Enhancing Access to Information and Public Participation in Environmental Decision-making UNDP-GEF Danube Regional Project, Project Output 3.

Demonstration project in Bor, Serbia and Montenegro

The town Bor is mining industrial center in east Serbia, S&, which industrial and communal wastewaters pollute water currents, river coasts and surroundings. Sources of wastewaters are: 1. Households (organic substances) 2. Surface and underground copper mines Wastewaters from technological processes (low PH value, suspended particles, heavy metals), Drainage waters from tailing pond (low PH value, suspended particles, heavy metals), Waters from mining digs (low PH value, heavy metals) 3. Metallurgy Wastewaters from the Factory of sulfuric acid (low PH value, heavy metals), Wastewaters from electrolysis section (low Ph value, heavy metals), Wastewaters from smelter (thermal pollution) 4. Industry Factory of salts and metals (heavy metals: copper, brass, bronze) Factories of copper and enameled round copper winding wire (oils), Factory of equipment and parts (wastewaters from galvanization, oils) 5. Agriculture (pesticide and artificial fertilizer: nitrates and phosphates) Wastewaters in industry are created by: - Release from technological processes, - Leakages of tailing ponds, - Natural leaching of soil and stone that is left after digging for copper ore gangue - Water that is being pumped from mining pits Wastewaters from metallurgy come from technological processes and from the cooling systems.

Measurement of annual released water quantities show that 75% of waste waters come from mining and industry and from mining objects and only 25% from households. Wastewaters from metallurgy mostly come from technological processes. Used waters are released without previous treatment even that there is a possibility for purifying and recycling of the same. There are no facilities for wastewater treatment in Bor, technologies are known and are applied in other countries. Wastewaters from mining come from technological processes, natural leaching, and ground waters from pits. Quantity of waste water that comes from leaching, from pits and from ground waters from pits is around 9 million m3, i.e. 45% of total waste waters from mining and metallurgy. Huge quantities of wastewater, which are being released from mining and metallurgy, have destroyed life in Bors and Kriveljs river. Bors river is intersected by open pit. Where once was Bors river valley, now is an open pit more than few hundred meters deep. Into the empty riverbed wastewaters from mining, metallurgy and households are being released. Riverbed of Bors river has become and open collector of waste waters from Bor. Wastewaters from Bor are trans-boundary and regional problem. They endanger all communities on coasts of polluted rivers in Serbia and Bulgaria and significantly influence quality of water in Danube, because they pollute them with huge quantities of sulfates, arsenic and heavy metals. Solving this problem is of exceptional significance not only for Serbia but also for the whole region of West Balkan, and also for usage of Danube. Basic problems of access to information about water quality are: 1. Irregular control of water quality and methodology of chemical analysis and data processing is uneven, reasons for irregular control are: lack of money, lack of equipment for water analysis, 2. Data is collected in different institutions among which there is no synchronization. 3. There is no unique data base on local level, or organization that manages them, this is a task of local and national authority. 4. There is lack of expert knowledge for collecting and interpretation of information about water quality. 5. EU directives and other provisions regarding waters are unknown to local authority, public companies, business sector, expert institutions and interested citizens.. 6. Local provisions are not harmonized with legal provisions and directives of EU 7. Interested institutions, bodies and other parties for water management are not clearly determined. 8. Media are neither trained nor equipped to inform the public about the state of waters.

9. Parts of LEAP Bor and OEAP of Bor County are not being realized sufficiently in management of waste industrial and communal waters. . Association of Young Researchers and other environment NGO in Bor and East Serbia (Zajecar, Negotin) in such situation, in cooperation with local community, would realize project with following goals, activities and expected results: The basic goal of demonstration project in Bor is strengthening local community capacities for access to information and public participation in the decision making process regarding environment especially waste water management Special goals are: 1. Identification of interested participants for solving problems of waste waters, gathering and usage of information and participation in decision making about waters 2. Raising the level of public information about environmental problems especially waste water problems 3. Strengthening NGOs capacities for access to information and dissemination of information 4. Strengthening capacities of media for processing and dissemination of information 5. Improve the organization of local authority in collecting and dissemination of information Listed goals would be realized through capacity analysis of NGOs and local authority for access to information and securing public participation in decision making, public campaign, organization of round table, forming the database and office for collecting and dissemination of information, developing methods of communication with public, development of electronic networks. As a basic result it is expected to have a general development of public information about wastewater problems and higher possibility of taking participation in solving this problems, identification of main participants in solving the wastewater problems in local community, initiative for creation of local wastewater management plan as a part of LEAP process, improving NGOs capacities for access to information and dissemination of information, development of concrete methods and procedures for securing information by local authority. Results would be published and disseminated by electronic networks, web sites and media programs, leaflets, training for NGO representatives, media, local authority and companies. Willingness of local community, industry and other potential participants for realization of this kind of project is clearly expressed by adopting of Local Environmental Action Plan and County Environment Action Plan, that solving of wastewater problems, securing the access to information and public participation treat

as priorities. Willingness of local authorities for cooperation expressed in questionnaire distributed by REC CO SCG above Department for environmental protection of Municipality of Bor. Project duration is one year starting September 2005. Plan of activities: Activities 1. ROUND TABLE Method of realization Preliminary questionnaire of potential participants, making the action plan of the media campaign, initiative for creating local Water Management Plan Participant Association of Young Researchers, Representatives of NGO, local authorities, business sector, public communal companies, scientific, expert, educated and health institutions, media and other possible participants Association of Young Researchers, local media, Department for environmental protection of Municipality of Bor, Office of County Environmental Action plan, local media-TV and radio Terms September- October 2005

2. Public campaign for improving access to information

Prepare leaflet about project, leaflet about existing sources and ways of securing information about wastewaters, to organize competition for selection and then print poster, prepare and emit TV spot and radio jingle, start with preparation and emitting special TV and radio shows about problems of waste waters, to publish certain numbers of ECOBULLETIN, open separate web sites and discussion

November 2005 June 2006.

forum. 3. Forming Offices for gathering, processing and distribution about wastewaters Staff training and equipping the Office for electronic communication Association of January 2006 Young Researchers, Department for environmental protection of Municipality of Bor, Office of County Environmental Action plan Association of January 2006.- June Young Researchers, 2006. Department for environmental protection of Municipality of Bor, Office of County Environmental Action plan Association of January 2005. Young Researchers, August 2006. Department for environmental protection of Municipality of Bor, Office of County Environmental Action plan Copper institute, Technical faculty

4. Forming database about wastewaters

Data about water quality state, list of data sources and other information resources, review of provisions, programs and plans for solving wastewater problems and other problems. 5. Develop a Determining need method of for information, communication with review of public institutions we need to contact for getting information, procedures and forms for submitting regular and special reports, contents of this reports. Leaflets, special numbers of ECOBULLETINS, web sites. To start the initiative for establishing system of water current quality monitoring and monitoring of underground waters and its technical equipping.

6.To develop the network of information resources

Special network of information resources about waters or set clear segments in existing network of information resources in the town VOLVOX, SCG

Association of January 2005. Young Researchers, August 2006. Department for environmental protection of Municipality of Bor, LEAP office, Library, Technical faculty, Copper institute, Health DEF center, and other NGOs

Special network of NGOs and towns carriers of demonstration projects