EVERIS AEROESPACIAL Y DEFENSA S.L.U (ES)
EO Clinic support requested by: UNDP Serbia Office
Requesting activity: Automated Floating Waste Mapping
Requesting activity type: Grant
EO Clinic relevant Thematic Groups: TG5 (Energy and Natural Resources), TG8 (Transport), TG9 (Urban), TG10 (Water Resources Management)
Work Order number: EOC0005
Work Order status: Completed
Work Order start: 2020 Mar 18
Work Order end: 2020 Oct 05
Environmental protection continues to present challenges in Serbia, inadequate waste management being one of the most serious threats to the environment. River pollution, poor waste management in areas that can affect rivers, and illegal dumping are significant problems.
UNDP Serbia needs help in identifying the exact locations and volume of waste along the rivers and thus provide input for the plans to remove the sources of pollution and prevent creation of new ones. This initiative is a part of UNDP’s support to the Serbian Ministry of Environmental Protection in their efforts to tackle the problem of floating waste in rivers, in particular in the Drina and Lim rivers. The Serbian ministry cooperates with environmental ministries in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro in a joint regional initiative, since the Drina and the Lim are transboundary rivers. An important aspect of the required support is mapping the illegal dump sites along the riverbeds. This waste gets into streams at times when water level rises, thus causing environmental harm to watercourses downstream, as well as economic losses (e.g. lost revenues from hydropower electricity generation, tourism, fishing, shipping).
The UNDP Serbia project is in the concept phase. Apart from mapping (illegal) dump sites, the initiative also includes actions aimed at improving local waste management practices, local actions, and development of a roadmap for resource mobilisation by municipalities. UNDP Serbia is also coordinating the plans with the Ministry of Environmental Protection in order to exploit the synergy with their ongoing efforts on improving waste management nationally and regionally.
