Western Balkans Environment Programe

The last of the three study tours for 2008 developed by the Regional Programme Management Unit (RPMU) in the frame of the Western Balkans Environmental Programme was organized from 20th- 24th October in Prague area, Czech Republic. The topic of the study tour was visiting mining sites, subjects to remediation activities. The remediation activities are conducted in order to mitigate/eliminate existing negative impacts of the mining sites to the environment, and preparing the remediated sites for future public usage as recreational areas.

Participants on the study tour were representatives of relevant institutions from Albania, Macedonia FYR and UNMIK Kosovo. The purpose of the study tour was to familiarize the participants with good show cases, learn and see how heavily impacted sites due to mining can be remediated and reclaimed, and get relevant information on how similar/same activities can be organized and conducted in their respective countries. The host organization in Prague was the Environmental Damage Department, Ministry of Environment of Czech Republic, with Mr Jaromir Manhart acting as focal point from their side.

The study tour "Potentials for Tourism Development on Rehabilitated Mine Sites" was organized in Slovenia, from 6th to 10th October 2008. Participants at the study tour were:  representative of Mojkovac Municipality, Director of the Tourist Organization of Mojkovac, geologist from the Geological Institute of Montenegro and the UNDP Montenegro representatives.

Purpose of the visit was to explore the options for further viable use of the existing abandoned mining site as tourist destinations and consequently possibilities for providing economic benefits for local populations.

Two rehabilitated mining sites in Slovenia were visited, Podzemlje Pece and Idrija. Participants had a chance to meet:

• representatives of management authorities of the mines and museums,
• mayors of the municipalities where the mines were operating, as well as
• representatives of tourism sector in visited municipalities.

In the last week of September 2008, the Western Balkan Environmental Programme, UNDP Montenegro has organized a study tour to Vienna for the two countries participating in the Programme,Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The study tour theme was cleaner production in industry and in that context participants from Serbia and Bosnia visited companies in the food industry, and waste water treatment plants and solid waste incinerators in Vienna area. The host organization in Vienna was Umweltbundesamt, Vienna with Mr Fritz Kroiss acting as focal point from their side.

Bacground

The regional program has been structured and resourced to provide 3 study tours per participating country over the programs 30 month life. The study tours are aimed at increasing environmental management capacity in the Western Balkans through an exposure to best practice and innovative ideas that were used to solve similar environmental problems in other countries.

Concept

Following discussion between the Program Management Unit, UNDP country offices and national project coordinators and considering the diversity of sites in the environmental ‘hotspot’ portfolio the Programme Management Unit (PMU) proposed organizing the regional study tour by identifying three study tour themes and notionally dividing the region into three groups. The proposed three study tour themes were as follows:

1. Mine Site rehabilitation and Management; 
2. Cleaner Production and Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC);
3. Contaminated Site Assessment processes.