EU Projects And The Nature Of Serbia

Reconstruction and expansion of wastewater collection and treatment plants.

The treatment plant, as the citizens of Subotica popularly call the wastewater treatment plant, has in a short time become a symbol of environmental protection in the entire region of Subotica. A modern, energy-efficient wastewater treatment plant was created in just two years - from September 2007 to September 2009, and enables the protection of surface waters in the region, and thus Lake Palić, which is the tourist center of the area.

One of the biggest environmental problems in Serbia over the years has been the pollution of theGrand Bačka Canal, from where the water flows into the Tisza River and then ends up in the Danube. In order to solve this problem, with the support of the EU, a central wastewater treatment plant of the Grand Bačka Canal was built. Today, canal cleaning is in its third phase, and one of the biggest challenges for improving the environment is being solved slowly but surely.

When we talk about improving the quality of life of citizens, the establishment of an appropriate system of collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater in Leskovac was of the utmost importance. About 85,000 inhabitants of Leskovac have a healthier life through this EU project, because improved sanitary conditions have led to a reduction in the risk to public health. Also, both surface and underground springs are protected, and the 23-kilometer water supply network leading to the settlements in the north of the city has been expanded.

Pure Sava is of the greatest importance for the nature of Serbia. With the support of the EU, Sabac now has a wastewater treatment plant, which provides protection and better quality of the surface waters of the Sava River by treating the collected and transported industrial and municipal wastewater. In this way, not only is the Sava cleaned, but further pollution of groundwater and surface water that reaches every part of our ecosystem is prevented.

The quality of drinking water is of the utmost importance for the population of every city. With the support of the EU, a plant for conditioning drinking water was built in Indjija - the so-called Water Factory. Thus, the municipality of Indjija has provided quality drinking water for its population, in accordance with the standards of the European Union.

Solid waste management

As many as 260,000 people in and around Subotica will have a healthier environment, thanks to a new regional landfill that enables waste separation, recycling and composting. This regional waste management system covers the City of Subotica and the municipalities of Senta, Kanjiža, Bačka Topola, Mali Iđoš, Čoka and Novi Kneževac. With the support of the EU, three transfer stations, recycling yards in each municipality and a large sanitary landfill located 20 kilometers from Subotica were built.

The project, which was implemented in the Pirot district, in which about 100,000 people live, is considered one of the most important in the field of environmental protection - largely due to the tourist potential of Stara Planina. The construction of the regional landfill has contributed to reducing the number of landfills and improving the quality of air and groundwater, and the introduction of secondary separation is planned, which will enable recycling. With an EU donation, the municipalities of Pirot, Babusnica, Bela Palanka and Dimitrovgrad reached an agreement on the construction of a Regional Solid Waste Management Center. The Pirot regional landfill is located on the Muntina padina site and covers the entire Pirot district.

Large amounts of accumulated garbage can be seen less and less in the municipalities of Uzice, Cacak, Pozega, Lucani, Cajetina, Ivanjica, Arilje, Bajina Basta and Kosjeric. With EU support, these municipalities have reached an agreement on the establishment of a Regional Waste Management Center. The regional center is of great importance for this area because it performs both recycling and recycling of secondary raw materials that can be purchased at the same place. The Duboko regional landfill covers all nine municipalities with a population of 360,000. Transfer stations in Čačak and transfer points on the territory of each of these nine municipalities receive about 80,000 tons of waste during the year.

Thanks to the work of the regional landfill Srem-Macva, which was built with a donation from the European Union, the number of landfills in this region was reduced and the wild landfill "Dudara" was closed, which existed near the center of Sabac for 23 years! Today, about 200,000 citizens of Sabac, Sremska Mitrovica and surrounding places have cleaner air, cleaner land and a cleaner Sava River. The Regional Center for Solid Waste Management also has a transfer station in Sabac, where waste is collected, and a sanitary landfill "Jarak" in Sremska Mitrovica, with infrastructure that is in line with European standards.

Rehabilitation and Expansion of water supply systems.

Thanks to the expansion of the water supply system in Petrovac na Mlavi and the rehabilitation of the existing problems of this system, today it is possible to facilitate the development of the local economy, as well as a better quality of life for the inhabitants of this municipality. With the support of the EU and the help of local authorities, as many as 232,000 people have been provided with a better standard of living and better working conditions, both in Petrovci na Mlavi and in the surrounding villages.

Reconstruction of the water supply system in Pozarevac, with the support of the EU, has provided better water quality for people living in the area. Not only that - a precondition has been created for the expansion of the water supply system in more villages, and a stable water supply for the food industry and other production needs has been provided.

As part of the large Morava project, a regional water supply system was built for the first time in the municipalities of Velika Plana and Smederevska Palanka. Thanks to the support of the EU, today as many as 70,000 citizens from these two municipalities and surrounding villages are supplied with water from this system.

Today, 225,000 citizens of Valjevo, Lazarevac, Ub, Mionica and Lajkovac in the district of Kolubara can use a functional and integrated water supply system without any worries. The integration of several water supply systems and their transformation into a technically, financially and institutionally sustainable regional supply system was made possible through a project co-financed by the EU, municipalities in the region and the Government of Serbia.

Today, the central water treatment plant in Krusevac and its surroundings is located in the settlement of Majdevo and supplies drinking water to the entire city of Krusevac and the neighboring three municipalities. Thanks to this water purification plant, which was built with the support of the EU, as many as 250,000 citizens from this region today have the correct drinking water that is taken from the accumulation lake "Ćelije" which is located on the river Rasina.

Ash disposal system in the thermal power plant Nikola Tesla B.

The long-awaited modernization of the ash transport and disposal plant in TENT B not only enabled savings in the use of coal - but also resulted in a reduction of the emission of solid particles into the air of Obrenovac and its surroundings by as much as six times. The EU-funded project has more than significantly increased the energy efficiency of the plant and reduced pollution in Obrenovac and the surrounding area.

Nitrogen oxide emission reduction project from the Nikola Tesla A thermal power plant.

One of the most important environmental projects within the TENT System is the project of reducing nitrogen oxides on block A4 of the Thermal Power Plant "Nikola Tesla". With the support of the EU, the goal was achieved that all power plants of this thermal power plant be at a satisfactory level and in accordance with EU parameters.

New environmental quality control stations.

The densest network and the best air monitoring system in the Balkans have found their place in Serbia. It all started when the European Union financed the installation of 28 measuring stations for automatic air quality monitoring and the purchase of analytical measuring instruments, the system was completed with the subsequent purchase of an additional 12 stations. An integrated system of automatic monitoring was also introduced, also with the help of the EU, which enabled citizens to follow data on air quality from home in real time and on the entire territory of Serbia.

New times require new and precise means to reach beyond the required standards of environmental quality control. Thus, the Environmental Protection Agency of the Republic of Serbia, with the support of the EU, received new equipment for determining the quality of water and air for the National Laboratory for Water, Air and Soil Analysis.

Introduction of a medical waste management system.

Two important projects that have contributed to the entire public health sector in Serbia have been implemented with the support of the EU. Thanks to these projects, a system has been established that helps solve the big problem of medical waste management and processing.

Natura 2000.

Biological and natural diversity is one of the basic principles of conservation of any ecosystem. The European Ecological Network, Natura 2000, is the backbone of the EU's policy for nature conservation and biodiversity, and is conceived as a broad European network of protected natural areas. NATURA was designed on the basis of the European Habitats Directive, while the EU twinning project enabled the establishment of that system for nature protection in Serbia, and Natura 2 is planned, which will enable further work on nature conservation in Serbia.