KOSOVO 2.0 PEOPLE/POLITICS/SOCIETY/ARTS/CULTURE #9 SUMMER/FALL 2015
KOSOVO 2.0
GREEN ISSUE A GUIDE TO POLLUTED LIVING CHANGING CLIMATE CHANGE KOSOVO’S Editor-in-chief SELF-DESTRUCTION Contributors Translators Besa Luci
AN ENERGETIC DEBATE
Leke Berisha Qerim Ondozi Stefan Veljkovic
WASTING OUR WATER
Sales Manager Sokol Loshi
Photography Editor Atdhe Mulla
Design Van Lennep, Amsterdam Xhansel Xhabiri, Prishtina
Artrit Bytyci Bojan Cvejic Alicia English Learta Hollaj Nedim Jahic Mikra Krasniqi Jelena Kulidzan Kristina Ozimec Alban Selimi Luan Shllaku Meivis Struga Fabien Techene Hana Voca Chris Wilson
Financial Manager
Hana Ahmeti ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATORS Editors Jack Butcher Samantha Freda Michael McKenna KOSOVO: € 5,- ELSEWHERE: € 15,- / $ Jerusha Rodgers Photographers Staff Writers Donika Capriqi Avdyl Gashi Fisnik Dobreci Dafina Halili Bujar Gashi Cristina Mari Blerta Kambo Visar Kryeziu Copy Editor Ferdi Limani Wesley Schwengels Adem Mehmedovic Ben Njeri Illustrations Kristina Ozimec Driton Selmani Petrit Rrahmani Marko Rupena Kushtrim Ternava
Project Manager Uran Badivuku
20,-
Publisher Kosovo Glocal Interns Linda Gjokaj Shpresa Frrokaj Magdalena Mussig
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Webmaster Sprigs Board Chairman Joan de Boer Board Members Anna Di Lellio Agron Demi Printer Raster
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR BESA LUCI
— OUR GREEN ISSUE BRINGS UP a selection of points about a topic of global importance — protection of the environment. It’s a debate that was originally started more than 150 years ago, largely as a response to increased air pollution during the Industrial Revolution. Today, it addresses everything from land to air, oceans to rivers, wildlife to humans. Most significantly, the debate is now grounded on global warming and its subsequent effect of climate change. The term “global warming” was first coined in a 1975 paper by US scientist Wallace Broecker, who predicted an increase in global temperatures as a result of rising carbon dioxide levels. Nearly 40 years later, a 2014 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated with 95 percent certainty that global warming is caused by human activities — alarmingly pointing to the growing impact of the human race on our environment. This human factor is expected to be the focus of the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in November and December in Paris, where officials from about 200 countries are set to meet. Proposals for the enforcement of stricter regulations are expected; ultimately, greater political commitments on the reduction of greenhouse emissions and a genuine acceptance of environmentally conscious policies will be needed in Paris from governments worldwide. Much attention is being placed on this conference, particularly because of the failures of previous similar meetings; the 2005 Kyoto Protocol and 2009 Copenhagen Conference are notable recent examples (see our story “The boiling point” page 18). But while the eyes of the world’s environmentalists, politicians and scientists are set on Paris 2015, local discussions, and actions, carry just as much weight. Worldwide, on a daily basis, countless local advocacy initiatives lobby and raise awareness about the immediate effects of climate change and the consequences that await us down the line. The extent to which such issues find their rightful place in the public debate is important. Media play a great role here. And yet to date in Kosovo, this discussion has been sorely lacking. That is why in this issue we embrace an approach that is informative, educational and practical. As global and local conversations happen all over the world (albeit, in some places to a greater degree than others), our Green issue offers an entryway to some of the gravest environmental problems and challenges facing Kosovo. On one hand, in this issue we point to the f laws in the legal framework, weak implementation of existing laws, and even how corruption networks can also play a part (see “Going against the f low” on page 51 and “The recycling reality” on page 97). On the other hand, we are continuously attuned to the fact that an informative approach is just as essential if we truly strive for environmental protection to be a part of civic advocacy and individual commitment. As such, alternative and economically sound energy production policies, responsible consumption, reduction of pollution as a health hazard, treatment of waste, and water as a human right are some of the topics at the core of this issue. As we examine the policies, their implementation and social awareness sur-
rounding these topics, it becomes immediately apparent that Kosovo has a long way to go. Addressing environmental topics and any commitments to change will be a two-sided endeavor — for institutions certainly, but also for the public. Our cover story “Destroying the environment, destroying lives” (see page 24) clearly ties into this discussion. It speaks of air pollution from industrial power plants and traffic (as the deadliest form of environmental degradation); industrial and household generated waste, which place Kosovo within some of the highest waste production rates in Europe; untreated sewage that pollutes and contaminates rivers; and the ongoing destruction of forests, with more than 40 percent of public woodlands in Kosovo illegally harvested. In this regard, of alarming proportions are the grave, and sometimes even fatal, consequences that pollution has on health and human life. We have also placed particular importance on the energy sector, considering that a new lignite power plant, Kosova e Re, is all but confirmed, but the finer details of Kosovo’s energy future are still being negotiated. This project has often been a heated point of discussion and criticism, but the focus should quickly turn to scrutiny as well. On one hand, as this project is one of the bigger upcoming government capital investments, transparency and accountability should be at the forefront. Recent civil society studies presented at the conference organized by KFOS drew attention to the fact that one of the common threads among previous capital investments (such as the concession of the airport, privatization of KEDS energy distribution supply company, construction of the Kosovo-Albania highway, and failed privatization attempts of PTK) is lack of transparency. On the other hand, the construction of another lignite plant is planned in line with the shutting down of Kosovo A and the rehabilitation of Kosovo B in order to improve production and meet environmental standards, both set for 2017. As the situation currently stands, meeting these requirements on time appears to be unrealistic. But as the construction of Kosova e Re is still being debated, and proposed alternatives have emerged, a more inclusive and vocal public participation needs ground to grow (see “Power to the people” on page 54). Thus, we come back to the human factor. Discussion of environmental protection is all too quickly shrugged off or met with cynicism in Kosovo — an attitude based on apathy and lack of belief that individual actions can have an impact. While political willingness is key for prioritizing this area, the weight and importance of our civic input and possibilities for change should not be underestimated (see profiles starting on page 72 and “Small steps to save our big planet” on page 104). All too often, people in Kosovo feel that we’re just too small and irrelevant to have an effect on the global degradation of the environment. Our Green issue shows that there are no small places, and that each of us leaves behind a footprint on our planet and our well-being. That is why we hope that this issue will support the Kosovar interest in improving the everyday quality of life, by showing the ways in which protection of the environment is central to that goal. — K
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KOSOVO 2.0
CONTENT KOSOVOTWOPOINTZERO MAGAZINE #9 GREEN SUMMER/FALL 2015
GREEN ISSUE
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TAKE A LOOK AROUND Kosovo’s wild lands offer a wide range of fun and adventure. Here’s where to start. By Kosovo 2.0
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We have all heard of forests being the lungs of our planet, but that is a childish fairytale—our planet is a rock spinning in space, not a live organism with lungs. Since ancient times, deforestation has served to signify a society has reached its peak economic development. Sometimes forests were cleared to make more room for agriculture, other times it was the hungry economic engine that required raw timber for building and manufacturing things.
