an eff ective national planning in any area, strategic documents are most needed. Unfortunately, this simple understanding was not fully and always recognized by those who bear responsibility for policy making in the country and until a few years ago, with the exception of NEAP-1, there had almost been no strategic or policy document which could have governed the policy in environment. Still, the situation is radically changing and some important documents for the thematic areas of this report have been developed, including Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan of the Republic of Macedonia (2004) and the First National Communication on Climate Change (2003). However, there is still no such document for strategic environmental policy in the area of combating desertifi cation and land degradation; albeit there are several strategic documents that are indirectly related to land degradation (National Strategy for Development of Agriculture; Water Master Plan; Forestry Master Plan; NEAP-1).

Several explanations are crucial for such a situation, including the famous lack of fi nance, inexistence of basic information and analysis for such documents, but also a lack of expertise in specifi c areas especially state-of-the-art knowledge.

Th e list of some of the essential studies that are prerequisite for effi cient planning and policy development include the following papers with the prefi x “National”: biodiversity register; checklists on separate fl oral and faunal groups; red list and red data book of threatened species; vegetation map; biodiversity indicators; soil map; study on renewable energy sources.

c) Diff erent interests, poorly coordinated and not-so-well organized stakeholders in the sector

Th is constraint may be best illustrated regarding the thematic area of land degradation and desertifi cation. Namely, the MEPP, which apart from being responsible for soil protection, is the focal point for UNCCD while the MAFWE and MTC are responsible for agricultural land and urban planning, respectively; the cadastre is the responsibility of the State Administration for Land Survey that most jealously keeps the data from the others. Furthermore, it seems that until recently the MEPP was very much project-oriented, sometimes lacking a clear and shared vision, while coordination and communication among its departments was not always at the desired level. Th e situation is far more critical in the other relevant ministries that deal with the thematic areas. A similar situation could be illustrated with the climate change


53

policy, where in addition to the above ministries, one of the most important players is the Ministry of Economy.

Grounds for such a situation could be found in outdated legislation in diff erent areas and inexistence of coordination when it is amended or newly developed. In addition it seems that personal capacities of the responsible ministries’ staff are insuffi cient as is their technical capacity.

d) Limited funds for development of comprehensive integrated planningTh e current economic situation in the country is resulting in a heavily restricted budgetary

policy that puts environmental expenditure at a very low level, although which over the last few years has begun to show a positive trend. Th ese lacks of domestic funding the stakeholders are trying to compensate with international fi nance resources, mainly coming in as a form of a technical assistance. In this respect the Government needs to increase the public funds for environmental protection and mobilize the fi nancial resources required for environmental investments. At present, the Environmental Fund, which basically functioned as a source of emergency funding, is cancelled without introduction of an alternative system.

Anyhow, the situation is rather unfavourable since the limited budget funding is not managed appropriately. In addition, the public is not always properly informed on the possibilities to access both the budget sources and international funds. Furthermore, until now the Government has shown no interest or intention to introduce a policy of subsidizing environmental investments. One possible way out might be implementation of the “debt for nature swap” mechanism that has been largely used in some of the new members of the EU.

e) Low level of political will for tackling sensitive reform issues (land reform, rural development strategy)

As said earlier in this report, for most of the identifi ed constraints on systemic and institutional levels there is either not enough or even no political will. Th is might be particularly the case in the fi eld of combating land degradation where extremely degraded land has been abandoned and the authorities take very few actions against it. Th e land fragmentation is not only a problem in implementing measures against drought and land degradation but it is also an economic problem, for the scattered agricultural parcels an effi cient agricultural management cannot be implemented.

Yet, it is not just the politics that are to be blamed; apparently there is always the fi nancial constraint, whether the limit is the budget management or the lack of analysis or expertise. Eventually, all of these could be summarized as insecurity of the success of particular reforms.

f) Limited expertise and capacity of key institutionsTh e institutions that should actively participate in preparing projects, plans, monitoring

and other actions for successfully accomplishing the tasks required by the three Rio Conventions do not have suffi cient infrastructure, equipment and suffi ciently educated staff to meet the responsibilities. Many reasons or obstacles could be identifi ed for such constraints. Certainly the transitional period is aff ecting the institutions since they are going through the public administration reform, which is downsizing the number of administrative personnel. In addition, the institutions are facing a lack of required equipment, no databases of necessary information, etc.

g) Limited systems’ level resources (human resources, database and their availability, fi nancial resources)

Integration of the issues of biodiversity, climate change and land degradation/desertifi cation into the priority activities of the country is an important goal, however

54


interfered with by many constraints of which the lack of system’s resources is at the top. Although an extremely high percentage of the country’s budget goes on the salaries of public administration, yet the civil service4 itself is very small in size (in particular if compared with similar sized countries) and is insuffi cient to implement all the tasks assigned to it. In addition to the quantity the issue of quality is of the same importance. Economic transition resulted in a moratorium on new employments and downsizing of the administration to fulfi l the requirements of the IMF arrangements with regard to the public administration reform. In terms of human resources management, until recently there was very little development mainly infl uenced by the donors as part of their technical assistance. Training and professional development of the administration was quite unorganized and with low budgetary support. In this regard improvement is expected with the new system of civil servants’ training, which is promoted by the respective Agency. Performance appraisal is an instrument envisaged under the Law on Civil Servants (2000), however for the fi rst time this system was put in place in 2004, that is, the fi rst results will be announced early 2005, while the fi rst eff ects in practice may be shown as early as 2007.

Information databases are an issue per se, but also very important resources in achieving the integration of thematic areas with other national policy areas. Th eir obstacles are both technical and fi nancial, i.e. either they are incompatible or fi nancially insuffi ciently supported. For example: the MEPP is performing both, regular and investigative monitoring of all environmental media; however, a technical problem arises in communications with the polluters, since it is non-electronic/digital and often there is diversity of operational systems that are mostly old; thus their renewal or upgrading requires fi nancial means that are unavailable.

h) Opposed interests, poorly coordinated and not so well organized stakeholders in the sector

Diff erent interests are a particular constraint for any cross-sectoral issue such as an environmental if one is trying to mainstream them with other policies and priorities. As shown elsewhere in this document, the institutional confl icts with other ministries result from mostly the wrong perception of the MEPP’s role and position. As a result, instead of mainstreaming the environment in practice one could see its disregard. Th erefore, either many existing strategic documents in the country do not tackle environment or it is only there just to fi ll-up the formal requirement. Th is is a result of inappropriate treatment of environmental issues in the national legislation in the past, but with the newly developed and approximated environmental laws this should be overcome, since mainstreaming is embedded in all provisions of the new laws.

i) Lack of technical experts’ experience with socio-economic issuesWithin the last decade, the most noticeable characteristics of the country are signifi cant

changes in the societal structure (i.e. economic stratifi cation of the population) and an increase in the number of impoverished citizens. Th e level of poverty has increased from 19 percent in 1997 to 22.3 percent in 2000.

Th e growing poverty does not recognize the principles of sustainable development and therefore is manifesting natural resources overuse, mainly illegal, that leads to land degradation and loss of biodiversity. Th is process has not suffi ciently been studied in the last decade from a socio-economic point of view.

4. Th e Macedonian system makes a distinction between the public and civil servant. Namely, civil servants are those who work directly on the performance of state functions (in other words all employees of the ministries and state agencies, judiciary staff and employees in the municipal administration). Th e remainder receive their salaries from the budget and are identifi ed as public servants.


55

B.2 Legal and Regulatory FrameworkIt appeared that integration of the country with the European structure has put the

legislation approximation among the top priority actions to be performed in the next period. Th erefore, it is understandable that in this area two priority goals have been identifi ed. Th e fi rst one is (1) adaptation of national legislation to Rio Conventions obligations; and the second (2) approximation of national legislation to EU acquis communitaire. Achievement of both goals requires the same actions, adaptation of the same national laws and regulations, and therefore is facing the same constraints, albeit most of these will be greatly taken care of by the international community.

a) Bureaucratic constraints in the corresponding ministriesNational administration is organized in such a way that the ministers are not allowed to

have their own political cabinets that might realistically be able to cope with political issues and policy management. Th is leads to a very centralized decision-making process. On the other hand, ministers and other top decision makers often as not have suffi cient knowledge of the sector they are running. Th ose who do have such knowledge and experience belong to the professional staff of the institutions and if their opinion is not asked for or not taken into consideration, they are able to exhibit a bureaucratic behaviour that is an obstacle to implementation of any policy.

b) Lack of fi nances and initial investmentsAdaptation of legislation per se is not really the target Macedonia would like to achieve;

it is rather the implementation of such new legislation. Implementation of new legislation requires fi nancial means, namely, especially for investment in environment protection. In the next decade Macedonia will face substantial investment requirements to meet the EU standards, which have already encompassed the obligation from Rio Conventions. Certainly, the EU will make available its structural funds to Macedonia when status of country candidate is attained, but for the time being the Government needs to identify fi nancial resources elsewhere, either domestic or international. Th e constraint should be overcome by addressing the following issues: (1) how to allocate more public funds for environmental protection, having in mind restricted budgetary policy; and (2) how to attract foreign direct investment in the country.

c) Diff erent stakeholders’ attitudesAn example of diff ering interests may be observed in the legal proposals for institutional

organization of environmental management. It should be ensured that these bodies do not end up with similar responsibilities, which may lead to overlapping or gaps in protection of the environment. Obviously diff erent interests may hamper the capacity development.

d) Lack of relevant legal and technical expertiseIn addition to the above-mentioned constraints, which are important for the adaptation

of the national legislation and capacity building in the area of legislation, there still is, if not the most important, the expertise. Th is is an apparent obstacle at the country level, although the MEPP has made a major breakthrough with the implementation of the EU supported project ‘Capacity Building of the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning’. Namely, the project has managed to train and educate many civil servants and other experts, mostly from the MEPP, but from other governmental and non-governmental organizations as well. Certainly this kind of project assistance is of importance in all ministries, which are responsible in many ways for the three thematic areas.

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B.3 Incentive Systems and Market InstrumentsEconomic instruments have been deployed in a number of transitional economies to

provide incentives for pollution abatement and also to generate funds for investment in environmental projects. As such, they can also be important elements to fi nance the cost of the implementation of the three global conventions. Th erefore, in the capacity defi cit area of incentive systems and market instruments, development and introduction of incentive systems for promotion of Rio Conventions is identifi ed as a priority goal.

Yet, achievement of this development goal is not easy. First, there is quite an unfavourable administrative framework for the development and implementation of measures to support biodiversity conservation, climate change abatement and adaptation and land degradation. However, the biggest constraint here seems to be the non-existence of tax and customs incentive and subvention system for implementation of appropriate technologies. Economic instruments for environmental protection are widely known elsewhere in the EU but unfortunately not in Macedonian practice. Th ey can be used for various reasons, including:

− Internalization of external environmental costs. Th ey incorporate the costs of en-vironmental services and damage directly into the prices of the goods, services or activities, which give rise to them. Th is also helps to implement the “Polluter Pays” principle and to integrate economic, fi scal and environmental policies.

− Creation of incentives for producers and consumers to shift away from environ-mentally damaging behaviour. A tax on any substance emitted in the environment provides an incentive to polluters to avoid the tax by using other or generating less of the substance being taxed.

− Raising revenues that can be used directly to improve the environment; to give oth-ers incentives to do so; or to reduce other, more costly taxes, such as labour taxes, with the objective of increasing employment and overall economic welfare.

But the implementation of economic instruments, for any purpose, still suff ers from the same constraints in Macedonia. Th e MEPP is still understaff ed in relation to the legal mandates it has; this is felt at the top level too, particularly relating to the management and communication capacity. In terms of human resources management, there is very little fl exibility and planned approach. On the other hand hiring and fi ring in the past has been politically motivated, not based on quality, leading sometimes to inadequate personnel quality. Th ere is a clear need to deal with human resources management in a more systematic way, including introduction of instruments for monitoring and evaluation of staff performance.

B.4 National and International FinancingFinancing appeared to be one of the biggest constraints for capacity building in the three

thematic areas. It is not surprising having in mind overall economic situation in the country. However, in many cases fi nancing is not a real constraint but rather a good excuse for not doing anything which might be somebody’s responsibility stipulated by the laws or originating from the international agreements including global conventions of Rio. Yet, there are many constraints that are really money related when it comes to the capacity building and therefore the analysis made within the NCSA revealed two goals, which need to be achieved to remove these constraints. First, the country need to improve the national system of fi nancing of the implementation of Rio conventions, and second, the need to build up its own capacity to access the funding mechanisms of the Rio conventions.

For achieving the fi rst goal several constraints are of particular interest and those are not unique for this objective, but rather constraints that have already been identifi ed as such within the analysis of other capacity defi cit areas. Primarily, there is insuffi cient fi nancing for protection and sustainable use of natural resources by stakeholders in both the private and


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public sectors. Another big constraint is the lack of budgetary resources for this purpose, which comes mainly as a consequence of the extremely restrictive budgetary policy that supports only the highest governmental priorities and environment is still not among those. A further constraint is the lack of appropriate compensation for use of natural resources, which results in the abuse and misuse of those resources. In this regard an additional constraint is the low level of awareness among decision makers at diff ering levels; from top politicians to low-level directors within the public enterprises who do not understand the necessity of funding protection of biodiversity or the fi ght against climate change and land degradation.

As for the second goal, access to convention-fi nancing mechanisms, the problem is not the lack of money but rather of how to use it. Apparently all global conventions have created their own mechanisms for funding their implementation. Th ose mechanisms are functioning quite well and have developed their own rules and criteria for accessing the funds. Mostly, they are making use of the Global Environment Facility to such an end, but also other mechanisms are in place or are planned to be so. Macedonia has fulfi lled the basic prerequisite for eligibility to get access to those fi ndings, which is a ratifi cation of the conventions and their protocols, particularly the Kyoto protocol ratifi ed in July 2004. What remains to be done is certainly to build up local capacity to easily access those mechanisms of funding. However, there are some constraints to achieving that, such as the low level of awareness regarding these mechanisms and programmes, especially at a higher level of decision making, but also insuffi cient capacities at institutional level and inappropriate information on the possibilities that could be used by private and NGO sector. On the other hand, there is a big lack of well-elaborated project proposals, which may be submitted for fi nancing. Th is is as a result of an inappropriate prioritization policy, where the three thematic areas are not very high on the list and not many proposals are developed by the administration or by the private or NGO sectors. Other than in the central administration, the interest of stakeholders is small. Th e domestic fi nancial support (contribution) to international projects should also be improved.

B.5 Technology transferTh e present status of technologies used in the diff erent sectors that address climate

change, biodiversity and land degradation/desertifi cation is far from being satisfactory. Th e prolonged transitional period has caused delay in accepting contemporary and environmentally recommended technologies. Th e need of the quick and almost general replacement of the existing technologies with contemporary ones in the country is evident. Th at is why technology transfer has been identifi ed as a capacity defi cit area. In order to achieve the capacity development in this area, one priority issue has been analysed, that is Capacity Building for Technology Transfer. In-depth analysis has identifi ed several constraints for realization of this objective. Foremost, these comprise the following: a low level of cooperation between the training centres and scientifi c community; insuffi cient engagement of the experts from scientifi c and educational institutions by the ministries; inexistence of national training and technology transfer centre; and, of course, a lack of funding.

Th e level of cooperation between the training centres and scientifi c community is low because of the following constraints: absence or very low level of communication between the educational and scientifi c institutions and graduated specialists; not established and/or non-functional training centres; the scientifi c community shows low interest for practical problems; low and/or inappropriate reward of the services.

Th e constraints for insuffi cient engagement of the experts from scientifi c and educational institutions by the ministries are diff erent, including avoidance of these institutions, ministries’ orientation towards cooperating with other public and private institutions, as well as the low number of applications of the scientifi c and educational institutions to the announced/tendered projects by the ministries.

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For inexistence of national training and technology transfer centre the following constraints have been identifi ed: technology transfer is not a governmental priority; no legal regulation for establishment of a such centre; low level of knowledge transfer; apprehension of existence of technology transfer related activities; and low awareness of technology transfer necessity.

Constraints exist in terms of a lack of knowledge due to the broken relations between the graduated specialist and the scientifi c/educational institutions, insuffi cient use of new literature and of institutional and personal upgrade, consideration of the so-called ‘closed’ scientifi c projects, low level of access to internet and insuffi cient level of publishing activities. Going into in-depth analysis, the constraints relating to the so-called ‘closed’ projects are: inexistence of common measures on the national level for getting MSc and PhD degrees and for advance/progress in educational titles within the universities and other scientifi c institutions; and BSc, MSc and PhD studies depend only on the individual fi nancial capacity with a very low level and number of fellowships within diff erent institutions.

Yet, one of the key constraints in view of capacity development in the area of technology transfer is the lack of funding. Th e constraints are the following: for transfer from one to another technology, big investments are needed which the institutions cannot supply/bear themselves; absence of organized application and/or access to the international fi nancial mechanisms; improper use of the already given grants, funds and credits, as a result of which some other new fi nancial possibilities have been closed; and inexistence of legal regulations for the institutions/companies to allocate funding for technology transfer.

