Preparing the groundwork for cleaner soil in Serbia

Project title: Enhanced cross-sectoral land management through land use pressure reduction and planning.

Geographical scope: Serbia

Time frame: 2015-2020.

Partners: Ministry of Environmental Protection; Serbian Environmental Protection Agency, Ministry of Mining and Energy; Republic Hydromet Service of Serbia; Geological Survey of Serbia; Provincial Secretariat for Urbanism and Environmental Protection; Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops; Soil Science Institute; Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia; Standing Conference of Cities and Municipalities; Public Health Institute – City of Belgrade; Forestry and Environmental Action.

Donor: Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Co-financiers: Ministry of Ecological Transition of the Republic of Italy (former Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea); UNEP Environment Fund.

Contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals: The project aimed to help SDG 15 (Life on Land), and more precisely target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world. This is measured through indicator 15.3.1: The - proportion of land that is degraded over a total land area. The project has also had an indirect impact on SDGs 2,3,11,12,13 and 14, all of which have targets related to soil quality.

Environmental challenge: A variety of environmentally unsustainable activities, such as over-extraction of ores, industrial production, inappropriate practices in agriculture and uncontrolled waste disposal have had a devastating effect on the quality of soil in the Republic of Serbia. Once the functions and quality of the soil have been violated, its regeneration can be costly and time-consuming. Urgent and comprehensive actions are therefore needed. These include the fostering of science and technology, the strengthening of institutional capacities, the development of partnerships for concerted actions, and awareness raising on integrated and sustainable land management.

Project: The project’s objective was to alleviate the pressure on soil as a natural resource from competitive land uses by preventing further land degradation and promoting soil remediation in Serbia. The project aimed to develop tools for integrated land use and management, reinforce institutional capacities and raise awareness on integral and sustainable land management. Over 700 degraded sites were identified under the project, two pilot sites restored, and a national cadaster of environmental/industrial hotspots developed. A policy framework was also developed for integrated land use management and its implementation at the local level. The project furthermore filled in gaps for methodologies, knowledge and coordination mechanisms, strengthened administrative capacities and contributed to enhanced cooperation among institutions dealing with land degradation issues.

In the long-term this work can lead to the remediation and improvement of degraded “hotspots” It also aims to contribute to improved land use, the prevention of further soil loss and the maintenance of its quality, especially in the fields of industry, mining, power production and agriculture, which are all major economic drivers in Serbia.

News and stories:

Publications:

All other publications produced under the project in both Serbian and English are available here.

Any questions?

For more information please contact aleksandra.siljictomic@un.org or sonja.gebert@un.org