COVER STORY: THE CLOUD OVER KOSOVO.
THE FUTURE OF FILTH One writer sees economic opportunity in our polluted air and fields of trash. By Artrit Bytyci
THE FOREST OF WEALTH
The nation’s environmental problems are plenty, and there’s no easy solution. By Mikra Krasniqi
The most important use of wood in Kosovo is for heating homes during the winter months. While globally this is the most expensive way to heat your home, it only means one thing—Kosovo has reached a level of wealth and welfare to compete with the richest places in the world.
Burning too much wood for heating homes, coal for producing electricity, and questionable subpar diesel for making our schoolchildren immune to toxic fumes all have the byproduct of affecting breathable air quality. You hear a lot of panic about air quality these days. So what if PM-10 particles exceed their recommended levels basically every month in all the towns across Kosovo. This
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RIVERBANKS ARE FORMED THROUGH NATURAL PROCESSES OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS. IN KOSOVO, IT HAS TAKEN JUST 15 YEARS OF ILLEGAL MINING TO SERIOUSLY DEGRADE THEM. PHOTO: VISAR KRYEZIU
BY THE NUMBERS
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BANK ROBBERY
Warning: This infographic may make you thirsty. It should also make you worried. By Fabien Techene
Laws haven’t stopped companies from pillaging the banks and beds of the country’s rivers. By Dafina Halili
GOING AGAINST
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CONTENT KOSOVOTWOPOINTZERO MAGAZINE #9 GREEN SUMMER/FALL 2015
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TURN YOUR GARBAGE GREEN
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Saving the world is a big project, but there are a lot of small things you can do to help out. By Magdalena Mussig and Linda Gjokaj
TWO TICKETS TO PARADISE
Two new ecotourism businesses are putting Kosovo’s wilderness in the spotlight without hurting it. By Dafina Halili
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BORN TO BE WILD?
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RAYS OF HOPE
Solar energy firm’s founder sees a bright future in renewable resources. By Cristina Mari
More than 20 years since making wilderness a priority, Montenegro still faces environmental struggles. By Jelena Kulidzan
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RASPBERRY DREAMS After being displaced by war, returning Bosnian refugees start anew by planting crops. By Nedim Jahic
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A STARTUP FOR SOCIETY
Businessman’s latest plan: Get companies on board with recycling and reuse. By Cristina Mari 6
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COMMENTARY: IT'S TIME FOR ACTION Kosovo has the structure needed for a greener future, it just needs to take the next step. By Luan Shllaku
KOSOVO 2.0
CONTENT KOSOVOTWOPOINTZERO MAGAZINE #9 GREEN SUMMER/FALL 2015
4 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Think you can’t have an impact? This magazine is here to show you why that’s wrong. By Besa Luci
18 HEATED DEBATE
All countries, including Kosovo, are affected by climate change. All countries, including Kosovo, must act to stop it. By Dafina Halili
36 THE 'BLACK STAIN'
86 RIVER OF NIGHTMARES
In Albania, polluted water isn’t just hurting the nation’s estuaries, it’s threatening tourists. By Meivis Struga
88 21ST-CENTURY TRASH
In an age of electronics, Serbia tries to catch up to European recycling rules. By Bojan Cvejic
92 'MOST POLLUTED CITY IN EUROPE'
In Macedonia, environmental activists are outraged that a remediation plan remains only on paper. By Kristina Ozimec
A stone’s throw from a power plant, the settlement of Plemetina is a forgotten, polluted place. By Learta Hollaj
40 CANCER CITY
Decades of being exposed to ash and other pollutants are taking a serious toll in Obiliq. By Alban Selimi
54 AN ENERGETIC DEBATE Many roadblocks exist, but a better power grid is needed for Kosovo’s economic development. By Alicia English
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CHIEF CONCERNS
No one sector is responsible for hurting Kosovo’s environment, but these sites may be the worst. By Cristina Mari and Avdyl Gashi
97 MAKING IT LAST
Kosovo’s lack of a recycling program is costly and harmful. It’s time for a change. By Chris Wilson
66 FIXING THE FARMS
112 ORGANIC OPTIONS
78 INSPIRATION FROM AFAR
114 GREEN INITIATIVES
80 SEEDS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH
116 ECO DOCS
EU integration could help our agriculture industry — but only if we invest in it first. By Hana Voca Greek program, Egyptian architect lead Prishtina woman to start a smart development program. By Dafina Halili Prishtina businessman believes local farms could be the key to fiscal maturity. By Avdyl Gashi
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These Kosovo-grown products are more than trendy — they’re good for you. By Shpresa Frrokaj How to get clean. We highlight four local initiatives that are trying hard to clean up our country. By Avdyl Gashi From dolphin hunting to GMOs, these five films might raise your environmental awareness. By Cristina Mari
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GET OUT AND GO WILD PUT ON YOUR HIKING BOOTS AND GRAB YOUR MOUNTAIN BIKES — IT'S TIME TO GET A BREATH OF FRESH AIR
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PAGE 100
LIQENAT
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SHTYPEQ
MIRUSHA
PREVALLA
BROD, DRAGASH
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PAGE 22 APART FROM THE DUST, TRASH, AIR POLLUTION AND CONCRETE THAT MANY CITIES IN KOSOVO HAVE IN COMMON, THIS COUNTRY ALSO HAS MUCH TO OFFER. OUR WILD LANDS HAVE DIVERSE FLORA AND FAUNA, ENCHANTING LAKES, MOUNTAINS FOR HIKING AND VIRGIN NATURE. THESE PLACES PROVIDE A VAST RANGE OF OPPORTUNITIES, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU ARE AN EXPERIENCED MOUNTAIN CLIMBER, PASSIONATE ABOUT HIKING IN NEW LANDSCAPES OR JUST CURIOUS WHILE HITTING THE ROAD THIS SUMMER AND LOOKING FOR A NEW EXPERIENCE.
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HERE’S A LIST OF FIVE RECOMMENDED PLACES TO VISIT, THEIR RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND TIPS ON HOW TO GET THERE. FOR A HIKE, DON’T FORGET TO TAKE THE ESSENTIALS: WATER, FOOD, COMPASS, A LIGHT SOURCE, FIRST AID KIT, AND THIS KOSOVO 2.0 GUIDE. ONE THING TO BEAR IN MIND — NOT ALL THE MOUNTAINS HAVE SIGNS FOR THE WALKING TRAILS, SO DON’T SHY AWAY FROM ASKING PEOPLE ONCE YOU’RE THERE. —K
KOSOVO 2.0
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THE (POLLUTED) LAND OF OPPORTUNITY
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EMBRACING OUR GARBAGE IS THE REAL KEY TO CLEANING UP ECONOMICALLY
TEXT BY ARTRIT BYTYCI / ILLUSTRATION BY VAN LENNEP
N TODAY’S competitive global markets, environmental issues are a great hinderance for jumpstarting economies. But there are some pioneers who take the extra effort of combining environment with business. Elon Musk (founder of PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla Motors, and as of May, Tesla Energy) has achieved vast success with electric cars and giant batteries for homes to make solar power feasible and efficient. Of course, he is a person who understands the futility of his efforts (to single-handedly prevent Earth’s environmental decline), and that’s why he is obsessed with space rockets and plans to build a human colony on Mars. Call it an insurance policy for when our planet will be unable to sustain life as a result of human interference.