B.6 Institutional Mandate, Management Capacity and PerformanceOne of the capacity defi cit areas where capacity building may provide a real breakthrough

is in the implementation of the global conventions, since all other areas are more or less dependable on this one. Th e analysis showed biggest constraints exactly at this institutional level. Two major goals are set to be achieved: (1) strengthening of the capacities of relevant institutions responsible for management with the resources in all of the three thematic areas; and (2) improvement of institutional cooperation and coordination.

An enormous number of constraints exists ahead of the fi rst goal; fi rst of all being the unavoidable, lack of fi nance for sustainable management. Namely, the middle management level in the administration is weak since the salaries of these managers were far from being commensurable with the similar positions in the private sector. Th erefore it was not possible to keep the experienced managers with knowledge and skills. But on the other hand, sustainability is still tremendously upset by interference of the politicians after each major reconstruction of the Government, when the ‘spoil’ principle comes to the fore regardless of the fact that the Law on Civil Servants does not recognize it; rather the system of ‘merit’ is in place. Furthermore, the lack of fi nancing is blocking the process of decision making based on strategic documents and good analysis of the information, simply because such documents and information do not exist or are very weak and not very useful, as shown under Chapter B.1 on National Policies. Additionally, as described elsewhere in this report, the civil service administration is rather small with roughly about 11,000 civil servants working for the central government and other state bodies which create and implement national policy. An additional problem is the qualitative structure of the administration, where more than 50 percent are administrative posts for logistical tasks while the number of staff with a university diploma is rather small particularly in some institutions. To make matters worse, budgetary restrictions in combination with the public administration reform are making the situation inoperative. Furthermore, the administration is still missing a proper system of training, which would secure the “continuous education” of the civil servants, leading to the situation where the


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best staff are leaving the administration to work either for the private sector or for numerous projects fi nancially supported by the donor community.

In addition, another big constraint for institutions is an unclear defi nition of their mandate and low level of systemic support, which is particularly critical in the three thematic areas of NCSA. All these together are resulting in a situation where the relevant institutions that are responsible for management of the natural resources perform their duties in an effi cient and timely manner, ultimately leading to deterioration of the natural resources, increasing the consequences from climate change and desertifi cation and decreasing the economic potential of the biodiversity.

Th e second goal in this defi cit area is the striving for improvement of one specifi c capacity at an institutional level which is deemed particularly important – cooperation and coordination. Unfortunately, the legal framework represents a major obstacle to achieving this: on the one hand, this is due to the unclear defi nition of the responsibilities leading to many overlaps and gaps in the system, resulting in weak implementation of the legislation and on the other ‘commercial’ competitiveness instead of cooperation among the institutions at diff ering levels.

B.7 Monitoring, observation and data managementMonitoring, observation and data management regarding climate change, biodiversity

and land degradation and desertifi cation have been recognized as insuffi cient. Th erefore, these activities have been identifi ed as a capacity defi cit area. In order to achieve the capacity development in this area two goals need to be achieved: (1) improvement of monitoring and observation systems; (2) improvement of data management systems.

Although monitoring and observation systems are not so bad at all in comparison with the achievements in other environmental areas, still it requires a lot of improvement eff ort in the near future. Unfortunately, as for other goals relating to the capacity building, many constraints have been recognized. Funding of monitoring and observation systems from the national budget is insuffi cient as with other environmental issues, which creates a lot of diffi culties for the responsible institutions even to maintain their existing monitoring network, left alone to invest in their improvement. On the other hand, there is very often a low institutional and individual awareness among funding decision makers on the importance of data gathered through the monitoring networks. Th is is combined with the fact that environment is not a high priority for the Government (as say, compared to the political and other issues), that the economy of the country is weak and that the NGOs’ infl uence on governmental decisions is poor.

Improvement of data management systems is one of the most important goals to be achieved in the future, which has been recognized also by the recently developed Strategy on Data Management. However, this can only be done if many existing constraints are removed. On the one hand, responsible institutions have to work on the effi cient processing of data and their verifi cation, since many data will be received from the generators that are beyond their control and on the other hand such data have to be brought into line with the validation criteria. Th is would require education and specialization in data management methodologies since the MEPP as a major governmental institution responsible for monitoring and data management does not have suffi cient expert capacity, although substantial progress has been made in the last couple of years. In addition, improvement of the systems would require enlargement of the monitoring networks and certainly their automation and incorporation into the regional and global networks.

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B.8 Public Awareness and EducationPublic awareness and education is a capacity defi cit area that is common for almost

any environmental issue. As a result of such recognition, the MEPP has developed a sectoral National Strategy for awareness rising, which aims at building capacity of the wide public on environmental issues by a whole set of measures and activities to be undertaken in the next mid-term period. Th e three NCSA thematic areas are no exception to the ‘rule’, although as said earlier in this report, many activities have already been undertaken in the area of biodiversity and climate change. As a consequence of the previous actions, the expert team identifi ed two goals to be achieved in order to upgrade the capacity in the area of public awareness and education; namely, improvement of: (1) public awareness with regard to global conventions; and (2) education and training relevant to Rio conventions.

Th e environmental protection could be improved only if people recognize their responsibilities and build appropriate capacity to contribute towards this process. Each individual should be involved in the processes of planning and decision making with regard to the protection of environment. However, there are many constraints towards this goal.

Notwithstanding the fact that the MEPP has three organizational units which deal with the issue of information, namely, the Macedonian Environmental Information Centre, the Public Relations Offi ce and the Spatial Information System, the information database and system are still not fully functioning at a satisfactory level. Mainly the problems appear with the data collection, their reliability and validity, and access to the information. Th e MEPP is not in position to perform its task appropriately due to the generators of information, which are non-compliant with the obligation to submit those data to the ministry. In addition, if the MEPP gets any data, usually those need a lot of additional work to make them reliable and valid and fi nally, useful to those who need them. On the other hand, the MEPP itself is generating a bulk of information and data, which could be useful for many users, but the problem with understaffi ng at the ministry, in particularly the departments responsible for data management, is critical for successful performance.

Although many individuals from the non-governmental sector are widely participating on an expert base in most of the activities for development and implementation of environmental projects, this could not be said for the participation and the interest shown by the local self-governments, private sector and industry. Mostly this situation should be viewed as a result of the inappropriate capacity of these stakeholders to undertake seriously their part in such activities. However, the governmental agencies show a low level of cooperation with the NGOs, which is mainly expressed with rejection of their project proposals for undertakings in the thematic areas. Part of this problem could be addressed to the stakeholders themselves, since they have proven to be not-so-good managers of the internationally granted funds and have used them often for other purposes than for which the terms of references were asking. Th is is an obstacle which is closing the windows not only to the international community support but similarly with the governmental support.

Achievement of the educational and training goal should represent a major breakthrough in raising environmental awareness among the wider public. Unfortunately, as of today not much success has been shown. Th e reasons for such a situation should be looked for in the educational programmes’ design and the capacity for delivery of such programmes.

Namely, the education system in Macedonia has made some eff orts to introduce environmental topics under the compulsory curriculum. Such courses exist at the primary school level only, but are still optional. Th e inclusion of similar topics at higher level of education has still not been made. Th is practically means that the law is not enforced, since the Environment Law requires the public education institutions to include the acquisition of knowledge towards the conservation and promotion of the environment and nature in


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their work plans and programmes. On the other hand, as of today, no thematic survey has been conducted to reveal the adequacy wherein biodiversity, land degradation and climate change are addressed in the curriculum of any level of education. Th e main reason for this might be the absence of communication between the relevant ministries of education and environment particularly when the educational system reforms are undertaken; mainly done without wider consultations with relevant stakeholders respecting the political rather than the professional interest.

Another constraint within this capacity defi cit area is a lack of training courses for all interested groups in conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Th e MEPP has started organizing public campaigns for specifi c environmental topics and training of its staff for design and implementation of these campaigns, to improve the communication with the public and achieve better results. However, despite the numerous campaigns conducted by the relevant ministries and NGOs to raise public awareness on the importance of environmental protection, specifi cally in the thematic areas of biodiversity and climate change, there is still a perceived lack of awareness at the desired level. One of the major obstacles for such a situation might be the lack of educated and trained teachers/trainers for the topics falling under the thematic areas of the NCSA.

