MACEDONIA

Environmental Overview
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A pre-historic lake and the headaches of modern industry

Macedonia has one of the world's oldest lakes, which supports unique species, and alpine mountains and forests that are home to wolves and bears. But the country is also home to some severely polluted industrial sites, and there are concerns about maintaining an adequate water supply and improving solid waste disposal.

The beauty of sanctuaries like Lake Ohrid contrast dramatically with "hotspots" like the city of Veles, site of a zinc and lead smelter, a ceramics factory and other industry. Veles, which has been termed the most polluted city in the Balkan region, has unusually high rates of leukemia and respiratory diseases, and the lowest average sperm count in the Balkans.

In general, areas of significant environmental concerns in Macedonia are located near large urban areas, including Veles, Skopje, Bitola, Tetovo, Kumanovo, and Prilep, with industrial sources being the major polluters.

To tackle these and other environmental problems, Macedonia is currently working on a series of policies and actions designed to be consistent with the Environmental Action Program for Central and Eastern Europe, adopted at the Ministerial Conference in Lucerne in 1993. The country is also working to adopt European Union environmental standards as it works toward its long-term goal of integration with the EU.

The country's environmental policy is embodied in a framework environmental law and a National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP), both of which were adopted in 1996. The NEAP highlights the environmental problems and recommends actions related to policy, institutions and priority investments. In preparing the action plan the following three criteria were considered:

Based on the evaluation of Macedonia's environmental problems, the following are considered priority actions for the NEAP: Air quality improvements, water quality improvements, solid waste management, biodiversity conservation and forest preservation.

The air quality problems are limited to major urban areas. Skopje, Veles, Bitola and Tetovo have poor air quality, which affects about 600,000 people or 30 percent of the Macedonian population. The goal of the NEAP is to combat this problem by decreasing motor vehicle emissions as well as the emissions from the smelter in Veles.

The demands on water for agricultural and household needs sometimes exceed the supply of clean water. Rivers and groundwater are tainted with pollution that comes from home and industrial sources. The government hopes to combat this situation with a series of steps, including developing municipal wastewater plants for Skopje and Bitola, building an industrial wastewater treatment plant in HEK Jugohrom – Jegunovce and working to rehabilitate the Grashnica River.

There are about 25 known landfills in Macedonia, and most of them require improvement. With the exception of the Drisla landfill in Skopje, the landfills are not designed well enough to ensure the prevention of leakage. Large quantities of industrial and hazardous wastes are generated in the mining, metallurgical, fertilizer and chemical industries as well from power plants. Presently, the slag disposal sites from the lead and zinc smelter in Veles and from operations in Jegunovce-Tetovo, create a serious potential for groundwater contamination. The NEAPS calls for improvement of this situation through the preparation of a solid-waste management programme, rehabilitation at existing landfill sites and identification of a site for a national hazardous waste landfill.

In the area of biodiversity, Macedonia is blessed with many species, but perhaps the most unusual species make their home in Lake Ohrid. The lake, one of the world’s oldest, possesses unique flora and fauna typical of the Tertiary Period (2-4 million years ago). Lake Ohrid is one of the largest biological reserves in Europe, and many of the species there are endemic. Because of its rich history and unique flora and fauna, Lake Ohrid was declared an UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site in 1980. Macedonia's NEAPS would seek development and implementation of a plan for proper management of Lake Ohrid and other protected areas.

In the area of forest preservation and renewal, Macedonia's NEAPS calls for: planting forests in formerly barren areas, preventing erosion, development of mechanisms for environmentally sustainable logging in national parks and improving the management of forest enterprises so that they can raise more funds for regeneration and fire protection.

Despite pressures from industry, Macedonia has extraordinary natural beauty and is relatively uncrowded and unspoiled. Its natural landscapes, if carefully managed, can prove to be the country's most valuable resources.