Strategic Moves - Regional Environmental Center for Central and ...

Agency (SEPA), the Environment Protection Fund, and the Recycling Agency.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, through its
Water Directorate, has overall responsibility for the water sector. The Water Directorate
assists the water sector in project preparation and IPA applications, finances
technical assistance for project preparation and co-finances the actual
construction of infrastructure. The Jaroslav Cerni Institute for the Development
of Water Resources assists the Water Directorate by preparing baseline studies. The
public company Srbija Vode is responsible for maintaining regional water infrastructure
(flood management etc.) but not municipal infrastructure. The Ministry
of Health is responsible for monitoring the quality of drinking water. The province
of Vojvodina has its own analogous institutions. The municipalities are responsible
for environmental management and inspection. The municipal public utility
companies provide water supply and wastewater treatment services.
A table showing institutions with environmental responsibilities can be
found in Annex 1.
General observations
• The current capacities of environmental institutions (ministries, agencies etc.)
may prove to be insufficient for the administration of all the requirements of the
environmental acquis.
• The experience of the new member states (EU-10) has shown the importance
of proper human resources planning for institutions at central and local government
levels to respond to the newly acquired environmental obligations.
• Environmental institutions in SEE often suffer from a high level of fragmentation
and are lacking adequate systems of communication with one another. This
leads to an unclear division of competencies and responsibilities.
• The level of institutional operational transparency and accountability at national
and local levels is low.
• One of the possible approaches to separating regulatory from policy functions
is the establishment of environmental protection agencies.
• Environmental funds are one option to address institutional deficiencies.
However, their success depends on principles of transparency, autonomy and
accountability.
C H A P T E R 5
N AT I O N A L S T R AT E G I C A N D I N S T I T U T I O N A L F R A M E W O R K
S T R AT E G I C M O V E S 117