B.9 Scientifi c expertiseScientifi c expertise has been identifi ed as a capacity defi cit area or cross-cutting issue

for the three thematic area regarding Rio Conventions. Th e state of scientifi c expertise in the country can be recognized as rather poor. For the last couple of years the national budget for this very important sector of the society has been rapidly decreased reaching its lowest level in 2003. In order to develop capacity in this area only one goal is set to be achieved; that is, upgrading of scientifi c expertise and research. However, achievement of this goal is not an easy task, since there are many constraints identifi ed by the expert team, including: insuffi cient funding of the scientifi c projects and research, a lack of experts and low level of contemporary knowledge in specifi c areas, and a lack of communication and cooperation between the stakeholders and scientifi c community.

Insuffi cient fi nance is a problem in all areas, including funding of the scientifi c projects and research. Many constraints could be identifi ed for such a situation starting with the prioritization of interests where science and scientifi c projects are very low on the list, which is a result of the staffi ng in line with the ministry and the other governmental institutions, where nominations are made by political decisions instead by following the Law on Civil Servants that recognizes expert and scientifi c criteria for employing civil servants in any position. On the other hand the restrictive budgetary policy and absence of legal framework for fi nancing scientifi c projects and research contributes to very low funding from the budget. One of the big obstacles to funding science in Macedonia is the procedure of selection of such projects. Namely, very small resources at disposal of the Ministry of Science and Education are spent on projects without any selection criteria except the ‘equitability’, i.e. every application is granted equal share of the total available budget for the purpose, which in the end only results in none of those being implemented according planning, with no scientifi c results which could be used later. Reasons for such a procedure could be found in the inexistence of specifi c criteria and inappropriate revision of the project proposals, where personal relationships are very much infl uential on the fi nal decision.

Another big constraint for achievement of the goal in this capacity defi cit area certainly is the lack of experts and low level of contemporary and new knowledge in the thematic areas. In general, this is a result of the way of having established scientifi c institutions where no criteria exist or are not followed; hence “one-man companies” formally exist to be in position to participate in the income of the institutions. In addition, there are no criteria or they

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are disregarded during the election/re-election into the scientifi c ranks/titles signifi cantly infl uenced by nepotism, which could be identifi ed as a single most powerful constraint in this capacity defi cit area. Furthermore it seems that the experts are not overly interested in participating in international scientifi c projects, where knowledge is required and with insuffi cient funds for even books and equipment, this is impossible.

C. Opportunities for Capacity Building

Th e key moment in the implementation of the exercise for capacity self-assessment for implementation of the global environmental agreements, the three Conventions that are the subject of this issue, is the presentation of the opportunities for capacity building. Th e working expert team that prepared this study made serious attempts to identify and connect comprehensively all available opportunities. Th is resulted in a rather long list of opportunities, even though the authors did not pretend that such a list is fully comprehensive.

As it was easily determined, although diff erent in its characteristics, the three areas (biodiversity, climate change and desertifi cation/land degradation) have many common constraints; obviously it logically follows that they also have common opportunities for capacity building, i.e. overcoming the present constraints.

C.1 Ongoing processes and reformsAt fi rst, the most important opportunities for capacity building should be looked for in

the country’s ongoing processes and reforms. Th is is of particular importance, because if the needs of certain sector are mainstreamed, namely integrated into the national strategies for country development, the predicted goals can be expected to be achieved.

C.1.1 European Integration A top country priority is the integration into the EU structures, with an ultimate goal of

full EU membership. In this context, of utmost importance is the sound knowledge of the EU sector policies, since every valuable national policy intending to contribute to the realization of the euro-integration targets, has its own strategic determinations to base upon, or, at least, to make them compatible with the European ones.

Th e three areas, the subject of this report, will occupy the topmost in the EU policy in the next few years, being clearly presented in the sixth Environmental Action Plan of the EU Commission.

Th e Government of Macedonia is organizing, coordinating and synchronizing the process of EU integration, for which a well-projected infrastructure is established and is managed by the Working Committee for EU Integration.

One of the leading questions posted before this kind of destinations, is the adjustment of the Macedonian national legislation with the EU acquis, widely known as “approximation”.

Although a seemingly complex, but yet technical operation, this process is of particular importance for the need of building appropriate capacities to overcome the constraints in the implementation of the global environmental conventions. Namely, the greatest part of the constraints addressing the non-existence of legal regulations concerns not being punctual enough, overlapping and similar competences, that could and should be eliminated in the process of legal approximation.

Following this, it clearly shows that the process of the country’s euro-integration unfolds vast possibilities for appropriate capacity building for implementation of the global conventions.


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Moreover, the process for EU integration itself, in line with its own attainment, contains numerous activities for building capacities that can indirectly, although in some cases directly, be in function for the purpose of this report. Such an example of mobilization and capacity building is the expeditiously prepared answers to the EU Questionnaire. Namely, for the purposes of the EU integration activities in a comprehensive way highly professional institutions are being established in Macedonia, that are ready for dialogue and cooperation with EU partners, where highly professional and competent staff will be profi led.

C.1.2 DecentralizationDecentralization is the second strategic priority in Macedonia that infl uences everyday

activities and, accordingly, the process of the implementation of the three global environmental conventions. Decentralization in fact is an opportunity to put into practice the well-known motto, “think globally, act locally”. Namely, from the beginning of 2005, the municipalities in Macedonia will receive new competences; that is to say, will take over a large share of the responsibilities now covered by the central government. Local governments will take over the responsibility for the quality of life of its citizens, who will together solve the problems, but will making decisions on community development too. Th e process of decentralization gives the citizens the possibility to be part of the local government operation and to see that the local governments’ budgetary income provides more quantitative and qualitative services.

In practice the three global environmental conventions will have to be implemented by the local self-governments since the Law on Local Self-Governments (LSG) defi nes the competences of the municipalities in the area of the environment and nature. Th ose competences include undertaking measures for protection and pollution prevention of the waters, air, land, nature protection, noise protection and non-ionizing radiation. All of these, to a higher or lesser extent, are directly connected with the implementation of the global environmental conventions.

Th rough development of its own environmental strategies, i.e. LEAPs, the LSG has the possibility to plan measures for direct participation in the implementation of the global environmental conventions. For achieving of the above said, fi rst priority will be building of an appropriate institutional infrastructure and individual capacities, but of particular importance is to take into account the need to include in the thematic areas that are the subject of this report.

C.1.3 Public Administration Reform (PAR)Th e next national priority staging possibility for building capacities for implementation

of the global environmental conventions is the Public Administration Reform. Th is process, unprompted, does not imply direct possibility for building of specifi c implementing capacities. Yet, the aims that PAR should indirectly achieve will enable surpassing of many constraints identifi ed in the analyses undertaken for the needs of this report. In particular, this can be expected in the areas of institutional mandates, management capacities, intersectoral communication, human resources management, fi nancial management and budget planning, development and usage of IT, etc.

C.1.4 Strategic planning documents In line with the building of the capacities for implementation of the global environmental

conventions of great importance are the country’s strategic planning documents, particularly in the relevant sectors, such as environment, agriculture, forestry and water management. Creation of completely new possibilities for building capacities, without using the possibilities off ered by the present ones, of course, is the wrong move. Th erefore, vital for overcoming the constraints identifi ed in the thematic areas is identifi cation of commensurable elements and activities that are included in the strategic documents existing in these sectors. In

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other words, integration of the needs for capacity building for implementation of the global environmental conventions into the existing planning documents, and, moreover, into the strategic documents that are to be developed.

Th e MEPP has prepared a major number of strategic documents, but even greater is the number of those that are planned to be prepared in the next short-term period. Vision 2008 is a road map for the activities in this area in the next short-term period. Of course those of fi rst importance for building capacities for the three thematic areas are the Spatial Plan of Macedonia and the second National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP-2).

As an example of the needed sectoral strategic planning documents, in the water-economy sector of the biggest importance is the Water Management Master Plan for Macedonia, whose realization will enable elimination of a major number of constraints identifi ed in this report, including the establishment of an info-base, application of new technologies, regarding that the Plan will be prepared in digital form.

C.2 Present and future project in the environmental sectorTh e environmental sector is still the central one where the opportunities for capacity

building in the thematic areas should be searched for and found. In that regard, several ongoing and future projects are of particular interest, since they can mostly be productive in the elimination of the constraints in all areas of capacity defi cit, especially on a systemic and institutional level.

