Serbian Environmental Protection Agency
Meeting on Environmental Assessments
16-17 April 2013
Geneva, Switzerland
Elizabeta Radulovic
EEA NRC SOE Serbia
Serbian Environmental Protection Agency

Content of presentation







General notes
Legal Basis for SOER
Institutional mechanisms
Structure and content
Publications, dissemination
Links with other reports
Use & evaluation of reports

General notes
 SOERs produced from 2005, published since 2006, cover period:
2003-2011 (SOER for 2012 is in preparation now)
 Produced on a yearly basis
 Fundamental document in the area of environmental protection in the Republic of Serbia
 Gives a general overview of the state of environment in the country.
 Assessment of the current situation, together with recommendations and measures to be taken
 International comparison: Eurostat, EEA, OECD, UNECE

available on www.sepa.gov.rs
Serbian language only

General notes - SEPA



S erbian E nvironmental P rotection A gency was founded in
November 2004 within the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

25 employees
Agency is managed by the director, currently it has 80 employees
(after government reconstruction 2011. and new Law on
Ministries, when Environmental Sector from Hydrometeorological
Service crossed to the Agency).
Agency’s main tasks are:

 to collect and integrate environmental data, to develop an information system for environmental protection,



 to monitor air and water quality, to manage national laboratory, to create reports on the state of the environment, to cooperate with European Environmental Agency and other international organizations

Legal basis
 The Environmental Protection Law
("Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 135/04)
 Article 76.
Environmental State Report
The Government shall annually report to the National assembly on environmental state in the Republic.
Environmental Protection Agency prepare report...
 Law on Amendments to the Law on Environmental Protection
("Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 36/09)
 By-law on National List of Indicators
("Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 37/2011)

Legal basis
 Article 77 (Law on Environmental Protection, with Amendments)
Contents of Environmental State Report
The report from Article 76 of this Law shall particularly contain data about:
1) State and changes in the environment based on data and information obtained by monitoring appropriate indicators ;
2) Implementation of Strategy, National program and action plans;
3) Rehabilitation plans and other measures undertaken;
4) Financing the system of environment protection;
5) Other data which are relevant for management of natural values and environmental protection.

Institutional mechanisms in accordance with Environment Information Pyramid
 for each environmental topic many providers of data
 SEPA is responsible for drafting the SOER

Institutional mechanisms
Ingredients for Report:
 SEPA is responsible governmental organization for establishing and maintaining Information System for Environmental Protection
 Set of independent monitoring networks already existing on local, regional and national level is the base of the Information system on the environment

“Topic manager” (SEPA)
 deadline for delivering data to SEPA – 31. March

+
SEPA’s monitoring data (automatic air quality, allergen pollen, water quality)
 National Pollution Register data (web aplication for Operator Reporting)
 Data from Waste Reporting (web aplication for Operator Reporting)

Institutional mechanisms
Improving process of data collection and delivery procedures to EEA:
Project “Assisting the Serbian Environmental Protection Agency in strengthening the National EIONET network”
11 main providers:

Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia

Republic Hydrometeorological Service

Institutes of Public Health

Institute of Nature Protection

Province of Vojvodina, Secretariat for
Environmental Protection,

Faculties
11 others providers status: in establishing…

Structure and content applying the D-P-S-I-R structure, Report for 2006.
applying the DPSIR model
Each topic contains:


Key message
Data & analysis
 Conclusions & recommendations
According to
Guidelines for preparation of indicator-based environment assessment reports

Structure and content
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
EXCELLENT
SO2 NO2 Soot
GOOD ACCEPTABLE POLLUTED VERY POLLUTED
Graph 78. Assessment of air quality in 2009 by applying the AQI_S_07
2009. Report

Structure and content
 Report for 2010, 2011 - applying indicator structure, according to
By-law on National List of Indicators
 81 National indicators (31 CSIs)
10 Topics: 56 Indicators, CSI: 22
 Air and Climate
 Water quality
 Biodiversity
 Soil and Agriculture
 Waste and Material Flows
 Forests, hunting and fishing
 Renewable resources
 Economic and Social Pressures
 Environmental Financing
 Implementation of legislation

Structure and content
Air : Exceedance of air quality limit values in urban areas

Structure and content
Climate Change: Air Temperature & Atmospheric Precipitation

Structure and content
Water Quality: Nutrients and oxygen-consuming substances in rivers
Key message: The analysis of the trends of concentrations of these parameters by using the non-parameter Mann-Kendall test (

=0,05) has shown that for the BOD
5 parameter there is no important decreasing or increasing trend of the growth of concentration (insignificant trend) for the water areas of the
Danube and the Morava rivers or a decreasing trend for the water area of the Sava river
(improved quality).

Structure and content
Water Quality: SWQI (Serbian Water Quality Index)

Structure and content
Biodiversity: Designated areas
With five national parks, 14 parks of the nature and 73 reserves, the protected natural resources make up over 5% of the territory of Serbia.

Structure and content
Environmental Financing
Financing sources and economic instruments of environmental protection in 2011.
Estimated funding for environmental protection in the Republic of Serbia in the period 2009-2011.
(in% of GDP)
Subtopics:
Expenditure from budget
Fees Income Serbian`s Fund
Fees Income Local government's Fund
Investments of economic sectors
International financial assistance
Subsidies