VOLVOX – Stronger involvement of civil society in environmental policy making and monitoring

We are commencing a new two year project VOLVOX – Stronger involvement of civil society in environmental policy making and monitoring funded by the EU.

As a Project Lead, partnered up with Belgrade Open School (BOS) and Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute (RERI), we are seeking to engage in advocating for adoption of key environmental strategic documents and legislative improvements, based on wide public participation, effective monitoring of policy development and implementation and strengthening the preventive mechanisms through environmental impact assessment (EIA), strategic environmental impact assessment (SEA) and monitoring of polluters activities and their alignment with legal obligations.

Within the next two years, YRS will conduct a cluster of activities aiming at strengthening the capacities of citizens, grassroots and CSOs for participation in decision making processes related to environmental protection, by fostering open and inclusive participatory policy making processes. It will also increase accountability of public administration in environmental preventive mechanisms transposed through the EU integration process in Serbian legislative and public policy system.

With the overall objective to streamline the transformative power of EU integration process and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans into environment and climate change reforms in Serbia, we are also aspiring to contribute to creating a competent civil society capable to act as credible partner to public authorities in environmental policy development and to perform effective independent oversight of strategic decision making and investment processes.