C.2.1 Second National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP-2)Within the EU assistance programme CARDS 2001 there is a project whose basic

aim is preparation of NEAP-2. Taking into consideration the general goal of the project is to contribute to environmental and economic sustainable development of the Republic of Macedonia it is clear that the potential of this strategic document for building capacities to implement the global environmental conventions is very big. Of higher importance, at this moment, is that the conclusions and recommendations of this report, as much as possible, be included in the NEAP-2 preparation and in its fi nal document. Moreover, NEAP-2 anticipates being completely compatible with the sixth Environmental Action Plan of EC, which means that at the same time it has a function of EU integration, which, as said before, can very much contribute in the building of congenial capacities and structures to implement the global environmental conventions.

C.2.2 Strengthening the Capacity of the MEPP (CMEPP)Th is project is part of the EU PHARE 1999 programme, realized between June 2002

and August 2004. Although completed, this project by its results deserves to be mentioned in this part of the NCSA report. Th e general aims were focused on adapting the Macedonian environmental legislation towards the acquis communitaire; raising the environmental awareness; improving the communication; developing of environmental monitoring and data management; and providing training for the civil servants in the environmental area. It is evident that the project’s general aims fully fi t into eliminating the constraints identifi ed in this report, in generic terms. Th e specifi c needs of NCSA have not yet been fully encompassed within the CMEPP project, but on the other hand, they off er certain opportunities within the frame of the project delivery, the document titled ‘Vision 2008’ which determines strategic targets and objectives of the MEPP’s action in the next short-term period.

C.2.3 National Plan and Feasibility Studies for Solid Waste ManagementTh e aim of this project, part of EU assistance programme CARDS 2001, is to develop

environmental and fi nancial sustainable management of the solid waste in Macedonia and


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to help in adapting towards the EU Framework Waste Management directive. Th e project consists of two components, where one is focused on preparation of National Plan for Solid Waste Management in Macedonia, while the other component is focused on preparation of a Feasibility Study for regional solid waste management for three regions in Macedonia. Waste is a signifi cant part in combating the climate changes and the successful realization of this project will considerably contribute to the implementation of the Climate Change Convention. Meanwhile, it will also help in the implementation of the two other global conventions, since it will allow reducing of the pressure posed upon the biological diversity through uncontrolled solid waste release from illegal landfi lls. In addition, it will help in reducing the land degradation caused by the same illegal landfi lls.

Since this is an ongoing project, the notice given for NEAP-2 of accepting the recommendation of the present report is applicable for this project too. In fact, it is necessary to put all eff orts into including a major number of conclusions of this NCSA report into the fi nal feasibility studies and into the National Plan for Solid Waste Management.

C.2.4 Second National Communication of the Republic of Macedonia towards the Climate Change Convention

Macedonia submitted its First National Communication to the UNFCCC Secretariat in March 2003. Now, there is an ongoing project to support the activities in this area and arrangements for preparation of the Second National Communication of the Republic of Macedonia, which is fi nancially supported by GEF and UNDP. Th is project has particular importance because it is focused on one of the three thematic areas of this NCSA report. Moreover, the target is to build capacities with commensurable implementation of the FCCC, meaning, the work can be streamlined towards elimination of herewith-identifi ed constraints. In this sense, it is necessary that these two project teams closely cooperate and enable synergetic eff ects.

C.2.5 National Strategy on BiodiversityTh is project is also completed and fi nancially assisted by GEF in cooperation with the

World Bank. Its target was to prepare a comprehensive country strategy for protection of the biological diversity with an action plan, which was preceded by a Study on Assessment of the Biodiversity Status and Needs Assessment. Within the project’s framework there were awareness raising campaigns and activities for establishing of the so-called clearing house mechanism for information exchange.

It is evident that this project gave remarkable opportunities for implementation of activities in line for eliminating of the constraints for realization of the Convention on the Biological Diversity. Although this project was a step ahead of the implementation of the NCSA project activities, the analysis presented herein shows that for the major part of the constraints there are already systemic solutions off ered in the project for development of the Strategy. Specifi cally a big eff ect should be expected of the implementation of the Strategy, for which the Government has already established a special body composed of relevant members, including ministers of the key sectors. Of particular importance is that the ‘clearing house mechanism’ be used for implementation of the recommendations which this report is presenting in the domain of information exchange as one of the areas with a capacity defi cit.

C.2.6 Protection of the Natural LakesTh e protection of the natural lakes in Macedonia is always amongst the top priorities of

the relevant sectors. Nevertheless, this does not mirror the results achieved. Activities that take precedence are those focusing on Lake Ohrid, although in the last few years the activities have been intensifi ed on the remaining two natural lakes. What is characteristic of these

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eff orts is their comprehensiveness, i.e. the tendency to realize project activities that can be summarized as integrated management and sustainable development. Activities carried out so far did not take too much into account the implementation of the three global environmental conventions, subject of this NCSA report, as a result of the overall attention given on the state level, but on the other hand some were recently ratifi ed (CCD for example).

Still, it should be noted that the activities actuated in the last two-three years seriously take into account the stipulations of the three conventions, maybe due to the fact that those are one of the criteria for securing fi nancial help of foreign donor funds, particularly the resources of GEF, but of the EU too.

In this regard, all ongoing and future activities, which will be realized in the context of the protection and ecosystem management of the three natural lakes, could signifi cantly contribute to eliminating the constraints identifi ed in this report as key to realization of the priority activities in the thematic areas. Also, the realization of these projects will in many ways contribute to the building of commensurable capacities for implementation of the conventions. Th is particularly can be achieved in the area of communication on an international, and before that, on a regional level, having in mind the fact that all three natural lakes are cross-border. Further, there are exceptional opportunities to strengthen the capacities for fi nancing and usage of international fi nancial funds, through realization of these and similar projects. Many of the activities will contribute to enriching the information baseline regarding the ecosystems of the three lakes, but for improvement of the monitoring systems, not only for the water, but also of the biological diversity. More detailed information of the particular ongoing and future activities focused on the natural lakes are given as an annex to this report.

C.2.7 Other international technical and fi nancial assistance Being a country in transition, the Republic of Macedonia receives big resources for

assistance in the sectors of environment, agriculture, forestry, water economy, and also other resources that indirectly can help in capacity building and elimination of the constraints for implementation of the three global environmental conventions.

Th e EU CARDS Programme, as successor of the PHARE Programme, in the yearly national plans since 2000, has regularly been allocating resources for the sectors of environment and natural resources. Th is programme has so far off ered possibilities for implementation of the global environmental conventions and approximation with the EU standards and legislation; moreover that was always one of the criteria for assistance granting. Two projects under CARDS 2001 have been mentioned above, while for CARDS 2003 the project on the River Vardar and Lake Dojran Integrated Management is farsighted. In the following period, this programme will provide funds for further legislation approximation and for strengthening of the capacities of the MEPP. In this regard, the MEPP should and must pay special attention for inclusion in such projects, of elements that are identifi ed in this report as priority activities in the capacity defi cit areas.

German bilateral assistance in the environmental sector is also very important, moreover because the technical assistance of the German government is subsequently complemented by considerable fi nancial assistance for implementation of the studies and strategies already prepared. Along with that, this cooperation provides good possibilities for inclusive implementation of the thematic priorities and eliminating the existing constraints, where in the technical assistance phase there are possibilities for building of appropriate capacities for implementation of the three conventions.

Besides the direct assistance in the environmental sector, the German cooperation is realized in the areas of agriculture and water economy, which in a direct way can secure appropriate benefi t in sense of this report’s recommendations. Regarding the process of


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decentralization, the German assistance in the area of preparation and implementation of local environmental action plans (LEAP) can be productive in the building of the appropriate institutional and personal capacities on a local level, which, as is described above, will have in the next period a bigger infl uence in the implementation of the international conventions at the national level.

Similarly there is the bilateral cooperation with Sweden, which is more focused on the agricultural sector and is more technical in its assistance. Yet, this can very much be used for the building of capacities for implementation of the priority activities in the domain of land degradation/desertifi cation. Th ese projects can also contribute to the elimination of the constraints existing in the area of information, development and transfer of technologies, etc. Within the framework of Swedish cooperation in the context of removing capacity-building constraints in the thematic areas, a particularly important role may be played by the forthcoming project for preparation of the National Sustainable Development Strategy. Namely, the MEPP is negotiating with the Swedish International Development Agency provision of technical assistance for development of this key strategic document in the country.

UNDP is amongst the most active donors in the areas that are the subject of the NCSA. In fact, the NCSA project itself is implemented with the assistance of this UN agency. Although the agency itself does not possess big possibilities for direct fi nancial arrangements, it can largely contribute in the building of the national capacities through securing of international expertise, technology transfer, hi-tech scientifi c and technical information, etc. On the other hand, their interest to help the local communities is directly in the function of helping the process of decentralization, which will also help in the building of appropriate capacities on a local level.

