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

ture protection (NEIS, 2009). A key objective of the strategy is to establish a pipeline
of bankable projects and provide the basis for the selection and prioritisation of projects
financed by budgetary funds, IFIs and bilateral donors. For the period 2009–
2013, the plan is to spend some 56 percent of the funds available on water supply and
sanitation; and around 32 percent on waste management issues.
Between 2002 and 2006, a large proportion of expenditure at national level in
Montenegro was in the area of solid waste management. Currently, the Ministry
of Finance is responsible for infrastructure construction and maintenance investments
(ADA, 2008d). One of the strategic objectives of the national fiscal policy
is to introduce capital budget and increase allocations for capital investments to
undertake significant infrastructure investments.
In the period 2003–2008, a positive trend has been recorded in environmental
investment, especially in terms of infrastructure projects in the field of wastewater
treatment, water supply and waste management. From 2003 to 2005, the percentage
of projects funded from donations was significantly higher compared to domestic
funding and loans; while from 2005 to 2008 the trend changed —
donations decreased while financing from own funds and loans significantly increased.
In 2008, funding from internal resources represents the largest proportion,
followed by credits and grants (REC survey, 2009).
In 2008, funds from the state capital budget provided for environmental projects
within the communal sector totalled EUR 2,345 million: EUR 1,545 million
for sanitary landfills and EUR 0.8 million for wastewater treatment facilities. In
2007, the budget for the environment was about EUR 1.8 million; in 2008 it was
about EUR 5 million; and the budget for 2009 is about EUR 5.2 million (REC,
PEIP Analytical Reports, 2007–2009).
National financial resources for environmental investments in Serbia are still
very limited. They are currently being disbursed only for technical assistance for
project preparation, and in rare cases for the construction of infrastructure. Domestic
financial resources are supplemented by foreign assistance, which is channelled
mainly through the Ministry for the National Investment Plan (NIP), as
well as two units of the Ministry of Finance (MoF): the Development Aid Coordination
Unit (DACU) and the National IPA Office (NIPAC). The principal
sources for water quality improvement investment programmes are budgetary
funds allocated by the Water Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Water Management (MoAFWM), received from charges for water consumption,
abstraction and pollution; the state budget; donations; and loans from IFIs
(ADA, 2008g). The Water Directorate and the Srbijavode public water management
company are responsible for directing accumulated funds towards the construction
and maintenance of the water supply and sanitation infrastructure.
The Ministry for the National Investment Plan promotes investments into
strategic infrastructure and recently launched a programme to finance infrastructure
improvement, including environmental infrastructure, in the poorest 40 municipalities
in Serbia, with grants covering 100 percent of eligible costs (ADA,
2008f ). The project “Clean up Serbia” was launched in 2009 by the Ministry of En-
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