Regional forums of Civica Mobilitas

Civica Mobilitas announces the two regional forums, which will be organized in the Southeastern and Polog region.

The forum “Landfills: where and when?” will be held on 4 December, starting at 10 am at the South East Europe University in Tetovo, and it will actualize the landfill problem, present for many years, and the search for its solutions one more time. You can register for your participation at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1xwr7hn7WCVa-PZ9zWH1NAtQ23BeFMX-htQeO-WnlcXPgcg/viewform

In Macedonia, there are 54 communal landfills, which pollute the ground waters, soil and air, and the experts estimate that 16 landfills are of a high, 16 of a medium, and 19 of a low risk for the environment. Only the Skopje landfill “Drisla” has an integrated permit for waste management, and besides the communal landfills, which usually do not meet the minimal technical conditions to apply for a permit, there are also about 1.000 illegal dump sites in Macedonia.

Past efforts to complete and make functional the regional landfills failed partially as a result of the local population which does not allow them to be located near their populated areas.

The regional forum “Mines: Yes or No?” will be held on 5 December at 1 pm in the House of the Army in Strumica. You can register for your participation at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdnFPb9Tms033WyAYXjSlmULoGutT4Z_KKs_kMJ4nowq4TWxg/viewform.

The discussion will focus on the actual situation regarding the concessions issued for geological explorations or for opening of mines. The initiatives against the mines in the southeastern part have carried out six referenda so far, of which three were successful and three unsuccessful. They stated that if the announced companies receive concessions to open the mines, the ore will be extracted by the use of explosive and heavy mechanization, and in the ore processing, they will use cyanide, which is exceptionally dangerous for the health of people. All this will lead to distortion of the terrain and loss of forests, which means a complete change of climate in this area. On the other hand, it is believed that the mines are hope for the unemployed persons in the Southeastern region, as well as an opportunity to change the structure of the economy which has been mainly textile and wood-processing so far.

It is expected that the two forums initiate cooperation between the local and central authorities, civil society organizations and the other stakeholders to overcome these well-known problems at regional level. The speakers will be the mayors of the municipalities in the region who deal with this issue, representatives from the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, representatives from the planning regions, representatives from civil society organizations and activists working in the field of ecology.

We are expecting you!