Apart from these several bilateral and multilateral donors, there are other organizations and countries active in Macedonia. Th e support provided by these partners should and must be used in line of strengthening and capacities building for implementation of the global conventions.

C.3 Possible projects identifi ed within the framework of the NCSA Opportunities that have been identifi ed within the framework of existing or already

planned programmes and projects are big in the function of necessary capacity building at the national, but also at the local, level too, for implementation of the global conventions, i.e. the priorities in the thematic areas. Yet, the biggest attention should be paid to the projects that could be implemented in the next period and which will be most directly in the function of removing constraints that exist and building the needed capacities.

Th e NCSA expert team made a serious and comprehensive analysis for identifying possible projects in each of the identifi ed capacity defi cit areas, breakdown according the capacity development goals.

C.3.1 National PolicyTwo common goals are defi ned in this area characteristic for the three thematic areas.

Th ose are: (1) reaching eff ective national planning; and (2) mainstreaming of the biodiversity, climate change and land degradation/desertifi cation concerns within the strategic plans and overriding priorities of the country – economic and social development and poverty eradication. Having in mind the hierarchical structure of the administration management, it seems that if appropriate results are not achieved in the area of national policy it would be diffi cult to implement any activities in other areas. Namely, the most important is to build the capacity that would have a capability to plan and prioritise. To achieve such objectives it is necessary to develop a great number of national strategic documents for diff erent segments

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of the thematic areas whereby the best plans shall be made that could be implemental in the next mid- to long-term period in the Republic of Macedonia.

In this capacity defi cit area the analysis shows that the biggest attention should be paid to the land degradation/desertifi cation thematic area. Th is foremost is the result of the fact that this convention is the latest to be ratifi ed in Macedonia and little attention has been given to its implementation. On the other hand, the administration had the least capacity, both institutional and individual, that could cope with this issue, which traditionally, even in the past, was not given enough time and attention in this country. Th e climate change thematic area is in a somewhat better situation in this respect yet it needs serious activities in the course of providing strategic documents. Th e situation is best with regards the biodiversity, which comes from relatively well-developed institutional and individual capacities that need intensively to be upgraded in the future.

Projects that in a synergetic sense could contribute utmost to capacity building and constraints removal for implementation of global conventions are those which have an integral character and rely on the principles of sustainability. In this sense, development of the environmental impact assessment studies is of particular importance, as will be necessary to develop qualitative and quantitative determination of the natural resources of the Republic of Macedonia as well to elaborate integral programmes for use of natural resources, which, as sectoral analysis of present state has shown, are used in a way that brings great damage to the environment as well as to the country’s economy.

C.3.2 Legal and regulatory frameworkIn the area of legislation, it seems that things are moving the fastest forward. However,

it needs to be stressed that this is not happening due to the need of implementing global Rio conventions, but due to the need and obligation for approximation of national legislation with the acquis communitaire. Th erefore within this capacity defi cit area there would already be many of the fastest moving projects that are underway or are planned to help in the creation of contemporary so-called European legislation wherein all requirements arising from the global conventions are fully taken into consideration.

In this area it shall be very important to pay attention not so much to the preparation of the new legislation, since the criteria are already set there, but rather to the implementation thereof, since the analysis of present conditions in the thematic areas has shown that is exactly the weakest link in the chain.

C.3.3 Incentive systems and economic and market instrumentsTh is area is identifi ed as capacity defi cit even at certain segments where it could be

said that practically there is no capacity. Th erefore, only one problem-overcoming objective is set and that is: development and introduction of incentive systems for promotion of Rio Conventions. Th at would be possible to implement only if this current project for capacity self-assessment is successfully implemented; after which it would be possible to proceed with the preparation of an integral programme for the operation of the national committees for the three Rio Conventions, which could have an infl uence on the appropriate inclusion of the thematic areas in the development plans of other sectors.

C.3.4 National and International FundingTh e issue of fi nancing is critical in every sector in the country and therefore neither

of the conventions’ implementation is an exception. In this area where defi nitely capacity is missing, not only in a sense of money shortage but capacity for creation of such mechanisms and their implementation in practice, two priorities are set: (1) improvement of national


69

funding systems for conventions implementation; and (2) enabled and/or improved access to international funding mechanisms for conventions related activities.

Achievement of the fi rst priority is closely related with the previous capacity defi cit area and therefore it is necessary that any kind of activities in this respect be synchronized. With regard to the second priority the situation is a little bit diff erent since the international mechanisms exist or will be established in the future and here Macedonia cannot infl uence anything particular as a country except, of course, within the framework of established rules in the international relations. What needs to be done is certainly the necessity of building individual and institutional capacity that would at best be able to understand and fulfi l the requirements defi ned as criteria for access to the international funds, and further the capacity for preparation of appropriate project documents. In this respect, it seems that Macedonia is missing a strategic document where the principles and country’s priorities in international cooperation in the domain of environment will be specifi ed, where the three thematic areas too, will fi nd appropriate place.

C.3.5 Technology Transfer Th e area that seems to have the biggest capacity defi cit is technological development,

i.e. technology transfer. Th is area for the reason that is characteristic for other sectors in the country too has the most multisectoral character and therefore the opportunities for capacity building could be very big if appropriately treated in all sectors. Although Macedonia does not have the possibility to allocate funding for development of domestic technologies, of great concern is the fact that large numbers of young and highly educated people leave the country and go abroad, in particular during the last decade. Th is process of ‘brain drain’ especially those from the natural and technical sciences should be immediately put on hold and therefore the country has as soon as possible to develop a strategy on how to do that. In such a strategy appropriate place should be given to the three thematic areas that are the subject of this report.

Further on, opportunities for overcoming the capacity defi cit in this area exist in the development of infrastructure that will provide continuous training and technology transfer, particularly in the direction of so-called environmentally friendly technologies in the three thematic areas. Also, it is necessary within the framework of international systems to understand well the opportunities for exchange of experts and technology transfer, which exist within the three conventions and for which the special funds have been established, which would mean that there is close relation between this and the area of international funding that was also identifi ed as a capacity defi cit area.

C.3.6 Institutional mandate, management capacity and performance Th is thematic area is closely linked to the national policies and legislation. Namely,

the institutions draw their mandate from the legally designated responsibilities, based on which they need to establish and develop appropriate organizational structures, including managerial. Th erefore, the solution of the capacity defi cit in this area must be implemented in coordination with the solution of the problems in these two areas. Th e key objectives that need to be achieved to build capacity in the domain of institutional mandate and management capacity are: (1) strengthening of the capacity of the relevant institutions; and (2) improvement of institutional cooperation and coordination.

Above it has already been explained that the process of European integration indirectly, i.e. with the approximation of legislation, will contribute to the development of appropriate institutions by precise defi nition of their mandate, i.e. responsibility as well for enhancement of the individual capacity, which includes management too.

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Yet, for strengthening the capacity of the institutions it will not be enough just to organize them in a contemporary way and staff them with quality personnel. It will be necessary to improve particularly the systems that will enable those institutions to exercise their responsibility, and that include research and systematic observation in the three thematic areas, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the monitoring networks, setting-up of systems for technical and personnel strengthening of the institutions, etc.

Institutional cooperation and coordination is one of the most important factors for success in the areas that have a multisectoral character, such as the three thematic areas of this report have. Th erefore it requires formalizing an appropriate infrastructure that will provide for unconstrained cross-sectoral cooperation and coordination, but that at the same time will promote international cooperation through involvement in the regional and other international networks for acquisition and exchange of data and information.

C.3.7 Monitoring and Data Management In this capacity defi cit area two development objectives that should enable capacity

building, have been identifi ed as follows: (1) improvement of monitoring systems; and (2) improvement of data management systems.

Th e Environmental Monitoring Strategy, developed within the framework of the EU fi nanced PHARE project ‘Strengthening the Capacity of the MEPP’, concluded that this area is one of the most advanced in the environmental sector, but on the other hand it identifi es a great number of obstacles agreed upon by the analysis made within the NCSA process too. Th e situation in the segment of the data management is similar too (Strategy for Environmental Data Management – as a result of the above-mentioned Project).

Hence, within the above-mentioned project, two very important strategies for environmental monitoring and for data management have been developed, wherein detailed recommendations for further development of these segments are given, which directly or indirectly include the three thematic areas of NCSA too. What remains to be done is to fully take into consideration the NCSA conclusions when implementing the two above-mentioned strategic documents.

In this respect, the proposed list of possible project activities, attached in full as an annex to this report, should be adjusted with the timing of implementation of the monitoring and data management strategies. Emphasis should be put on those proposed activities that are specifi c for the three thematic areas and have not been elaborated in detail within the strategies.

