Mariovo – one of the cleanest regions in the Balkans with the new energy strategy will get a coal mine, big dam, coal power plant or maybe a nuclear power plant. Still, the SEA Report writes that this energy strategy “defines the best possible energy development in the Republic of Macedonia… while taking care of the environment” and according to this Report without this energy strategy there will be “deterioration of the quality of the environment” and “increased risk of health problems” in Macedonia.

Yesterday (February 10^th 2010), at the premises of the Macedonian Academy of Science and Arts, the Ministry of economy organized public hearing on the Draft Energy Strategy 2008-2020 with a vision 2020-2030 and the Report on the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).

This is a first national strategy in Macedonia for which SEA was conducted.

Front 21/42 was the main initiator of this process. We insisted on SEA in March 2009 and our initiative was supported by Macedonian Green Center, Ecosense, Proaktiva, ORT, Parumba from Struga and Avena from Kocani.

After almost a year, several letters to the Government, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Environment, as well as participation in a public hearing in June 2009 – we finally have the SEA!

We must praise the Ministry of Economy for their pioneer role – to be the first institution which conducted SEA for a national plan. In some countries it would probably be absurd to praise a ministry because they did not completely breach the law, but there are much bigger absurd situations in the Macedonian society, so the praise is fully deserved.

Unfortunately the praises end here.

The SEA process was conducted as a pure formality required by the law, not as a meaningful process which has to contribute to an early assessment of the negative effects of the energy projects envisaged with the strategy and timely corrections and adjustments which will ensure that the strategic plan will truly contribute to a secure and sustainable future for the energy supply, the environment and human health in Macedonia.

The strategic assessment is supposed to be an open and transparent process in which the public has a special role. After yesterday public hearing our conclusion is that this will also be a pure formality which has nothing to do with public participation in decision-making.

To avoid any confusion – this is not just another comment from the annoying NGO sector. The process of adoption of this document, as well as the document itself seriously breach the laws and they can not continue in the same manner. More specifically:

1.      The SEA Report, as it is written, can not be adopted by the Government because it is not in compliance with the bylaw which regulates the content of the SEA;

2.   The Energy Strategy can not be adopted by the Government because no trans-boundary consultations were conducted, which breaches the Law on Environment (Article 70) and the Espo Convention.

If the comments made by the public are not considered and both documents are adopted anyway, there will be another breach of the Law on Environment and the Aarhus Convention.

The comments which we submitted to the Ministry of Environment can be downloaded here (Macedonian only)