Functional Review of the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning

Recommendation III.1: Undertake a legal gap analysis with a dual purpose – to identify missing legislative
acts and to prioritize the implementing process and set up an appropriate time schedule for adoption.
Considerable amount of environmental laws and by-laws are still not adopted or are not fully compatible with
particular EU directives (some aspects of Waste management, Water Framework Directive, Urban wastewater
treatment, NATURA 2000 etc.)
III.1.2 The environmental permitting/licensing function
Some sort of permit for the use of environmental resources is a requirement everywhere in Kosovo. The
new Law on Environment Protection (Art. 29-33) contains principle obligations on integrating permitting.
Department of Environmental Protection issues environmental permits on the basis of project
documentation. Requirements are however not uniform and the procedural steps for obtaining them also
differ. There appears to be confusion about the competencies between department and central level of the
MESP especially in cases of larger, more complex establishments. Clients complain of long waiting
periods and complicated procedures. One reason for the delays is certainly understaffing.
Recommendation III.2: The standardization of rules, simplification of procedures and setting up the
threshold values could contribute to improvement of the situation.
III.1.3 Environmental monitoring
The monitoring of the condition of the environment in Kosovo does not provide regular, comprehensive and
reliable information on the condition of water, waste-water, air, solid waste, soil and nature protection,
radiation and noise/vibration at the national and municipal level. A comprehensive network does not exist
yet. Monitoring activities are fragmented and in the complex structure environmental information does not
flow satisfactorily. Information is usually stored within each institution that collects it but is not shared with
others. The only exception in this field is the first, and highly successful, attempt to publish a Report on the
Environment Situation 2006-2007 by KEPA in 2008. On the other hand there is still not established the
regular transmission of priority data to EIONET.
The above mentioned deficiencies are certainly caused partly by the incompleteness of infrastructure (lack
of modern equipment) and partly by the shortage of personnel. From the other perspective, an unclear
division of competencies in data collection seems to occur. Three bodies under MESP responsibility are
involved in the environmental monitoring – KEPA, KHMI and DEP / DoW. This again points the lack of a
strategic approach and to the inefficiency in the organisation of the environmental monitoring.
Recommendation III.3: It is necessary to develop a country-wide and prioritised comprehensive data
collection, analysis and dissemination system, the implementation of which would be organised from the
Environmental Protection Department to ensure uniformity and fast transmission of data to internal as well as to
international users. KEPA should be the body in charge of overall environmental information management.
They could also coordinate environmental database management, environmental statistics and reporting,
including to international bodies (EIONET)meeting Kosovo’s reporting obligations.
III.1.4 The public utility service delivery function
The management and development of the infrastructure relating to environmental protection fall within the
mandate of the DEP and DoW. With its immediate importance for daily life these departments attract
much public attention. The Kosovo Development Strategy and Plan itself highlighted the condition and
management of public utilities’ infrastructure. In fact, there is evidence that the existing conditions of both
financial and administrative management are not fit for the future. To ensure sustainability in the realm of
water related services and in solid (household) waste management new approaches should be
introduced.
Delegating public utility management to private companies has not spread far enough yet in Kosovo.
Environmental departments should participate with the WWRO (Water and Waste Regulatory Office) to
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