C.3.8 Public Awareness and Education Th is is another area where identifi ed capacity defi cit confi rms previous analysis and

research, made within the framework of other projects, for the level of public awareness of the environment in general. What is particular in this case is the focus of interest that is directed towards the three thematic areas of NCSA. As a result of the analysis made by the experts who worked on diff erent thematic areas, two development goals are designated that would help in removing constraints and capacity building for the implementation of the three global Rio conventions. Th e fi rst goal is (1) improvement of public awareness relating to Rio Conventions, while the second is (2) improvement of the education and training relevant to Conventions.

Having in mind that the above-mentioned project ‘Strengthening the Capacity of the MEPP’ has developed the strategy on public awareness raising, complemented by the strategy on communication, the same conclusion emerges again and again: that the accomplishment of the proposed activities by the NCSA should be in the context of the implementation of


71

these two strategies. Even more, in the thematic area of biodiversity, the MEPP has already implemented serious public campaigns for raising the awareness of the citizens on the importance of biodiversity. Subsequently this valuable experience should be used and the similar activities that would be specifi cally directed towards the presentations of the three conventions, obligations coming from them and the way in which these should be fulfi lled in practice should be continued with.

C.3.9 Scientifi c Expertise Th e area of scientifi c expertise is a very specifi c one by the character and its identifi cation

as a capacity defi cit area is distinct which has great importance for the three thematic areas of the NCSA. Analysis made within the thematic reports shows diff erent levels of scientifi c expertise in all three areas, with a single conclusion that further development, i.e. enhancement of the expertise and research, is necessary. Th is development objective however is distinct also because the administration alone could do little for the improvement of the situation without active involvement of the higher educational institutions in the country that need to understand the meaning of this issue and appropriately organize themselves for capacity building in the three thematic areas. Th is means that the activities needed to be undertaken for capacity building in this area are closely linked or in other words they are preceded by the activities for raising public awareness regarding the role of science, but also by the transfer of technology, appropriate funding treatment in the budget, etc.

72


Capacity development may be defi ned as: “process in which individuals, entities (groups, organizations and institutions) and systems (states or societies) increase their individual and collective capacities, in order to: (a) perform functions, resolve problems and defi ne and achieve goals; and (b) identify and manage their development needs in a sustainable way”.

Capacity development is a process of promoting changes for adoption of new duties, knowledge, behaviour, values and policies. Accordingly, managing changes, or change of capacities in an effi cient manner is strategically very important for sustainable development of organizations and societies. Th e key dimensions of capacity development are identifi ed on three levels – systemic, institutional and individual. Each of these levels has diff erent entry points, requiring diff erent types of intervention.

Th e basic approach in this process is that capacity development should be carried out with own resources. Complementary sources of technical and fi nancial support and multi- and bilateral donor aid should support the coordinated eff orts on national level.

A. Strategy for Capacity Development

Th e Strategy and the Action Plan for Capacity Development in the thematic areas of Biodiversity, Climate Change and Land Degradation/Desertifi cation is based on the results of the three separate Th ematic Assessment Reports and the Cross-cutting/Synergy Report, as well as on a series of workshops with stakeholders (relevant institutions, NGOs and individuals) whose suggestions and comments were taken into account.

Th e Strategy provides sustainability through identifi cation of overall objectives for capacity development, as well as a guideline for implementation regarding time, resources and basic indicators, as well as mechanisms and procedures for monitoring and evaluation of the progress.

Th e main objective of the Strategy is strengthening of the systemic, institutional and individual capacities for implementation of the three Rio Conventions.

Th e NCSA process has identifi ed nine areas of capacity defi cit on systemic, institutional and personal levels:

I. National policy;

II. Legal and regulatory framework;

V. STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN FOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT

73

III. Incentive systems and economic and market instruments;

IV. National and international funding;

V. Technology transfer;

VI. Institutional mandate, management capacity and performance;

VII. Monitoring and observation, data management;

VIII. Public awareness and education;

IX. Scientifi c expertise.

A.1 Capacity Development ObjectivesIn the common capacity development defi cit areas in the environmental sector the

following capacity development objectives were formulated:

1. Eff ective national planning reached

2. Biodiversity, climate change and land degradation/desertifi cation concerns inte-grated/mainstreamed within the strategic plans and overriding priorities of the country – economic and social development and poverty eradication

3. National legislation adapted to Rio Convention obligations

4. National legislation approximated to EU legislation

5. Incentive systems for promotion of Rio Conventions developed and introduced

6. National funding systems for Rio Conventions Improved

7. Access to Rio Conventions’ international funding mechanisms provided

8. Technology Transfer (TT) Capacity improved

9. Capacity of the relevant institutions responsible for management of resources in the three thematic areas strengthened

10. Institutional cooperation and coordination improved

11. Monitoring and observation systems improved

12. Data management systems improved

13. Pub lic awareness regarding Rio Conventions improved

14. Educational and training curricula in respect to Rio Conventions improved

15. Scientifi c expertise and research upgraded

A.2 Strategic PrinciplesTh e strategic principles have been developed based on the principles of the three Rio

Conventions, specifi c for the Republic of Macedonia, as well as the principles emerging from the cross-cutting/synergy analysis of the NCSA process. For accomplishment of the Overall Objective and the capacity development objectives, the responsible entities shall be governed by the following strategic principles:

− National ownership and leadership: Th e eff orts should be nationally owned, led and driven, including self-monitoring, self-evaluation and learning-by-doing. A high degree of national political commitment is essential.

74


− Multi-stakeholder consultations and decision making: National decision making should involve multiple stakeholders, particularly with a view to tackling intersecto-ral issues.

− Holistic approach to capacity building: All dimensions of capacity need attention – the individual, the institution and the systemic. A proper balance, therefore, needs to be established between all three, closely interlinked, levels. Capacity-building ef-forts should be realistic, recognize and build on existing strengths, knowledge and experience.

− Integration of capacity building in wider eff orts to achieve sustainable develop-ment: Capacity development must be integrated with ongoing initiatives to enhance capacities for broader environmental managements and for sustainable development in general.

− Promotion of partnerships: Meeting capacity-building needs is an immense and urgent task requiring a collective eff ort that draws upon the comparative advantages of the multiple stakeholders to maximize impact and create synergies.

− Dynamic nature of capacity building: Capacity building is a dynamic process with many facets: mobilization of existing potential; conversion or adjustment of exist-ing capacity; creation of new capacity; and fi nally capacity succession. Th erefore, adequate monitoring and evaluation techniques are essential for adaptive manage-ment.

− A learning-by-doing approach to capacity building: Capacity-building eff orts should be supported by a variety of tools and methodologies. Th ese could range from the more traditional methods to capacity building (such as workshops, in-service technical training) to those that off er greater scope both methodologically and institutionally (such as networking, horizontal exchanges and cooperation, is-sue-based scientifi c networks, etc.).

B. Action Plan

Reaching the Overall Objective and the fi fteen capacity development objectives may be partly be realized by implementation of the Action Plan for Capacity Development. In the course of elaboration of the Action Plan, besides the common and the cross-cutting capacity development objectives, identifi ed development objectives in the three thematic assessments have also been taken into account.

Th e fi nancial requirements for implementation of the AP, shall primarily be provided for from the national fi nancial sources, namely from the National Budget and the budgets of the municipalities. To secure this, the capacity development activities foreseen in the Action Plan should become part of the regular annual programmes of the respective ministries and other responsible institutions and organizations along with their budgetary programmes.

Th e ongoing and planned future projects in the environment and similar sectors, fi nanced not only from domestic sources, and especially the bilateral and multilateral technical support projects, may be an important source of funding.

Th e mechanisms of the three UN Conventions, mainly through GEF, should represent the most signifi cant funding sources.

Th e activities in the Action Plan are systematized according to the priority in the nine capacity defi cit areas. Th e activities in the Action plan are planned for a period of fi ve years, namely from 2005 to 2009.


75

Th e activities shown in the Action Plan shown in the following table are further developed as ‘project profi les’ in which a short activity description is given, the time-frame for implementation, tentative budget, expected results, indicators, responsible institutions, etc. Th e project profi les are attached to this Report as Annex 1.

