(29.06.2016) As a result of the cooperation of the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning and Regional Environmental Centre (REC) for Central and Eastern Europe under the Project “Support to establishment and development of Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers(PRTRs)in Western Balkan countries and in Moldova”, intensive work has been carried out during the last two days in Skopje to upgrade the overall process of establishing an operational Pollutant Release and Transfer Register in the Republic of Macedonia.
In the frames of the project activities, two workshops were organized – one with civil associations in Macedonia and the other with the representatives of the industry.
The first workshop was aimed at strengthening the cooperation and the capacity of civil organizations with regard to the implementation of the UNECE PRTR Protocol and reporting obligations of the Republic of Macedonia in line with the PRTR reporting system in EU; promoting understanding of the obligations both under the Protocol and national legislation, as well as the roles of different stakeholders while focusing on the roles of non-governmental sector in PRTR development and implementation; identifying current problems in the practical implementation of the Protocol and reporting procedure applicable for civil associations and proposing steps for their enhanced involvement and cooperation in the PRTR development and implementation in future. Namely, the role of civil organizations is important as their appropriate and timely involvement in the process contribute to increased transparency of governmental institutions and industry, while the public is furnished with information on the state of the environment as constitutionally guaranteed right also recognized by the Aarhus Convention.
On the other side, today’s workshop targeted at industry focused on the strengthening of the capacity of industry through information and review of efforts during the last three years in the domain of PRTR development and implementation; presentation of the Strategy and Action Plan for PRTR Protocol implementation, as well as identification of existing problems and needs in relation to reporting procedure. Possibilities for improvement of the software reporting tool for reporting and web-site for the same purpose were discussed during the workshop. Also, recommendations and further steps regarding PRTR operation were considered by all stakeholders.
Industry plays particularly important role in the process of establishment and maintenance of a functional Register, as efficient delivery of required reports contributes to the successful implementation of the Protocol requirements. At the same time, by entering the data in the software, the industry presents itself in front of the public as environmentally aware and removes the mystery around their emissions.
The Project is supported by the Programme for advisory aid of the German Federal Ministry of Environment in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia and other EU neighbouring countries. It is supervised by the German Environmental Agency.