The JICA Partnership Program





Project Outline


  1. Country: Republic of Serbia
  2. Title of the Project: Environmental Improvement in Pancevo, Serbia Through the Collaborations Among Academia, Government, Industry, and Citizens
  3. Background and Necessity of the Project: Because of use of obsolete technologies, long term usage of pesticides, but also NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) bombardment in 1999 there are several places in Serbia that are considered to be polluted with different Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). As a result of the bombing in 1999, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) leaked from damaged transformers and capacitors to the environment. Although the measures for soil decontamination were conducted after the bombing, the influence may have remained. In addition, wastewaters from industrial zones may have caused POPs pollution of the Danube River. During our previous JICA project titled “The Capacity Building for Analysis and Reduction Measures of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Serbia” we investigated current status of environmental pollution including contaminants emissions while conducting training for environmental measurement and analysis, and establishing a framework for analysis. However, stronger collaboration and a structure, which can make actions independently to improve the environment through the collaborations among academia, government, industry, and citizens is needed. Therefore, training of leaders for each sector of academia, government, industry, and citizens has been required in Serbia.
  4. Project Purpose: This project aims to construct and develop a human structure, which can make actions independently to improve the environment through the collaborations among academia, government, industry, and citizens and further investigate current status of environmental pollution including contaminants emissions while conducting training for environmental measurement, analysis, risk assessment, pollution prevention, and management. Additionally, administrative environmental pollution measures will be strengthened, and education to local residents will be conducted.
  5. Target Area: The Danube River basin of Serbia including Belgrade and Pančevo city.
  6. Target Group:
    • The staff of the Environmental Department of Pancevo City Government
    • The staff of Sanitary Public Corporation (JKP Higijena Pancevo)
    • The staff of Greening Public Corporation (JKP Zelenilo Pancevo)
    • The University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry
    • Members of South Banat Branch of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
    • High School Teachers and NGO Staff
    • Citizens of Pancevo
  7. Expected Outcomes and Indicators: The expected outcome is “In the City of Pancevo, a structure, which can make actions independently to improve the environment through the collaborations among academia, government, industry, and citizens, will be constructed” and indicators is “Sector leaders will collaborate to find solutions for more than 3 environmental problems.”

    The overall goal is that cities in the Republic of Serbia will take action to improve the environment on the model of the City of Pancevo. This will help and enable Serbia to manage pollution in the best possible way and to make a good basis for further development of future experts in the field of environmental protection.
  8. Project Term: from January 2020 to December 2022 (3 years).
  9. Implementing Organization: Hyogo Environmental Advancement Association (HEAA), University of Belgrade – Faculty of Chemistry (UBFC) and Pančevo city. Leader of the Project and coordinator in Japan will be Professor Dr. Takeshi NAKANO from HEAA and leader of the Project and coordinator in Serbia will be Associate Professor Dr. Vladimir P. BEŠKOSKI from UBFC.
  10. Main Activities of HEAA:
    • Training will be organized annually in Japan during the duration of the Project for researchers from Serbia to strengthen environmental measurement and analysis capacity.
    • Training for administrative officers from Pančevo city will be organized in Japan, and administrative measures on pollution control will be Pančevo industrial zone area and investigate hot-spots and contaminants in wastewater.
    • Holding webinars and seminars regarding environmental education to plant managers and local residents will be supported. Environmental education/enlightenment activities of high-school students of Serbia will also be supported. Achievements of this project will be published through a symposium, workshop, and etc.
  11. Main Activities of UBFC:
    • Providing laboratory at the UBFC for installation of analytical instruments funded by JICA during this Project.
    • Screening and selection of two researchers from the University of Belgrade who will be trained in Japan and Serbia to work on purchased equipment and participate in the training organized by HEAA in Japan.
    • Helping in screening and selection of governmental officials who will participate in training in Japan.
    • Conducting sampling and analysis.
    • Organizing and holding webinars and seminars in Serbia regarding environmental education to researchers, plant managers, local residents, and other stakeholders.
    • Increasing visibility of the Project through workshops, meetings, press conferences, the Internet, etc.
  12. Main activities of Pančevo city
    • Providing appropriate conditions for sampling and selection of sampling places.
    • Providing appropriate conditions for sampling and selection of sampling places.
    • Active participation in lectures, presentations, and in the process of organization of symposiums, workshops, meetings, press conferences, etc.
    • Selection of environmental officials from Pančevo city who will participate in training in Japan
    • Providing adequate space in Pančevo for organizing meetings.
  13. Past Activities and Achievements in the Target Country of HEAA: 2009 to 2011: 5 JICA trainees from Serbia were accepted. The JICA training course title was “Risk Management and Residue Analysis of Chemicals for Environmental Safety”.
    2012: The JICA training course follow-up project was conducted. The project title was “Strengthening the capacity for bilateral cooperation between IChTM (Institute of Chemistry, Technology, and Metallurgy, Belgrade) and HIES (Hyogo Prefectural Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kobe) in order to produce joint research about presence and behavior of POPs in river sediments of Serbia”. The project coordinator was Dr. Vladimir BEŠKOSKI from UBFC. Japanese specialists Prof. Takeshi NAKANO and Mr. Shusuke TAKEMINE from HEAA had visited Serbia and gave lectures at the University of Belgrade about their research within the frame of that Project.
    2013-2018: Five researchers from the University of Belgrade had participated in the annual scientific meetings of the Japan Society for Environmental Chemistry in Tokyo, Sapporo, Niigata, Kyoto, and Okinawa.
    2014-2017: The JICA Partnership Project “The Capacity Building for Analysis and Reduction Measures of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Serbia” was conducted. More than 20 experts from Japan visited Serbia and 6 researchers and governmental officials from Serbia participated in the training and education in Japan. Laboratory for GCxGC analysis was established and it is in the working order from 2015.
    2018: Participation of experts from Japan at the Seminar and Workshop: Environmental Protection Prevention, Monitoring and Remediation - Worldwide and Our Experiences at the UBFC, project funded by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Republic of Serbia.

© 2020 Japanese - Serbian project

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