Th e tabular presentation is used in this document in order to show the basic information on the activities proposed in order to achieve the overall and the specifi c capacity-development objectives. Th e information in the table columns has the following meaning:

− ID Number – Identifi cation number of activity, clearly indicating the connection with the area of capacity defi cit, as well as the development objective

− Activity – Title of the particular activity/measure− Budget – tentative cost of the activity, in millions of €

ID No. ActivityResponsible

Institution

Starting

YearBudget

I_1_1 Strategy for international cooperation (especially in the three thematic areas)MEPP/SEI-MFA

2005/6 €0.12м

I_1_2National Strategy for combating land degradation/ desertifi cation with National Action Plan (NAP), (including socio-economic impacts of land degradation)

MAFWE/MEPP-МТСП-ME-MF

2006 €0.5м

I_2_3Strategy for sustainable management with degraded areas (use of natural resources, quantitative and qualitative identifi cation of natural resources, Institutional functional analysis, development of GIS, wetlands)

MEPP-MAFWE-ME/PE-PS-LG-RGA

2007 €0.86м

III_1_4 Development of tax and customs incentives for environmentally friendly technologiesMF-ME/

MEPP-MAFWE2005 €0.3м

IV_1_5Development of criteria and procedures for fi nancing projects in environmental sector (especially in the three thematic areas)

MEPP/MF

2005/6 €0.15м

IV_2_6Establishment of information system for promotion of fi nancial programmes and instruments

MEPP-АИ/SEI-MFA

2006/7 €0.3м

V_1_7Strategy for implementation of environmentally recommendable and economically feasible technologies in the three thematic areas (with development of criteria and procedures)

MEPP/MAFWE-ME

2006 €0.1м

V_1_8 Establishment of a national technology transfer centre ВРМ/

ME-MF-ESI2008 €2.0м

VI_1_9Training programme for the personnel in the governmental institutions regarding implementation of obligations of the three conventions

MEPP- MAFWE-ME/CSA-ESI

2005 €0.1м

VI_1_10Programme for training and strengthening of the capacity of the personnel on local level for implementation of the obligations of the three conventions

MEPP-MAFWE-ME/CSA-МLG-LG

2005 €0.5м

VI_2_11Establishment of a committee for coordination of the implementation of Rio Conventions

ВРМ/MEPP-MAFWE-

ME-MF2005 €0.1м

VII_1_12National programme for monitoring and data management in the three thematic areas (observation and measuring methodologies and research)

MEPP/MAFWE-MH-AHMW-

HBI-PHPI2006 €0.5м

VII_1_13 Creating national monitoring network (for the three thematic areas)MEPP/

MAFWE-MH-AHMW-HBI

2007 €0.14м

VII_2_14Development of national system of indicators for monitoring of the state in the three thematic areas

MEPP 2006 €0.25

Table 6. Action Plan for Capacity Development

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ID No. ActivityResponsible

Institution

Starting

YearBudget

VII_2_15 Establishment of mechanisms for cooperation between data management institutionsMEPP/

MAFWE-MH-MES-AHMW-HBI-ESI

2005 €0.1

VIII_1_16Integrated programme for public awareness increase for the three Rio Conventions (education, training, public campaign, polls and surveys, publication of popular scientifi c publications, joint web page, local government)

MEPP/MES-MAFWE-ME-

NGOs2006 €1.5м

VIII_2_17Programme for integration of biodiversity, land degradation/desertifi cation and climate change issues in the education programmes at all levels

MES/MEPP-MAFWE-ESI

2007 €0.1 м

IX_1_18Strategy for intensifying research in three thematic areas (introducing comprehensive research and study methodologies, fi nancing scientifi c-research activities, support of young scientists)

MES/ESI-MEPP-MAFWE

2006 €0.14 м

X_1_19National vulnerability assessment of the wetland ecosystems within the process of global climate change

MEPP/ESI-НВО-individual

experts2006 €0.5 м

C. Strategy and Action Plan Implementation

Th e Strategy and Action Plan for capacity development in the areas of biodiversity, climate change and land degradation/desertifi cation shall be implemented eff ectively, based on the objective capacity of the Republic of Macedonia, supported by national and international experts, with fi nancial funds from the national budget and foreign aid.

Th e leading ministry for implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan, in accordance with the legal provisions shall be the MEPP, with involvement of other relevant ministries. Having in mind the complexity of the issues in the three Rio Conventions and their inherence to other ministries, it is recommended that the Government establish a National Steering Committee, as a continuation of the NCSA Steering Committee, and regulate the issues of composition, number of members and its responsibilities. Th e Steering Committee would directly cooperate with existing National Committees for biodiversity and climate change, as well as with the Committee for Combating Land Degradation and Desertifi cation, when such is established.

Th e MEPP shall continue to support the work of the Steering Committee in the period of implementation of the Action Plan. Th is may be carried out by establishing a Working Group composed of the three conventions’ focal points. Th is WG may be logistically supported by some of the MEPP’s Departments (preferably the one responsible for international cooperation). In this sense the MEPP shall continue to play main role in the process of monitoring and evaluation. Th e mandate and the responsibility of the WG would be the following:

− Coordination and monitoring of the Strategy and Action Plan implementation;− Development of indicators for monitoring of the implementation;− Cooperation with partner institutions responsible for implementation of the SAP;− Preparation of annual reports, to be presented to the Steering Committee for adop-

tion;− Provide regular update of the web page, with information and data from the three

thematic areas;− Organize Steering Committee meetings.


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D. Monitoring and evaluation of the action plan implementation

All stakeholders should be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the plan, with or without the assistance of the donor community, primarily UNDP/GEF. Th e schedules and targets identifi ed in the Action Plan will provide the framework for monitoring the implementation. Monitoring activities should include:

− preparation of regular (annual) progress reports, to be distributed to all stakehold-ers, but in fi rst place to the Steering Committee for its evaluation and approval;

− holding a monitoring and evaluation workshop, 12 months after approval of the NCSA report and respective action plan, in order to discuss progress, to identify possible progress constraints and measures for overcoming such;

Th e process of monitoring and evaluation will support the implementation of the activities identifi ed within the NCSA report and Action Plan as well as their periodical up-dating. Certainly, the process of monitoring and evaluation has equal importance as the process of self-assessment itself.

What is monitoring and evaluation? In principle, monitoring of the eff ectiveness of any activity and bringing to light its benefi t is something that everyone is familiar with, whether being aware of that or not. As a controlled process monitoring and evaluation enables better understanding of the eff ects of the activities that are implemented. In brief the process of monitoring and evaluation is providing information if:

− Th e activity is achieving desired goals− Th e implementation conforms with the initial wider and specifi c goals− Th e implementation is progressing towards the expected results− Th e time-frame is respectedTh e process of monitoring and evaluation requires regular information and analysis on

the key issues for the duration of the planned activities. Based on the present conditions this process encompasses progress reporting on expected results through establishment of the relationship between the activity and expected result by permanent revision of the plan. Certainly the process of monitoring and evaluation should involve all stakeholders at the same level in which they have participated, within the process of developing NCSA and Action Plan.

Such a process does not detract much from the approach engaged for the development of the NCSA and in practice should mean that the stakeholders shall continue their cooperation as well in the monitoring and evaluation. Th is would guarantee wide acceptance of any activity undertaken in the process of implementation.

D.1 NCSA Monitoring and Evaluation Scheme As mentioned above, all stakeholders who participated in the NCSA process should

be involved in the process of monitoring and evaluation, as well. Usually these should be the members of the diff erent working groups, in this case thematic working groups, but also the members of the Steering Committee, relevant governmental institutions and other stakeholders. Involvement of the same stakeholders that have identifi ed the barriers in the process of implementation of the identifi ed opportunities has a particular advantage in the context of expected success, since the eff ectiveness is evaluated on the basis of the present conditions.

However, since the NCSA project is performed in many ways on the basis of commercial contracts with diff erent experts, the system for monitoring and evaluation should be somehow

78


modifi ed to comply with the basic principles. In this sense it is proposed that the structure shown in the fi gure below be organized and supported by the MEPP as a focal point for this exercise.

Other stakeholders, as shown in the diagram (which does not comprise an exhaustive list of possible stakeholders and welcomes any interested party), should be proactive in the implementation of the NCSA Action Plan and for those activities, they are expected to submit their occasional reports on the implementation of diff erent projects or relevant achievements in their sectors. Th ese inputs will be highly valuable for the monitoring and evaluation WG that will appropriately include them in the annual Progress Report.

One of the mechanisms for evaluation of the implementation, apart from the Steering Committee, may be the organization of workshops, where participants may review the plan of actions and come with new proposals, since the Action Plan should be a dynamic document which needs to be updated on a regular basis, to incorporate possible new developments in any area.


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Figure 3. Monitoring and Evaluation Scheme

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Documents

MACEDONIA’S NATIONAL CAPACITY NEEDS SELF ......Disclaimer Th e opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reﬂ ect the opinions of UNDP or