It is only natural that we should make the best use of the nature around us (including trash and pollution as its greatest resources) and evolve our businesses practices to adapt to that environment. Kosovo is, in a sense, Europe’s final frontier, and we should do the impossible to preserve Kosovo’s status as an isolated eco-socioeconomic reservation. With dirty streets littered with trash, our disregard for the environment, lack of state interference, frontier mentality, deregulation and a culture of aggressive entrepreneurship, Kosovo has the flexibility to try things deemed too radical for anyplace else.
Luckily, Kosovo has a very receptive climate for economic growth because of its plentiful resources (mainly in the form of a young, European-branded unemployed population willing to become a cheap workforce) and a total disregard for the environment. This guide will focus on figuring out the best way of merging Kosovo’s environment with economic growth and sustainability.
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HOME ECONOMICS AND THE CHAINS OF CLEANLINESS
We can all agree that Kosovo’s homes are a model of cleanliness. Entire hours of the day can be spent cleaning and tidying up the places we live in. As you run your finger along the spotless and dustless surfaces of your sparkling furniture, you are overcome with feelings of pride and accomplishment. A similar historical instance where this has happened is in Victorian-era navies. Admirals and commodores made sailors obsessively scrub the surfaces of boats and ships in order to keep them busy during long sea voyages and to prevent mutiny. Therefore an obsession with cleanliness could be seen as a form of control and subjugation. Even though this preoccupation with cleanliness of our own homes seems like a good thing, it has proven to be detrimental for Kosovo’s economy. It is estimated that about half of the entire population is obsessed with home cleanliness and tidiness, so much so that constant upkeep of these homes is considered a full time job. While it certainly contributes to a decrease in unemployment (if you are busy all day cleaning and dusting your home, you have neither the time nor energy to look for a job),
I believe that it is a waste of a very valuable resource — people. Whenever the issue of Kosovo’s economy and investments comes up, rather than speaking in numbers of imports, exports, or natural resources that could potentially fuel the economy, the conversation is always diverted towards the greatest resource — a youthful and European-minded workforce. Now consider doubling this resource. You should immediately give up your obsession with cleanliness, which has kept our virtuous people from reaching our economic potentials. The economic recovery starts with you and your home as an extension of yourself. This is best done by starting to trash your own home. Only then will you be truly free to pursue your economic dreams.
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KOSOVO 2.0
FRACTAL MATHEMATICS OF STREET BOUNDARIES
— Evaporating from the wet pavement, the aroma of the summer f lowers followed me as I walked down the pavement, and upon stepping on the road, it mixed with the fragrance of cat piss, decomposing rodent guts and a half-rotten pear. Street cleanliness is neither an issue of will, nor one of civility (or lack thereof ), but should be seen as a way Kosovars perceive boundaries. As a people with a strong sense of personal property, it would be deemed very dishonorable to encroach on someone else’s personal property, even if that property is defined as public space. It is as if they see an invisible sign cautioning “Mos e prek, pronë publike / Do not touch, public property.” The best thing the city or municipality could do is create special signs out of dry erase material. “Mos e prek
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It is a great misconception that as soon as you get outside your home’s front gates, the garbage starts piling up. But consider the timeless tradition of cleaning the stretch of the street in front of your door daily. I still remember how my neighbor would sweep the pavement along her property every morning. As a morning chill blew the fallen leaves under her dress, she moved her broom over the golden dust that had accumulated overnight and swept it away onto the asphalt that was getting warmer with the rising sun. She’d bring out the water hose and wash the filth off the street in what was the final act of its ablution ceremony. Evaporating from the wet pavement, the aroma of the summer flowers followed me as I walked down the pavement, and upon stepping on the road, it mixed with the fragrance of cat piss, decomposing rodent guts and a half-rotten pear. This exponential piling up of garbage the farther you move from someone’s property is actually quite beautiful, for it is an invisible application of fractal mathematics. It is a manifestation of the geometry of life.
/ Do not touch: ______________ (enter name of entity to whom the property temporarily belongs).” The writing should last for about a day. Ideally, early in the mornings, people, inspired by the sense of competition, would rush to occupy their favorite stretches of public land which they’d upkeep for a day, and repeat the exercise once the imaginary lease expires the next morning. While the respect for private property is the basic economic principle upon which accumulation of wealth is based on, think of it as a creative architectural experiment blurring the boundaries between the inside and the outside of your home. A mere mind trick. The only adverse effect this strategy might have is that you might end up treating the inside of your home like the outside. Doing so would only reinforce our recommendations from the previous section, Home Economics.
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THE NEIGHBORHOOD ENERGY GENERATOR
Sustained economic development will require higher amounts of electricity. Until now, we have supplemented this energy deficit with our little portable generators (agregats) in backyards or in front of our homes. But with oil prices constantly rising, we need to find alternate sources of energy. Right now, solar and wind are popular contenders around the world, but they are doomed to fail in Kosovo. With all the smog being pumped out of Kosovo’s coal power plants, it is predicted that soon it will be impossible for the sun’s rays to penetrate the thick, black clouds. This will make solar power unfeasible. Thick dust particles will also jam the rotor blades of wind turbines, requiring an increased use of lubricants, which would make the whole endeavor monetarily unfavorable. Therefore, we shouldn’t look to foreign solutions for our domestic problems. The solution to our energy crisis should come from within, with the resources already at our disposal. Making use of all our resources is the basis of sustainability. Our quest for clean electricity should be focused on utilizing the so called “dirty” electricity.
Walking through the neighborhood, everyone has witnessed different miracles of nature at least once. My favorite is letting go of a plastic bag full of garbage from the fifth floor. It always follows a path downward toward the ground, instead of keepi ng shooting up in af loat in midair, or perhaps the sky. More than 300 years after Isaac and the laws of Newton explained gravity mot ion, I a m st i l l amazed at the miracle of a trashbag in freefall. We already live in a finely tuned universe, we shou ld m a ke good use of it. Sources close company tell me to approach this T hey a l ready for their newest this ver y ing trash,
to a new start-up that they are going problem creatively. have a patent pending invention, which utilizes unique law of nature involvheights and gravity.
hope to achieve. All we have to do is make a special type of plastic trash bag from a charged magnetic material (perhaps by using nanotechnology—the magic of our age whose environmental impacts we cannot even comprehend at this early stage). The entire neighborhood has to be covered in some sort of electromagnetic radiation, but this could easily be achieved by fine-tuning the radio pollution already being emitted from all the wireless internet routers in the neighborhood. When you throw these charged bags from the fifth floor, they will produce electric current as they pass through the electromagnetic field. Although the current produced would be miniscule in size, the science is sound (if you don’t believe me, consult Tesla or just research what they call in physics the Right Hand Rule). Because we expect an exponential increase of the trash-throwing habit in the years to come, all the miniscule electric charges would add up to a machine that could produce electricity to power your entire neighborhood. And the best part is, it would use trash to do so.
