Environmental Law and Public Participation Center
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Project No. 20554: Advisory Services for NGOs and Citizens to Promote Public Participation

Background

The Environmental Law and Public Participation Center (ELPPC) was recently registered as an NGO with the dual goal of promoting public participation in the environmental law process and itself participating in the preparation of such laws. ELPPC runs its own library, containing mostly items related to law, public participation, and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The quality of the ELPPC's work was indicated by a contract it signed with the Ministry of Urban Planning to help develop the legal and institutional aspects of the National Environmental Action Plan.

Project Goals

To educate NGOs and the public on applying legal and nonformal instruments of public participation
To promote, comment on and draft environmental legislation to promote public participation in environmental decisionmaking
To represent NGOs before the authorities and the courts in environmental and public participation cases
To inform citizens and NGOs about the National Environmental Action Plan

Objectives

To provide advisory services to NGOs and the public on public participation methods and to establish an advisory network for NGOs and citizens using the existing Environmental Public Advocacy Network
To actively involve NGOs and the public in the development and implementation of the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP);
To prepare a report on the NEAP for citizens and NGOs
To establish a communication channel among NGOs, local governments and the national government.
To provide networking and information services

Amount Awarded

4,961 ECU

Implementation

A study on the use of legal and nonformal methods of public participation showed that NGOs and individual citizens did not understand their rights or how to go about validating them. Consequently, an expert advisory service was to be launched to involve NGOs in decisions on major issues. This was done to avert situations such as the Macedonian government's having started the NEAP project without informing public of its main goals.

Because of its direct involvement in the legal and institutional aspects of the NEAP, the ELPPC planned to inform NGOs about the NEAP process, collect their comments and convey them to the government by organizing meetings for NEAP working groups and national and local government authorities.

The ELPPC arranged with the monthly journal Mlad Borec and the Environmental Law and Public Participation Bulletin to publish the results of the project and give more information about the NEAP following the World Bank's recommendation. The ELPPC has invited the public to cooperate on the NEAP. In the initial phase of advisory services, Mlad Borec circulated 5,000 copies containing key information on the benefits of public participation, the plans of the ELPPC and the NEAP. Furthermore, radio and TV interviews were given along with interviews to two national daily newspapers.

The ELPPC has become well-known. Both citizen groups and governmental bodies have approached it for advice, mostly on the NEAP and on specific legal cases involving environmental damage. Some such cases have been settled or otherwise moved toward a solution with the help of the ELPPC.

The Center sought to include NGOs and individuals in the NEAP process as much as possible. A meeting was held with NGO members, ministerial representatives, and the local staff of the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) and the REC. A task force was established to facilitate the contribution of NGOs to the development of the NEAP. Five regional meetings have been planned as well. Foreign experience in public participation and examples of environmental regulations from other countries have been drawn upon to encourage public participation in the NEAP. As a result of the above activities, several NGOs and members of the public submitted recommendations and comments on the NEAP.

Through networking with other NGOs in the region, the library, which consists of materials on public participation and environmental law, was planned to be extended with the latest works from these two fields.

Relationship with NGOs, the Public and the Government

The ELPPC has invited numerous NGOs and citizens to participate in the NEAP process. Some organizations have approached the ELPPC for legal advice, reflecting public trust in its activities. Also, contracts and agreements have been signed between the ELPPC and ministry departments to fortify cooperation. The Center has established cooperation with the REC Local Office in Macedonia, the ISC and the Ministry of Urban Planning, Construction and Environment.

Lessons

Several NGOs have participated in the project by commenting on the National Environmental Action Plan and making various suggestions that were forwarded to the government.

The project's major success is that the NGO community, in cooperation with the ELPPC, has succeeded in blocking Macedonia's new Environmental Act pending the completion of the NEAP.

Overall Evaluation

The project proved successful in initiating the almost non-existent public participation processes in Macedonia and establishing a well-functioning advisory service for the public.

Sample Case

Local Environmental Action Plan in Bitola

The ELPPC provided advice to an environmental NGO named Molika, situated in the city of Bitola, on how to propose a local environmental action plan.

Molika approached the ELPPC to seek advice on how to create and submit a local environmental action plan. The ELPPC recommended using the methodology of the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) as a basis for the project, as the working draft of the NEAP is now being adapted to address local issues. In its advice to Molika, the ELPPC drew on the experiences the Independent Ecological Center of Budapest garnered from a project to create sustainable communities in three municipalities in Hungary. The ELPPC recommended using "Comparative Risk" methodology in establishing environmental priorities. The ELPPC will be the major consultant of both Molika and the Bitola city government as they formulate a local environmental action plan.

Contact

Mihail Dimovski
Miroslav Balaburski: Environmental Law and Public Participation Center; ul. Frederick Chopin 1-10; 91000 Skopje; former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Tel/fax: (389-91) 231-283; E-mail: mihaild@informa.mk

REC * PUBLICATIONS * ADVISING CITIZENS * former Yugoslav Republic of MACEDONIA

Environmental Law and Public Participation Center former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia