On December 3, 2015 was held the final event within the project “Technical assistance for strengthening the institutional capacity to harmonize and implement the legislation in the field of water management”. The event was attended by Mr Stevo Temelkovski, the Deputy Minister of Environment and Physical Planning, and HE Aivo Orav, the EU Ambassador in Macedonia.
“This project is an important contribution to the sustainable development of the country. It contributed for the strengthening of the capacities of the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, in particular, the Water Sector and other concerned institutions in the field of water management. The project helped for implementation and further transposition of EU water legislation through the preparation of priority laws in the field of water management in accordance with the Water Framework Directive, strengthening the administrative capacity at central level, for the implementation of legislation on water and for making of the management plan for the basin of the river Vardar” said the deputy minister Temelkovski, adding that it is a step forward in the further implementation of WFD and strengthening the process of integration into the European Union.
On 10th November, 2015 a consultation meeting with CSOs regarding the IPA II – Civil Society Facility Programming for 2016-2017, organised by the EU Delegation took place at the EU Delegation in Skopje.
Mr. Martin Klaucke Head of Cooperation and Mrs. Irena Ivanova from EU Delegation in Skopje and more than 40 CSOs representatives of country wide participated at the meeting. Mr. Nicola Bertolini, Head of Sector, Western Balkans and Turkey – Regional Cooperation & Programme Unit, DG NEAR also participated at this consultation meeting.
The main topics of the discussion were related to current achievements and the plan for IPA II for the period 2016-2017. As presented, the total budget for the Civil Society Facility Programme for 2016-2017 for Macedonia would be 6.3 million Euros, allocates under the following types of actions: Support to enabling environment to CSO (2016-2017), Support to the national resource centre (2016), Support to civil society sector networking mechanism (2017), and supporting measures (2016-2017).
Based on the suggestions presented in these consultative meetings, the IPA II programme with defined priorities and calls is expected to be completed by March 2016. What is new about Macedonia regarding the IPA II is that UNDP will be the partner of the programme, and the implementation will be managed by the Government (Ministry of Finance and other referent ministries). The approval of the IPA II programme is planned for April 2016, while the announcement of calls is foreseen to start in the second half of 2016, or at the beginning of 2017.
As presented by the key speakers, the focus of IPA II would be put on the sustainability segment of the action after the end of projects. It is interesting to mention that TACSO office in Macedonia will be closed in 2017, after which its role will be executed by the Resource centre, while the key direction will be given by the regional TACSO office from Sarajevo.
Another important component of the IPA II programme would definitely be the re-granting, as a compulsory element of all IPA II calls. The ENV.net Macedonia representative used the opportunity to share the ENV.net project re-granting experience, which was welcomed by both participants and representatives from the EU Delegation in Skopje.
Aside from the main topic of consultation, participants were also welcomed to address other topics of joint interest related to the enabling environment for civil society in the country.
Following the Seminar for media that was organised in October 2015. by the ENV.net team Serbia, with the support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia, Environmental Ambassadors for Sustainable Development published a brochure with the title: Media on Environment and Climate Change in Serbia (Chapter 27 in EU accession). Publication is available in Serbian: Izveštavanje o životnoj sredini i klimatskim promenama
ENV.net team participated on the common meeting in the Macedonian Government – Secretariat for European Affairs regarding the publication and presentation of the Progress report for Republic of Macedonia.
The team proposed the same meetings for each Chapter from the report to be organised in next short period, reason is CSOs participation in building the Action plan towards better and real implementation of the EU acquis.
European Commission Enlargement Strategy, Progress Report on the Republic of Macedonia and discussion about next steps with the civil society organisations.
Today at the Secretariat for European Affairs on the occasion of the publication of the European Commission Enlargement Strategy and the Progress report on the Republic of Macedonia, was held a discussion with representatives of civil society organisations on the topic: “European Commission Enlargement Strategy, Progress Report on the Republic of Macedonia and discussion about next steps with the civil society organisations”.
Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs at the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, Fatmir Besimi PhD, speaking at the discussion about the undertaken steps after receiving the Progress Report, the results from the initial analysis prepared by the Secretariat for European Affairs and planned further steps toward progress achievement until the December EU Council, stressed the importance of European Commission’s preparedness for start of the accession negotiations mentioned in the Report, which is of great importance for the region and for the Republic of Macedonia.
The Government of the Republic of Macedonia remains committed to this strategic interest and will carefully consider any recommendations from the European Commission in the Government’s plan to implement urgent reform priorities. The representatives of civil society organizations had welcomed the discussion and also highlighted their opinions and views on the challenges noted in the Report. The Secretariat for European Affairs announced that the separate discussions with civil society regarding the key findings of the report shall continue in the future.
Env.net project partner TEMA attended the Climate Forum organized in Istanbul on 12-13 November. The aim of the Forum was to send a strong message to the World Leaders attending the G20 Summit in Antalya before the UNFCCC COP21 in Paris. As shared through Env.net channels previously, last September, Turkey announced its INDCs for the Climate Conference which with the currently planned rate of increase in the emissions, per capita emissions in 2030 will be around 10 ton CO2eq. The projection will allow Turkey’s emissions to increase at an even faster rate to its growth over the previous ten years. And if the reduction targeted by EU between now and 2030 is also taken into account, Turkey’s yearly per capita emissions would be at least double of the EU towards 2030.
We are very glad to announce a new open call for proposals, titled ‘Local Problems, Local Solutions: Grant Program for Environmental Public Participation’ for Turkey.
