For a cleaner Mediterranean by the year 2020
This initiative is funded by the European Commission through DG EuropeAid.

The Hot Spot Inventory for the West Balkans and Turkey now completed

on 19 Sep 2011.

The Hot Spot Inventory for the West Balkans and Turkey launched under Horizon 2020 in September 2010 to complement the existing inventory for the Southern Mediterranean countries covered by MeHSIP, was completed in June 2011. Together with the countries, the project aimed to identify environmental hot spot investments and appropriate funding sources that will significantly contribute to the de-pollution of the Mediterranean by 2020.

The Hot Spot Inventory for the West Balkans and Turkey launched under Horizon 2020 in September 2010 to complement the existing inventory for the Southern Mediterranean countries covered by MeHSIP, was completed in June 2011. Together with the countries, the project aimed to identify environmental hot spot investments and appropriate funding sources that will significantly contribute to the de-pollution of the Mediterranean by 2020.

During a series of country missions to the Western Balkan countries and Turkey, projects addressing the most harmful industrial and/or municipal point sources of pollution at a regional level have been prioritized following extensive discussions with stakeholders on updating the UNEP MAP/MEDPOL NAPs. In the field of solid waste and waste water, on average one out of five projects still await funding, while a further 15% is only partly funded. In the countries of interest, industrial pollution control and clean-up is often more complex to address due to lack of clarity on ownership issues, privatization and clean up liability.

On the funding front, even though there is a large number of tools available in the region, these neither cover all three H2020 priority sectors, since industrial pollution is often not represented, nor are these tools available to all countries. Coordination of current and future technical assistance support at all levels (EU, regional and national) is essential, and it should commence ideally as early on in the programming cycle, as possible. The work shall be carried out in close collaboration with UNEP/MAP, and in close coordination with other ongoing initiatives, including the “Support to EU/IFI Coordination in the Western Balkans and Turkey” (IFI-AG), the Regional Environmental Network for Accession (RENA) and the Western Balkan Investment Framework (WBIF).

To view the full report see here

The project was supported by the European Commission through IPA funds and administered by the CB/MEP.