Utilizing gravity as an economic force is as close to inventing a perpetual motion machine as we could ever
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KOSOVO 2.0
THE SOUND OF THE CITY
Have you ever entered a room that was enveloped in complete silence? I did once, and I almost went crazy. I kept hearing my own thoughts aloud. It was like being trapped inside an insane asylum. As humans living in crowded cityscapes, we have evolved to embrace and love noise. For one, it provides us the important benefit of silencing our own crazy thoughts, thus making us more productive. Unfortunately, with the upcoming “dirty” energy revolutions, we will inevitably see a decrease in noise pollution coming from the portable gas generators that we have grown to love. (I still have a lingering idyllic memory of dreams I had under the 35-kilowatt agregat powering the neighborhood Internet cafe at 3 in the morning.)
— As humans living in crowded cityscapes, we have evolved to embrace and love noise. For one, it provides us the important benefit of silencing our own crazy thoughts, thus making us more productive.
But don’t fret. According to our calculations, the number of roads being paved all around Kosovo suggests that the increase in traffic will compensate and fulfill our need for noise pollution. Unfortunately, an increase in traffic is projected to endanger the wildlife in the cities. And here I am talking about packs of stray street dogs. Proper legislation is necessary to protect these ferociously peaceful, rabid animals. We must do everything to protect their natural habitats — garbage dumps and trashy city streets.
“What would be the economic benefit?” you might ask. Well, sometimes it is not about the money. We have to preserve the current environment, if not for us, then at least for our children.
Something has to take the place of the humming of the diminishing portable generators, and wouldn't it be amazing for that sound to be the howl of a thousand dog-wolves behind your neighborhood’s garbage dump, singing the symphony of the full moon at 4 in the morning?
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THE GENETICALLY MODIFIED GREEN FIELDS OF OPPORTUNITY
Our greatest asset (besides the young and vital European population) seems to be our ability to generate trash, so why not use it to our favor? Let the trash be the motor to power our economic growth. This picture from a field full of garbage after the recent International Worker’s Day celebration should be seen as a sign of the will of the people. Our workers have spoken, and the message is clear. Our future lies in fields covered in garbage. From these fields, we will feed the future generations. Our children will never starve or know hunger, for our fields are full of trash. Of course, the visionary worker masses through their hive-mind have relayed ideas of a very possible future. The latest advances in genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, have given birth to a plastic-eating bacteria. It is only a matter of time before these bacterial Frankensteins, or franken-bacteria, are further tinkered with to produce human food as their metabolic byproduct. Imagine a world where bacteria eat all your trash and shit a whole meal into existence. Imagine eating beef steak with mushroom sauce all day, every day.
Soon, not only will we solve our food problem, but we will create a demand for even more trash. Our food production will surpass our trash supply, so that in order to keep our economic engine going we’d have to start importing trash from all over Europe. The road to economic development and sustainability leads to trashing the whole place up.
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KOSOVO 2.0
We have all heard of forests being the lungs of our planet, but that is a childish fairytale — our planet is a rock spinning in space, not a live organism with lungs. Since ancient times, deforestation has served to signify a society has reached its peak economic development. Sometimes forests were cleared to make more room for agriculture, other times it was the hungry economic engine that required raw timber for building and manufacturing things.
THE FOREST OF WEALTH
The most important use of wood in Kosovo is for heating homes during the winter months. While globally this is the most expensive way to heat your home, it only means one thing — Kosovo has reached a level of wealth and welfare to compete with the richest places in the world. Burning too much wood for heating homes, coal for producing electricity, and questionable subpar diesel for making our schoolchildren immune to toxic fumes all have the byproduct of affecting breathable air quality. You hear a lot of panic about air quality these days. So what if PM-10 particles exceed their recommended levels basically every month in all the towns across Kosovo. This
should be seen as a resource rather than a waste. We have to get up with the new thinking and figure out a smart marketing strategy on how to make a profit out of these toxic fumes.
business. Who would have thought that there would come a day when we would pay hefty money to drink the resource that technically belongs to everyone?
Perhaps we could trap them in bottles (like deodorants and perfumes) and sell them to societies with low PM-10 emissions. People from Scandinavian countries should not be denied their fundamental human right to decide whether they want to spray some PM-10 on themselves before hitting the town for the night.
— The most important use of wood in Kosovo is for heating homes during the winter months. While globally this is the most expensive way to heat your home, it only means one thing — Kosovo has reached a level of wealth and welfare to compete with the richest places in the world.
With deforestation following a steady trend, there are people that may claim that Kosovo will need a new set of lungs. But let’s face it, we are such a small place, whatever pollution we produce is more likely to drift to other countries via air currents and jet streams. What we have to do is worry less about saving the Amazon as the lungs of the planet, and worry more about how to keep our precious toxic gasses within our borders long enough to package and sell them at a markup. Naysayers can claim that one can’t sell air, even if it’s polluted, but just look how bottled water got to be a multibillion-dollar/euro
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THE BEACH AT THE MOUNTAINS
— Future wars will be fought over water, so whoever invested in this industry will undoubtedly make a lot of money.
Bottled water is great news for the economy since water is set to become the most sought-after resource in the world, even ahead of oil. Future wars will be fought over water, so whoever invested in this industry will undoubtedly make a lot of money. I know what you are thinking: Will this water shortage affect us? If we stick to my eco-business plan, not only will we be fine, but we will be swimming in cash. By getting rid of forests (whose only purpose seems to be occupying the best land on which to build nice highways and housing complexes) and increasing the level of questionable gases in the atmosphere (as described in the previous section),
warmer weather, the beach, lots of water, and above all — money. It’s like an eternal vacation waiting to happen (contingent upon the amount of toxic gasses we can pump up into the atmosphere and speed with which we do it).
we should contribute considerably enough to global warming for polar icecaps to start melting and sea water levels to keep rising. This will have another beneficial effect for us — shifting the centers of economic power from coastal cities to the ones more inland. Landlocked places like Kosovo will have the upper hand. With Wall Street and Manhattan underwater, we will be strategically placed to compete for the role of the next economic capital of the water-world. Hopefully the sea levels will have risen enough that the beach will basically be brought up to the mountains. Touristic potential of such a proposition is irresistible:
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KOSOVO 2.0
KOSOVO, EUROPE’S FINAL FRONTIER
Having too much legislation makes governments look bad, especially when they struggle to enforce the rules. Rather than adding more laws that we can’t enforce, I suggest getting rid of laws, especially the ones dealing with the environment. Let nature take care of nature. We should strive to achieve environmental nirvana through total deregulation. We should fully embrace our roots and traditions, and especially our frontier mentality and deal with our issues extra-judicially. You might think that this would piss off Europe, but you are mistaken. Just consider our treatment from the EU so far. They wish for Kosovo to remain a reservation of environment unspoiled by the interference of too much legislation. Why else is there the reluctance to get Kosovo into the European Union, if not for their great desire to preserve the continent’s last remaining frontier? (They learned from the American example, and understood the nostalgia that overtook the nation just after the wild west was conquered.) To achieve this, just let Kosovo be the wild southeast that it is. It will be more efficient. Outsource all environmen-
tal issues to the economics. Merge the invisible hand with the survival of the fittest. Marrying ecology with evolution and libertarian economics, we can create new environmental and economic niches. Yes, some of our beloved species and companies will go extinct, but just consider the potential for thousands of new other species and start-ups to flourish in this brave new world of unbreathable air and flooded mountains.
— Yes, some of our beloved species and companies will go extinct, but just consider the potential for thousands of new other species and start-ups to f lourish in this brave new world of unbreathable air and f looded mountains.
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Perhaps, rather than building rockets like Elon Musk, our future is in building submarines. Rather than exploring new frontiers in space, we should focus on exploring new frontiers underwater of our own planet. One last piece of advice: Invest in real estate; land is going to become a shrinking com modity. — K Artrit Bytyci is from Prishtina and Prizren, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in creative writing at The New School in New York. He also has a background in biological sciences.
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A BOY LOOKS ON IN THE LEAD-POLLUTED TREPCA INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. LEAD CONTAMINATION, CAUSED BY DISCARDS FROM MINES AND BY THE USE OF SOME FUELS, IS KOSOVO’S SECOND MOST SERIOUS POLLUTANT, AFTER AIR POLLUTION. PHOTO: VISAR KRYEZIU
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DESTROYING THE ENVIRONMENT, DESTROYING LIVES TEXT BY MIKRA KRASNIQI
Air pollution, illegal dumping and deforestation ruin more than just the scenery
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— “I HAVE WOKEN UP AND CURSED that power plant a million times,” Driton Berisha said in an interview with British newspaper The Guardian, published in October 2013. Driton was quoted as saying that almost everyone he knows, including his own mother, has a family member who is battling some form of cancer or respiratory disease. His anguished words are not just a figment of his imagination, and he is not a deluded man stricken with some creeping paranoia when he assumes that the air is killing everybody around him. He just happens to be living in Plemetina, a small town among a cluster of villages unfortunate enough to be in the front lines of the colossal monster-chimneys of Kosovo power plants, billowing out smoke, ash and disease. But it’s not just Driton’s hometown under the reign of gloom; it is the big blue sky over Europe’s youngest country that is vanishing under dense and lingering clouds. They descend slowly, coating the land in acrid dust and hoary smoke, like the whole place is trying to overcome the effects of some cataclysmic event in the sky. The outdoor air in Kosovo is a slow killer. It’s laden with deadly pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide — two particularly poisonous air toxins — which are responsible for qualifying the air there as Europe’s worst. The most dangerous places to breathe in Kosovo are cities and urban areas, where the prevalence of cancer, pulmonary and respiratory diseases are some of the leading causes of hospitalization, illness and death in the country. In one of its most comprehensive environmental analyses in Kosovo, the World Bank reckons that air pollution causes over 800 premature deaths, 300 cases of bronchitis, and over 11,000 hospital emergency visits. No one knows exactly how many people battle the effects of poor health without seeking medical attention. This ongoing disaster imposes staggering costs to the already feeble public health system in Kosovo, with estimates going as high as 158 million euros — an equivalent of 4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. The biggest culprits for this carnage are power plants and coal mines, the burning of wood and lignite, industrial polluters (such as Trepca), public heaters, the fume-filled roads, and industrial and municipal landfill waste. In Kosovo’s rapid environmental degradation, outdoor air pollution is the most acute problem and the deadliest. The levels of pollution are especially frightening in urban areas like Prishtina, Obiliq and Mitrovica, with observed air quality exceeding all European limits of pollutant levels. After air pollution, lead contamination is the second-most serious and costly environmental pollutant in Kosovo. Lead is discarded from mines, such as coal and zinc, and it can also be found in gasoline and fuel used in cars and other motorized vehicles. Here, too, estimated costs from lead contamination reach 100 million euros. Air pollution has always been considered a major environmental challenge for public health in many countries, but the issue has taken a more serious turn since October 2013, when the World Health Organization (WHO) classified air pollution as a cancercausing agent. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a research arm of WHO, released a blunt assessment that outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer and poses high risks for bladder cancer. The head of the IARC Monograph section referred to outdoor air pollution as “the most important environmental cancer killer due to the large number of people exposed.” In addition, IARC classifies all outdoor air pollutants as carcinogenic, including diesel engine exhaust, dust, and various metals that ➳
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THE AIR IN KOSOVO IS A SLOW KILLER. SINCE 2013, THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION HAS CLASSIFIED AIR POLLUTION AS A CANCER-CAUSING AGENT. PHOTO: KUSHTRIM TERNAVA
KOSOVO’S FORESTS HAVE BEEN SUBJECT TO SEVERE ILLEGAL DEFORESTATION. REGENERATING THESE LOST HABITATS WILL TAKE DECADES. PHOTO: VISAR KRYEZIU
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— In Kosovo’s rapid environmental degradation, outdoor air pollution is the most acute problem and the deadliest. The levels of pollution are especially frightening in urban areas like Prishtina, Obiliq and Mitrovica, with observed air quality exceeding all European limits of pollutant levels.
circulate in the air. It is no wonder then that the people around Driton Berisha and many other Kosovars have such a high incidence of respiratory diseases and cancer. Mitigating the deadly effects of air pollution is the most urgent need, especially in urban areas where the problem is acute. Studies have shown that emitted dust is the main particle in the air that has a direct detrimental effect on health. According to the World Bank environmental study, 78 percent of the fine dust emitted in Kosovo comes from KEK’s power plants. Given the physical proximity to the power plants, Prishtina and its surroundings are the most affected by dust emissions. One suggested way to mitigate the effect that dust has on public health is to control the production of ash and employ technological solutions for gas treatment. The World Bank estimates that reducing the current levels of dust by about 10 percent would cost Kosovo approximately 34 million euros. Gas treatment, which would address the problem of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, would cost another 50 million euros for both power plants. ON THE ROAD Beyond the pollution caused by these power plants and other industrial complexes such as Ferronikeli, transportation is also a leading contributor to air pollution. In the European Union, vehicle emissions are strictly enforced, but such regulations apply only to new vehicles. This means that old vehicles may not possess the technology to control emission of particles in the air. This is a problem in Kosovo because the majority of the country’s imports of second-hand cars come from the European Union. Reducing vehicle emissions in Kosovo then requires a strategy to deal with the old stock of vehicles, as most of the approximately 390,000 vehicles on the road (as of 2009) belong in this category. Technical measures to mitigate emissions vary and include the installation of filters and other converters to control emitted particles, as well as effectively dealing with lead content in gasoline. The most important could be adopting a strategy that limits the use of private cars by adopting effective public transportation policies and reducing private vehicle use in urban areas. Many cities that deal with air pollution have found ways to create public policies that mitigate the negative impact of vehicle emissions; examining some of these studies may yield ideas that could be practical and sensible for adoption in Kosovo. While air pollution from industrial power plants and traffic is the deadliest form of environmental degradation in the new country, it is not the only issue that Kosovars face in their living environment. Kosovo has some of the highest rates of municipal waste production in Europe. Different from industrial waste, municipal waste is generated mostly from households, as well as small shops and businesses, which are often mixed together. In the European Union, municipal waste accounts for an estimated 10 percent, but that number is much higher in Kosovo. According to Kosovo’s own Environmental Agency’s 2012 annual report, the country generated 334 kilograms of waste per person per year. The average for the European Union in the same year was 492 kilograms per person. This may look like Kosovo is under the average, but the problem here is also with collection rates. EU countries’ waste collection covers 97 ➳
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KEK’S POWER PLANTS PRODUCE THE MAJORITY OF KOSOVO’S FINE DUST EMISSIONS. PRISHTINA IS PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE DUE TO ITS PROXIMITY TO THEM. PHOTO: ATDHE MULLA
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KOSOVO NEEDS A LONG-TERM, MULTI-DIMENSIONAL APPROACH AND SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES TO TACKLE ITS MULTITUDE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS. PHOTO: KUSHTRIM TERNAVA
EVERY YEAR IN KOSOVO, AN ESTIMATED 13 CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 5 DIE BECAUSE OF WATER CONTAMINATION AND POOR HYGIENE. CHILDREN ARE PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO WATERBORNE DISEASES SUCH AS DIARRHEA. PHOTO: VISAR KRYEZIU
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— The World Bank estimates that the annual cost of environmental degradation with respect to deforestation reaches over 19 million euros.
percent of the population, compared to about 41 percent in Kosovo. The issue of waste generation has only gotten worse over the last few years. While the municipal waste generated in the EU fell by 5 percent between 2007 and 2012, Kosovo increased its own by 100 percent from 2008 to 2012. Since the collection rate in terms of population covered hasn't changed much, this would suggest that Kosovars are generating waste at a faster rate than any time since data collection began. This also explains why the current average of 334 kilograms waste generated per person may not be a proper estimate. In fact, this is misleading because if more than 90 percent of the population were to be covered, the average waste generation would increase substantially, possibly surpassing regional and EU averages. This would put Kosovo in category with one of Europe’s highest rates of waste generation on per capita basis. High rates of waste generation are often seen as a byproduct of wealth and consumption; rich countries generate more waste per person than poor ones. Denmark, for example, generated 668 kilograms of waste per person in 2012, Germany 611, and France 534. But these countries have also developed some of the best methods of treating waste, where less than 3 percent of generated waste is disposed in landfills — the worst form of waste treatment. Over 95 percent of waste generated in these countries is recycled, composted or incinerated in controlled environments. By contrast, over 95 percent of Kosovo’s waste ends up in landfills, most of which do not even meet the standards of modern landfills. Again, almost 60 percent of people in Kosovo are not covered by waste collection. This means that all the waste generated in this group goes uncollected, ending up in the streets and the surrounding environment. Illegal dumping pollutes water streams and food, spreading disease, choking life and harming biodiversity in plants and animals. FOULING THE WATERS All rivers in Kosovo are classified as polluted sources of water due to untreated sewage, inadequate waste disposal and other forms of waste dumping. As with air pollution, industrial polluters, including KEK, Ferronikeli, Trepca and other industrial complexes, play a leading role in water contamination by releasing heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, a toxic chemical element that is listed in the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances. Apart from industrial polluters, agriculture also plays a significant role in polluting water sources where management of manure is largely absent. Livestock manure, for example, contributes to approximately 19,000 tons of nitrogen per year, with most of it ending in water streams. The contamination of water resources leads to various waterborne diseases, the most serious of which is diarrhea — and children are especially vulnerable to the disease. Using methodologies created by the WHO, the World Bank estimates that in Kosovo about 13 children under the age of 5 die every year as a result of water contamination and poor hygiene. The total impact of water contamination and poor hygiene and water supply costs Kosovo over 30 million euro, but more accurate measures of long term public health and environmental consequences are unknowable. Beyond the grey ash that floats in the air, polluted streams and rivers, as well as strewn industrial and municipal waste, the trees are vanishing from Kosovo’s forests. The disappearance of forests might be one of the saddest stories in the degradation of the natural habitat in Kosovo, especially considering that it takes decades to regener- ➳
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THE ILLEGAL DUMPING OF WASTE CONTRIBUTES TO WATER CONTAMINATION SUCH AS HERE AT LAKE BADOVC; ALL OF KOSOVO’S RIVERS ARE CLASSIFIED AS POLLUTED SOURCES OF WATER. PHOTO: KUSHTRIM TERNAVA
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KOSOVO’S WASTE PRODUCTION HAS INCREASED BY 100 PERCENT IN RECENT YEARS, WHILE WASTE PRODUCTION IN THE EU HAS FALLEN. PHOTO: KUSHTRIM TERNAVA
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ate lost trees. Deforestation by illegal logging, fires and other forms of destruction has reduced many areas of forests and woodlands of Kosovo into sad and bare-looking slopes of shrubs and bushes. By its own reckoning, Kosovo’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development calculates that despite the disappearance of forests, only 0.5 percent of it is replanted using cultivation. Illegal woodcutting is one of the most pernicious in destroying woodland, with more than 40 percent of public forests being cut illegally. The root cause for this is primarily economic in nature, where poverty and poor economic conditions have led to more than 95 percent of illegal wood being used as firewood for household heating. The World Bank estimates that the annual cost of environmental degradation with respect to deforestation reaches over 19 million euros. In the end, environmental degradation in Kosovo is not limited only to outdoor air pollution and waste, but extends to other areas such as land misuse and contamination, destruction of small ecosystems, and the endangerment and killing of wildlife. To mitigate and start reversing the effects of this mindless destruction, Kosovo government — both central and local — needs to engage in a systematic campaign of public education, regulation, enforcement and investment. There is no single method or policy action that would be able to start reversing the harmful trends on so many levels. A multi-year and multi-dimensional approach with significant resources and investments is needed to address some of the above issues, but government alone will not be able to tackle the multitude of environmental problems that the country faces. Other organizations and institutions, including private sector, NGOs, think tanks, environmental organizations, as well as ordinary Kosovars, would need to participate in the effort in order to have an effect and start reversing the trend that is costing Kosovo so much in money and lives. — K
Mikra Krasniqi is a senior economist with the government of Maryland’s Office of Business and Economic Development in Baltimore, Md.
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MORE THAN A DROP IN THE BUCKET
FRESH WATER IS ALREADY SCARCE; THE NUMBERS TELL US WE NEED TO PROTECT WHAT WE HAVE TEXT BY FABIEN TECHENE / ILLUSTRATION BY VAN LENNEP
Having access to water has been recognized by the United Nations as one of our fundamental human rights. Unlike oil — which, believe it or not, we could technically survive without — water is essential to life. Yet
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despite being invaluable to our very existence, it’s something to which most of us very rarely give a second thought. We wanted to change that, so we put together this handy guide to water in Kosovo.
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WATER AVAILABILITY ON EARTH
IN THE BALKANS “Renewable water” represents the average annual flow of surface water (such as rivers and lakes) and the confusingly named groundwater (this water is actually found underground). It’s the best indicator for identifying the level of water resources that a country can access. The percentage of renewable water per person in Kosovo is lower than anywhere else in the Balkans and just 16 percent of the regional average. Kosovo is a country in water stress: At certain times of the year, the demand for water can exceed the amount available.
More than 97 percent of the water on Earth is salty (mainly in oceans). The other 3 percent, the fresh water, is mainly in the form of ice (glaciers and ice caps) and not readily available for human consumption. FRESH WATER
RENEWABLE WATER RESOURCES LITERS PER PERSON PER DAY 70.000 60.000 50.000 40.000 30.000 20.000
The amount of fresh water on the surface of Earth (such as lakes, rivers, and swamps), and in the atmosphere, is relatively insignificant in numeric terms (but highly significant in terms of sustaining life). ALTOGETHER, LESS THAN 1 PERCENT OF THE WATER ON EARTH IS LIQUID, FRESH AND AVAILABLE. AND MOST OF IT IS LOCATED UNDERGROUND.
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KOSOVO
BULGARIA
MACEDONIA
ALBANIA
ROMANIA
0 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
1%
SERBIA
30%
CROATIA
69%
10.000
Water stresses lead to the deterioration of fresh water resources in terms of quantity (meaning that rivers and lakes can dry up, or groundwater can be overexploited), which as a result leads to the deterioration of quality (pollutants become more concentrated, oxygen becomes more scarce and wildlife becomes threatened).
KOSOVO 2.0
COMPETING WATER USES WORLD
KOSOVO’S DRINKING WATER ORIGINS HIGH-INCOME COUNTRIES
Only 38 percent of drinking water comes from groundwater. This water is mainly collected through natural springs. In Kosovo, 62 percent of the drinking water produced comes from surface sources. It is essentially water accumulated in Kosovo’s artificial lakes. The total accumulation capacity in Kosovo is approximately 290,000 liters per person, which is a low level of storage, less than half of other countries in the Balkans (which on average have 690,000 liters per person).
LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES
KOSOVO
In 2010, up to 20 additional large accumulations were identified with potential for development, but to date, no tangible action has been taken.
2% RESERVOIRS 2% RIVERS DOMESTIC USE
INDUSTRIAL USE
AGRICULTURAL USE
A country’s primary use of water, generally reflects its economic situation.
6% WELLS
In high-income countries, the industrial sector is usually welldeveloped and therefore represents a high percentage of water usage. The top water guzzler in low-income countries is often also the country’s main source of income: agriculture. Nevertheless, the proportion of water used for domestic purposes is similar in high- and low-income countries. Kosovo is a special case, as domestic supply represents more than half of all water consumption. On an annual average basis, the agricultural sector uses less water, but it is by far the largest consumer during the growing season (summer and autumn).
32% NATURAL SOURCES
58% LAKES
The small percentage of water used in the industrial sector reflects poor industrial development.
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QUALITY Water quality is assessed based on results of regular monthly reports from the Water Centre (NIPH), the institution responsible for monitoring and ensuring that the water distributed by regional water companies is safely drinkable and in accordance with legal parameters guaranteeing water quality.
With an average of 99.7 percent positive tests since 2007, the best water is Kosovo is produced in Gjakova region. A full 100 percent of the drinking water produced comes from Lake Radoniqi. This shows how important it is to preserve Kosovo’s surface water.
There are three types of quality indicators: microbiological (high levels may cause an immediate impact on health, ranging from needing a quick dash to the toilet to something more sinister), chemical (high levels may have harmful effects further down the line, such as chemical poisoning) and physical (largely aesthetic issues of slightly odd colours, tastes and smells).
MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY
IN 2013, ON AVERAGE THE WATER QUALITY IN KOSOVO WAS:
MICROBIOLOGICAL
98.4%
PASSED THE WATER QUALITY TESTS PHYSICAL & CHEMICAL QUALITY
PHYSICAL & CHEMICAL
97.5%
PASSED THE WATER QUALITY TESTS
While pass rates well above 90% might seem good at first glance, don’t feel reassured quite so quickly. Internationally, pass rates should be at 99%. Kosovo has been making significant progress toward that figure in recent years, though. On top of that fact, the quality of drinking water in Kosovo depends highly on the area where it is produced. The last results published by Kosovo government authorities in 2013 showed that the bacteriological quality of the drinking water was either “good” (Gjakova, Prishtina) or still at an “acceptable” level.
LESS THAN 1% OF FAILED TESTS 1% TO 3% OF FAILED TESTS MORE THAN 3% OF FAILED TESTS
In some of Kosovo’s regions, the problems with quality come from specific localities within a bigger area. This can misleadingly reduce the average result for the whole region. For instance, the overall average quality of the drinking water produced in the region of Peja is affected by a high presence of chemical pollution in the area of supply from Klina.
But if we zoom in locally, many other factors potentially contaminate drinking water, as well. For example, regular water cuts mean that the pipes are often empty, creating fertile conditions for bacteria to grow in them. Then there’s the issue of people connecting illegally to the water system, risking external contamination.
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KOSOVO'S DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION
REGIONAL DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION
TODAY, THE AMOUNT OF DRINKING WATER AVAILABLE PER PERSON FOR DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION, PER DAY IS 93 LITERS. THAT’S ABOUT 62 BIG BOTTLES OF WATER.
LITERS PER PERSON PER DAY
250 200 150 100 50
KOSOVO
ALBANIA
BULGARIA
CROATIA
MACEDONIA
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
SERBIA
MONTENEGRO
0
REGIONAL DOMESTIC AVERAGE 140 LITERS KOSOVO'S DOMESTIC AVERAGE 93 LITERS
Per day, 93 liters per person is well below the regional average of drinking water consumption, which is about 140 liters per person per day. Given that more than half of the water consumed in Kosovo is used for domestic purposes, it shows that Kosovo’s fresh water availability is particularly scarce.
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NON-REVENUE WATER AND DRINKING WATER CONSUMPTION It may sound careless, but each year a large amount of drinking water is ‘lost’ after treatment. This is commonly called “non-revenue water.” Here’s how it happens: As water is transferred from treatment plants to the end consumer, leakages occur in the transfer system. These are so-called “technical losses.” But there are other types of losses as well, such as people consuming water but not being billed for it. It means that they’re either illegally connected to the system or there is improper metering of consumption. These are known in the industry as “commercial losses,” (most people would commonly understand it as theft).
To give an example, let’s see how all of this played out in 2013. From the total 134 million cubic meters of drinking water produced by Kosovo’s regional water companies, only 58 million cubic meters was billed to customers. So the 76 million cubic meters missing was lost either to technical or commercial reasons. That means 57 percent of Kosovo’s treated water is lost one way or another (the breakdown between technical and commercial losses is unknown). So to picture it better; the water lost is three times the volume of Lake Badovc, or more than 25,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. For comparison, international best practice standards for non-revenue water is about 20 percent. In some cases, it even falls below 10 percent. Put in that light, Kosovo’s 57 percent loss looks even worse.
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COST OF WATER FOR THE CONSUMER The cost of tap water in Kosovo is only 0.48 euros per cubic meter (1,000 liters). So you could buy the equivalent of 667 big water bottles for 0.48 euros. Alongside Serbia, Kosovo is the country with the cheapest tap water in the region.
Considering Kosovo’s relatively low supply of water, drinking water could be more expensive. But bearing in mind the average income, it would have a significant impact on household budgets. Therefore, the Assembly of Kosovo, through the Water and Waste Regulatory Office, keeps the price artificially low.
In comparison with other European countries, the average* price per cubic meter of tap water is 1.12 euros in Italy, 3.66 euros in the UK and 5.31 euros in Germany.
* Average using the price in the 5 biggest cities of each country.
BOTTLED WATER IS 400 TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE EQUIVALENT VOLUME OF TAP WATER ➳
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WASTEWATER Every day, we wash ourselves and our dishes, our clothes, we flush the toilet, we brush our teeth… all of this generates wastewater. Sixty percent of homes channel this wastewater through drainage systems.
IN KOSOVO, 84% OF HOMES HAVE FLUSH TOILETS
In fact, there is only one urban wastewater treatment plant in all of Kosovo. This means that of the 60 percent of wastewater that is collected in Kosovo, 99 percent is released directly into the natural environment anyway. This is surely affecting Kosovo’s surface water (and, to a lesser extent, groundwater), and slowly but surely killing Kosovo’s water ecosystems. Considering that we will someday be drinking this same water, if we don’t turn the situation around soon, we could all be sunk. — K
Fabien Techene is a water specialist with several years of experience working in river and land management agencies in France.
As with water supply, the situation in urban and rural areas is markedly different. Urban wastewater collection coverage averages 72 percent, whereas the rural wastewater collection coverage is only 42 percent. Prishtina, Kosovo’s capital and largest city, doesn’t yet have a wastewater treatment system. By comparison, 91 percent of the European Union’s biggest cities have established treatment systems for their wastewater.
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RIVERBANKS ARE FORMED THROUGH NATURAL PROCESSES OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS. IN KOSOVO, IT HAS TAKEN JUST 15 YEARS OF ILLEGAL MINING TO SERIOUSLY DEGRADE THEM. PHOTO: VISAR KRYEZIU
GOING AGAINST THE FLOW ILLEGAL MINING OF THE COUNTRY'S RIVERBEDS ISN'T JUST A CRIME — IT'S DANGEROUS TO US ALL TEXT BY DAFINA HALILI / PHOTO BY VISAR KRYEZIU
—DAYLIGHT FADES AND the environmental inspectors clock off for the evening. Large, heavy vehicles approach the White Drin riverbed for indiscriminate sand mining. Without a care for the limits posed by environmental legislation, powerful independent and construction companies illegally extract sand and gravel from the riverbed to use as their primary source of construction aggregate. The postwar construction boom has seen Kosovo develop at the expense of its rivers, mostly affecting the White Drin (the country’s longest river, at 122 kilometers) that runs through the western part of the nation. Normally, riverbanks are shaped through natural processes lasting millions of years. In Kosovo, however, it took just 15 years to damage, and in some ➳
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FROM ROCKET SCIENCE TO SOLAR ENERGY TEXT BY CRISTINA MARI / PHOTOS BY ATDHE MULLA
VISAR KELMENDI IS HOPING TO BE THE GUIDING LIGHT IN KOSOVO'S SOLAR ENERGY REVOLUTION
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ENTREPRENEUR VISAR KELMENDI HAS SPENT YEARS TRYING TO RAISE AWARENESS OF SOLAR ENERGY’S POTENTIAL.
KOSOVO 2.0
— “When all the generators were on, it was like entering at a NATO base, all that noise,” Kelmendi says jokingly. “What could I do to change that?”
— AT VISAR KELMENDI’S OFFICE, there is a policy of not printing documents in an effort to be more environmentally friendly. “You have to start creating a culture from the inside,” he says, though later, after visiting a solar plant built by his company, Green Energy Technologies (GET), he throws his cigarette to the ground and stubs it out with his leather shoe. Kelmendi, 29, has the spirit of an entrepreneur, deciding to get into something that some in Kosovo still confuse with a solarium: solar energy. Born in Prishtina in 1985, he grew up in the Taslixhe neighborhood, near Germia National Park and the smaller Topbahce Park. “The only technology we kids had back then was Tetris,” he jokes, referring to the one of the first popular video games. “And when we’d get done with it, we’d only had one option: to go out and play in nature.” Before he jumped into the green land of renewables, Kelmendi started his own independent advertising business at the age of 17. Later on, he volunteered with a nonprofit charity organization supporting children at risk, raising awareness to bring in community and institutional support as well. He was also chief operating officer in the Dukagjini Corporation (one of Kosovo’s biggest corporations, which owns big brands such as Peja beer). After the 1998-99 war in Kosovo, electricity outages were very frequent and lasted for long periods during the day, mainly due to the low technical capacity and bad infrastructure of the electricity company (KEK) to supply the demand, which relies on coal-fired power plants. For the first few years, these outages could last around eight hours, alternating with shorter periods of several hours of working electricity. Bars, businesses, restaurants and many families had a power generator at home due to these frequent blackouts, which continued after Kosovo declared independence in 2008 — though they had been considerably reduced. “When all the generators were on, it was like entering at
KOSOVO RECEIVES MORE SOLAR RADIATION THAN GERMANY, THE LEADING COUNTRY IN THE SOLAR ENERGY SECTOR.
a NATO base, all that noise,” Kelmendi says jokingly. “What could I do to change that?” After finishing his studies in marketing in Prishtina, he decided to gain an international certificate as a marketing expert. It surprised Kelmendi that half of the questions on the test were not about selling, but about the environment. In the autumn of 2010 he decided to start Green Energy Technologies (GET), together with childhood friend and environmental expert Pellumb Gjinolli, as well as his own brother, Astrit Kelmendi, who would handle finances. There was one small inconvenience, though. “Everyone would see solar panels as rocket science,” Kelmendi exclaimed. During the initial years, his job consisted mostly of raising awareness about solar energy, especially among wealthy consumers. There were two messages they tried to convince these particular clients of: firstly, that they had become rich because they saved money, and that with solar energy they would save money in the long term by reducing their electricity bill. “And on the other hand,” Kelmendi continues, “that they would contribute to the community by protecting the environment.” He admits that the majority of those clients only cared about their money. Yet in 2010, still in its beginnings, GET came across another client type — “the enthusiastic.” They were from Kosovo but usually had lived abroad, Kelmendi said, and by the time he would arrive at their homes, they had already researched everything about solar panels but the price.
COSTLY INDEPENDENCE Renewables are not easy to sell because of their high acquisition cost. To turn an average family home into a totally independent, privatized energy grid by installing solar technologies is possible, though costly. In Kosovo, only a minority can afford it, as the average monthly household income for an average family (of five members) is 546 euros, according to the United Nations Development Programme 2012 report Kosovo Remittances Study. A solar energy system that gets rid
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