The deadline for applications is 18 December 2015 at 17h00 (Turkish time)
The main aim of this call is to make awareness among citizens and influence public sector reform processes on the approximation of target countries to the EU environmental standards.
Actions aiming to establish active participation of citizens in addressing their local environmental concerns and to support their integration into decision making processes will be covered by this call.
Download the application package for instructions and the application forms (in Turkish).
The applications MUST be sent by e-mail to envnet@tema.org.tr by 18 December 2015 at 17h00 hours (Turkish time)
Questions related to the call for proposals must be sent by e-mail no later than 15 December 2015, to envnet@tema.org.tr indicating clearly the reference of the Call for Proposals.
In September 2015. United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which established a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030.
A two-day conference on the implementation of the SDGs in Europe and the UNECE region was held on 12-13 November, 2015. in Brussels. The conference was organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB). The conference was attended by high-level speakers from the UN and European institutions as well as representatives from civil society organisations and other stakeholders, including a representative from the Environmental Ambassadors for Sustainable Development.
At the conference were discussed major challenges on how to put SDGs into practice set by the new agenda globally as well as for Europe; United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA); and Opportunities for Engagement of Major Groups and Stakeholders (MGS), etc.
At the 2015 UNEP Regional Consultation for Europe (RCM) with Major Groups and Stakeholders (MGS) from the UNECE region discussion was held on how to prepare the positions for the preparation of the second session of the United Nation Environment Assembly (UNEA-2) to be held in May 2016 in Nairobi.
The presence of Mr. Bertolini in Skopje was used also to hold a meeting of all FPA Grantees from Macedonia in order to discuss the activities of the networks (realised, ongoing and forthcoming), but also to talk about the sustainability aspect – what are the plans for continuation of the initiatives after the official conclusion of the projects?
The ENV.net representative from Macedonia used this opportunity to present the achievements and outputs of the ENV.net project including the advocacy tool, training courses for CSO organised in each of the partners’ countries, e-learning courses, and the monitoring matrix, the bi-monthly bulletin as a tool for dissemination, re-granting, and the policy paper.
It was stressed that the re-granting process itself is a very good learning exercise for all parties involved, and the representative from the EU Delegation in Skopje suggested using ENV.net example as a case of best practice, especially when they start with implementation of projects with compulsory re-granting component.
Specifically about Macedonia, we pointed out several important achievements, like the establishment of the Platform for Green Macedonia, our established good communication with local governments and the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, as well as the latest initiative for amending of the Law on Environment (one of the key laws in the area of horizontal environmental legislation of the Republic of Macedonia), which would prevent construction or reconstruction of facilities of heavy and polluting industries at a distance of less than five kilometres from urban or protected natural area.
Pertaining to the aspect of sustainability of ENV.net, we stated that there are ongoing discussions among the partners related to restructuring of the network and involvement of key stakeholders, especially experts and representatives from the scientific community and other relevant bodies. However, we pointed out that our plans and considerations of how ENV.net will progress after the completion of the project will be elaborated at the forthcoming conference in Brussels, envisaged for January, 2016.
On November 6, 2015 in Skopje was organised a high-level International ministerial conference “Towards the Climate Summit in Paris in 2015, challenges for the CEI member states.”
The Conference where more than 150 high-ranking participants, including 9 delegations at ministerial level of the Member States of the CEI, 16 representatives of embassies in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as many scientific institutions, international and domestic NGOs, exchanged experiences and views on the challenges faced by member states of the CEI’s efforts to achieve low-carbon growth was officially opened by the Minister of Environment and Physical Planning, Mr. Nurhan IzairiWith its INDC, Macedonia by 2030 is aiming for a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels for 30%, or 36% for a higher level of ambition compared to the reference scenario. For the period 2015-2030, investments needed for implementation of the scenario for climate change mitigation are estimated at 4.2 billion euros, while for realisation of a more ambitious mitigation scenario, the estimated amount is around 4.5 billion euros. However, as it was pointed at the Conference, the implementation of national policies and measures to mitigate climate change will depend on the involvement of the private sector, access to new sources of funding and increased international support.
The Conference adopted a Declaration, which expressed readiness for mutual cooperation in order to achieve the so-called “greener” growth for the CEI region.
The round-table panel discussions, held during the second part of the Conference, were focused on the following topics: The role of science as a trigger for lower emissions of CO2; Need for reforms in the educational system aimed at preparing future generations for the challenges associated with climate change; Raising public awareness by building a low-carbon society philosophy for each individual;
Acceptance of the model of low-carbon economy, etc. The Conference was supported by the Secretariat of the CEI, the Regional Environmental Center (REC), Milieukontakt and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
Source: http://bit.ly/1lM3SEa
Representatives of ENV.net team from Macedonia participated in the National Roundtable on Cost recovery and CBA in Waste Sector, held on 27-29 October, 2015 in Skopje. This event was organised by the European Commission’s DG Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations within the framework of the TAIEX Instrument.
The aim of the roundtable was to provide practical knowledge on experience of the EU Member States and support establishment of cost-recovery mechanism in the country, with focus on several key objectives related to legal basis and institutional mechanisms for tariff setting, impacts of cost recovery for investment projects planning, provision of information on economic incentives for better waste management supporting achievement of waste recycling, biodegradable waste diversion and other targets as required by the EU waste management law, identification of steps for establishment of national cost recovery system in waste sector.
