LEAP Municipality of DOJRAN

The printing of this publication has been enabled by the donation provided by the Swed- ish International Development Assistance Agency (Sida) in cooperation with the Re- gional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe – Country Office Mace- donia.

2006-2012 MUNICIPALITY OF DOJRAN LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN

Publisher: Municipality of Dojran “Kej 5-ti noemvri” b.b 1487 Dojran

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LOCAL environmental action plan action plan: Municipality of Dojran. - Dojran: Municipality of Dojran, 2007. - 100 pages: illustration. ; 26 sm

footnote for the text

ISBN 978-9989-57-501-3

a) Environmental policy - Dojran -Reports COBISS.MK-ID 68583434 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Dear Reader,

It is my special honour to present to you the Local Environmental Action Plan (LEAP) of the Municipality of Dojran, a project intended to create multi-annual strategy and policy for the environment and the nature protection and improvement, as well as promotion of the cooperation between non-governmental organizations active in the area of environment, authorities, business sector and other stakeholders, through supporting free exchange of environmental information and public participation in environmental decision making. The process of this document development has lasted for a year, involving intensive and con- tinuous work. During the LEAP development, several thematic papers and basic documents have been produced, including reports elaborated in DPSIR (Driving Forces, Pressures, State, Impacts, Responses) framework. Through this methodology, the problems in the five environmental areas (air, water, waste, soil and land use and nature) have been identified; assessment of problems and their prioritization have been performed. During the LEAP document development, detailed analysis of the community has been carried out, and goals, measures and actions have been set, through application of the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. This LEAP document is an attempt to make a step forward, in an institutionalized manner, towards the environment protection. Let us change what is not good and make it a road sign for the generations to come after us. In other words, it is a tool for provision of the financial resources required to implement environmental projects. I avail myself of this opportunity to express my appreciation to the Regional Environmental Centre for central and Eastern Europe (REC), Country Office Macedonia, which has supported the activities of the LEAP for the Municipality of Dojran, enabled through the funds allocated by the Swedish Government through the Swedish International Development Agency – Sida. Let me also thank the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, and the members of the Local Committee, members of the Working Groups and experts involved in the project, and the Local Coordinator, who have generously devoted major part of their time to contribute to the completion of this document, which is great importance for the Municipality. At the same time, I would like to thank all legal and natural persons, as well as the citizens of the Municipality of Dojran, for their contribution to the process of this document development.

With my best regards,

Risto Gusev, Mayor of the Municipality of Dojran

Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Based on Article 36 of the Law on Local Self-Government (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 5/2002) and Article 24 of the Statute of the Municipality of Star Dojran (“Official Gazette of the Municipality of Star Dojran” No. 16/03), the Council of the Municipality of Dojran, on its Session held on 28 December 2005, has adopted this

DECISION for adoption of the Local Environmental Action Plan of the Municipality of Dojran

Article 1

The Local Environmental Action Plan of the Municipality of Dojran proposed by the Local Com- mittee for Local Environmental Action Plan is hereby adopted.

Article 2

The Local Environmental Action Plan shal be an integral part of this Decision.

Article 3

This Decision shall enter into force on the day of its adoption and shall be published in the “Official Gazette of the Municipality of Dojran”.

No. 07-470/5 Council of the Municipality of Dojran 28 December 2005 Zoran Arizanov, President Star Dojran

Council of the Municipality of Star Dojran, 2000- 2004 Council of the Municipality of Dojran as of 2005

Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEAP OF THE MUNICI- PALITY OF DOJRAN

Milka Ajceva Local Coordinator Katerina Tuneva Deputy Local Coordinator and Public Relations Officer

The Local Committee has consisted of 29 members, namely:

1. Zoran Arizanov, President of the Council of the Municipality of Star Dojran 2. Petar Kocarev, Pensioner, Member of the Council of the Municipality of Star Dojran 3. Borivoj Bojadziev, Pensioner, Member of the Council of the Municipality of Star Dojran 4. Gjoko Dzinov, Member of the Council of the Municipality of Star Dojran 5. Ilija Rizov, Member of the Council of the Municipality of Star Dojran and representative of the Local Community Furka 6. Risto Gusev, employee in A.D. Dojran, Company for Grapes and Fruits Growing 7. Deljo Toncev, employee in A.D. Dojran, Company for Grapes and Fruits Growing, Member of the Council of the Municipality of Star Dojran 8. Blazo Stojanov, Private Businessman, Green-House Vegetable Production 9. Andrej Tasev, Member of the Council of the Municipality of Star Dojran, Private Businessman - Metal Processing Industry 10. Branko Gjorgiev, employee in the Municipality of Star Dojran 11. Darko Kacakov, Communal Inspector, Municipality of Star Dojran 12. Blazo Katrandziev, employee in the Municipality of Star Dojran 13. Tome Arizanov, Pensioner, Member of the environmental NGO for Dojran Lake protection 14. Zaklina Kreceva, Pedagogue in the Primary School “Koco Racin”, Nov Dojran 15. Sofija Karakaseva, Teacher in the Primary School “Koco Racin”, Nov Dojran 16. Gordana Terzieva, Teacher in the Primary School “Koco Racin” Nov Dojran 17. Uros Tasik, Member of the Council of the Municipality of Star Dojran and representative of the Local Community Crnicani 18. Mite Ristov, Owner of private company and representative of the Local Community Nikolik 19. Dragica Tonceva, Medical Doctor, General Practice 20. Marija Guseva, representative of environmental NGO “Javor” 21. Bahar Amedova, representative of the Local Community Gopceli 22. Dine Ajcev, Lawyer, Member of the Movement of Ecologists of Macedonia (D.E.M.) 23. Zvonko Dzinev, employee in the Public Utility “Komunalec-Polin”-Star Dojran, Project partner 24. Risana Ajceva, employee in the Public Utility “Komunalec-Polin”-Star Dojran, Project partner 25. Riste Kocarev, unemployed, representative of youth organization 26. Ivica Skarik, representative of the Local Community Star Dojran 27. Deljo P. Toncev, Veterinary Inspector, employee of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, Gevgelija Office 28. Pavle Lazarov, Director of the Public Utility “Komunalec-Polin”-Star Dojran 29. Marija Peneva, RIHP Veles - Gevgelija Office

Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

WORKING GROUPS

AIR SOIL AND LAND USE 1. Presence of energy plant, industry, noise 1. Industry - Andrej Tasev - Andrej Tasev 2. Transport, vehicle fleet 2. Population and tourism - Blaze Katrandziev - Branko Georgiev 3. Impact on human health 3. Agriculture - Dr Nikola Ajcev - Deljo R. Toncev - Dr Dragica Tonceva - Petar Kocarev NATURE - Snezana Milkovska, Institute of Occupational 1. Mining, agriculture Health - Deljo R.Toncev - Blazo Stojanov WATER 2.Livestock breeding and forestry 1. Water resources, bathing water quality, - Deljo R. Toncev water quality 3.Collection of medicinal and other plant - Dr Marija Penova species, snails, turtles, status, occurance of 2. Drinking water supply, municipal waste- diseases with flora and fauna species water 4. Hunting and fishery, tourism - Venci Iliev - Branko Georgiev 3. Impact on human health - Tome Arizanov - Dr Nikola Ajcev - Petar Toncev - Dr Dragica Tonceva - Kire Iliev - Gjoko Dzinev WASTE 1. Total quantity of waste generated, costs for waste management, illegal waste dump sites, waste management status - Pavle Lazarov - Zvonko Dzinev - Risana Ajceva - Venci Zahov

Laws on water, air, soil, waste and nature - Darko Kacakov - Dine Ajcev

External consultants that have been actively involved in the assessment of the state of the environment in the Municipality of Dojran and in the LEAP development - Ljupco Melovski, PhD, from Skopje and Nikola Ajcev, PhD.

Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE TEXT

LEAP Local Environmental Action Plan NEAP National Environmental Action Plan NGO Non-governmental Organization REC Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe Sida Swedish International Development Agency DPSIR Methodology: Driving Force- Pressure-State-Impact-Response LC Local Committee (for the LEAP development) SWOT Analysis: Strengths; Weaknesses; Opportunities; Threats GDP Gross Domestic Product LSGU Local Self-Government Unit GUP General Urban Plan DUP Detailed Urban Plan UDPP Urban Documentation on Populated Place Pp Populated place PU Public Utility SMART Simple/specific; Measurable; Applicable and Time–bound. NI National institution PEWSHS Public Enterprise Water Supply Hydro-system for Dojran Lake RIHP Republic Institute for Health Protection HESIHP Hygiene Epidemiological Service, Institute for Health Protection PHO IHP Public Health Organization, Institute for Health Protection OE Organizational Unit CA Cadastre area RM Republic of Macedonia FPRY Federative People’s Republic of Yugoslavia CC Construction Company RoB Registry of Births RoM Registry of Marriages RoD Registry of Deaths

Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

C O N T E N T S : I. INTRODUCTION ...... 13 I - 1. Background information on the LEAP...... 13 1.1. Goals and results of the LEAP of the Municipality of Dojran...... 14 1.2. Benefits from the LEAP development...... 15 1.3. Phases of the LEAP development...... 16 1.4. Organizational structure for the LEAP implementation...... 16 1.5. Methodology for the Plan development...... 17

II. NATURAL - GEOGRAPHIC AND SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF DOJRAN...... 19

II - 1. Description of the municipality...... 19 1.1. Geographic characteristics...... 19 1.2. Geological characteristics ...... 19 1.3. Hydrogeological characteristics...... 19 1.4. Tectonic characteristics...... 20 1.5. Relief...... 20 1.6. Climate characteristics...... 21 II - 2. History of the community...... 22 II - 3. Natural resources...... 25 II - 4. Population...... 25 II - 5. Education...... 28 II - 6. Health...... 29 II - 7. Infrastructure...... 30 II - 8. Urban and spatial planning...... 31 II - 9. Central government...... 31 II - 10. Local self-government...... 31 II - 11. Economy...... 32 II - 12. Culture and sports...... 33 II - 13. Civil sector...... 33

III. STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT REPORT OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF DOJRAN...... 34 Methodology used in the plan development III -1. Thematic area: Nature...... 35 III -2. Thematic area: Waste...... 46

10 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

III -3. Thematic area: Water and water resouces...... 48 III -4. Thematic area: Soils and land use...... 51 III -5. Thematic area: Air...... 53

IV. SWOT – ANALYSIS OF THE MUNICIPALITY...... 54 IV -1.Area: Demography...... 55 IV -2.Area: Social Welfare...... 56 IV-3.Area: Infrastructure...... 57 IV -4.Area: Local Government...... 58 IV -5.Area: Local Economy...... 59

V. PUBLIC OPINION POLL...... 60

VI. LIST OF DEFINED ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITIES IN THE MUNICIPALITY...... 63

VII.PLAN FOR THE LEAP IMPLEMENTATION...... 65

VIII. PLAN FOR THE LEAP IMPLEMENTATION MONITORING AND EVALUATION...... 74

IX. ATTACHMENTS...... 83

Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

I. INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE LEAP

Goals of the process of the LEAP development

The Law on Environment regulates the rights and the obligations of the Republic of Macedo- nia, the Municipalities, the City of Skopje and Municipalities in the City of Skopje, as well as the rights and the obligations of legal and natural persons concerning the provision of conditions for environment and nature protection and improvement, for the purposes of exercising the right of the citizens to a healthy living environment. The Law on Local Self-Government of 2002 stipulates the competences of the municipalities, the public participation in decision-making processes, the organization and the work of the municipal bodies, the mechanisms for cooperation between the municipalities and the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, etc. At the same time, the Law delegates to the municipalities the responsibility for environment and nature protection, i.e. measures for protection and prevention of the pollution of water, air, soil, nature protection, protection of soil and protection against non-ionizing radiation. The Law stipulates that municipalities are responsible for the environment protection, public services and spatial planning. The measures for environment and nature protection and improvement, envisaged in planning documents composing the system of environmental planning, have to be in line with the strategic, planning and programme documents in the areas of regional planning, education and science, economic activities based on the use of natural resources, transport, telecommunications, tourism, spatial and urban planning and agricultural land use. The Council of the Municipality, based on the assessment of the specific state and the needs, and in accordance with the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) adopts the Local Environ- mental Action Plan (LEAP) following the methodology established on national level. This planning document covers a period of six years, subject to permanent and ongoing updates upon its completion, as required by the newly occurred conditions, and it will be updated after the expiry of the period for its implementation as a matter of obligation. According the Law on Environment (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 53/ 2005), the Council of the Municipality is obliged to establish a body, managed by the Mayor, to monitor the implementation of the Local Environmental Action Plan and to report thereon to the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning once in a year, proposing changes in the Local En- vironmental Action Plan of the Municipality. Public participation in the preparation and adoption of local environmental action plans is one of the main preconditions for the adoption of a realistic and comprehensive document in which priorities are set and accepted by the citizens. The Local Environmental Action Plan (LEAP) is implemented by the Mayor of the Municipality and by other legal and natural persons specified in the Plan. The LEAP, based on the assessment of the level of the environment pollution in the area concerned, envisages medium and long-term measures and activities for environment and human health protection of interest to and under the competence of the Municipality, concerning in particular:

13 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

• Protection against air pollution and air quality improvement; • Supply of safe drinking water and water resources protection against pollution; • Wastewater treatment; • Waste management; • Protection against noise and vibrations resulting from industrial and other economic activities; • Urban development and spatial planning; • Development of local public transport and traffic in the area; • Increase of energy efficiency; • Development of eco-cultural tourism and its impact on the environment; • Protection of biodiversity; • Natural resources use and management; • Public awareness increase and promotion of education concerning environment and na ture protection and improvement; • Environmental implications from economic development; and • Authorities responsible for the implementation of individual Plan elements. The development of the Local Environmental Action Plan (LEAP) is the first step towards environment protection through promotion of sustainable development. Taking into account that the local financial sources are limited, local authorities have to use them in a cost-effective manner, through application of low-budget and efficient strategies for environmental problems settlement. In these processes, it is necessary to enable active public participation in decision making and free access to information. The LEAP (Local Environmental Action Plan) is a strategic document which identifies environmental problems, creates the goals and the tasks for their overcoming or improvement and establishes new opportunities for the management of the policy of environment protection and improvement in our Municipality, in order to facilitate the progress and sustainable development of the Municipality, improvement of the state of the environment, improvement of conditions for the population living and health protection.

1.1 Goals and results of the LEAP of the Municipality of Dojran

The main goals of the development of the Local Environmental Action Plan (LEAP) in the Munici- pality of Dojran are as follows:

• Environmental problems definition, assessment and identification, based on the risk related to human health, ecosystems and the overall quality of life in the Municipality of Dojran; • Development of strategies and activities to reduce environmental risks in the Municipa-lity; • Increased public environmental awareness and accountability and enhanced public support for environmental investments in the Municipality. The process of the LEAP development in the Municipality of Dojran has indicated the following long-term benefits: • Established structure for cooperation among the stakeholders at local level, within the Mu- nicipality; • Public informed on existing environmental problems in the Municipality; • Increased public environmental awareness in the Municipality; • Successfully developed strategies for environmental problems settlement;

14 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

• Established conditions and local capacity for future investments aimed at solving the e n - vironmental problems in the Municipality; • Establishes grounds for long-term overcoming of the problem related to Dojran Lake through transboundary cooperation with the Municipalities Dojrani and Kilkis from the Republic of Greece.

1.2. Benefits from the LEAP development

The process of the LEAP development in the Municipality has produced benefits for all sectors of the community, namely:

Benefits for the local self-government

• During the LEAP development, representatives of the local self-government have gathered together the members of the community in order to achieve consensus on priority environmental issues. • Public participation enabled the identified actions to be acceptable for everyone in the community. • The above resulted in enhanced confidence by the public in the functioning of the local self- government and in the expressed support by citizens to the efforts made by the authorities towards protection of the environment in the Municipality. • The process of the LEAP development has strengthened the capacity of the Municipality for implementation of projects based on cooperation between different sectors in the Municipality, as well as for the long-term planning of the development of Dojran. • The capacity of representatives of the local self-government in the domains of environmental projects planning and implementation has also increased.

Benefits for local businesses

• For the local businessmen, the LEAP development have given rise to new ideas and economic initiatives that could result in new jobs, revenues and increased consumption in the community. • Representatives of local businessmen involved in the process of the LEAP development have gained an understanding that the protection of the environment is not only a cost, but also an opportunity for new investments, expenditures reduction or profit increase.

Benefits for local NGOs

• The process of the LEAP development has provided the opportunity to local NGOs to establish partnerships with local officials and business leaders. • The LEAP document itself promotes the important role of non-governmental organizations in the process of its development, as well as in the process of its implementation. • The capacity of NGOs for joint environmental projects planning and implementation is strengthened.

15 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Knowledge acquired during the LEAP development

In the process of the LEAP development, the following knowledge has been acquired in the Municipality of Dojran:

• While collecting the data required for the environmental state assessment, it has been concluded that the Municipality has got insufficient data, part of the data is still held by the Local offices, i.e. by the former municipality out of which new municipalities have been established in 1996, namely the Municipality of Gevgelija. • Insufficient cooperation between Municipality and the local offices of the central Gov- ernment (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, Public Enterprise “Macedonian Forests” and other bodies) • Everyone should have an equal possibility for active participation; however, people of experience and knowledge who cope with problems in a given area every day, should be firstly involved. • The team work brings in fruitful results, provided that the team is professional and with clear division of the roles within the team. • Transparency in the work returnes to a certain extent the trust of citizens in authorities both at the level of the local self-government and wider.

1.3. Phases of the LEAP development

The process of the LEAP development in the Municipality of Dojran consisted of the following phases:

• Establishment of organizational structure for the LEAP development; • Development of a plan for public participation; • Assessment of the state of the environment and problems identification; • Priorities setting; • Definition of goals and tasks; • Establishment of mechanisms for the LEAP implementation - development of a written plan for the LEAP implementation; • Establishment of operational mechanisms for the LEAP monitoring, assessment and review.

1.4. Organizational structure for the LEAP implementation

According to the Law on Environment, the carrier of the process of the LEAP development and implementation is the Municipality, through establishment of partnerships with all stakeholders in the process. The process of the Dojran Municipality LEAP development started with the initiative for the LEAP development submitted by the Mayor and its adoption by the Council of the Municipality on 30 September 2004. Upon the signature of the Agreement for financial support of the process of the LEAP development with the REC Country Office Macedonia, and for the purpose of successful implementation of the LEAP project, the organizational structure for the LEAP development was set up. Taking into

16 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran account the interests of all sectors in the community, as well as the goals of the project, the organizational structure for the LEAP development in the Municipality of Dojran consisted of: • Local Coordinator • Local Committee, and • Working groups The Local Committee was approved by the Council of the Municipality and it included representatives of NGOs, economic branches, business sector, educational institutions, health, local authorities, public enterprises, etc. In addition to this, working groups composed of experts in the five topic areas were established, namely: air, water, waste, nature and land use and soil.

1.5. Methodology for the Plan development

After the establishment of the organizational structure for the LEAP development, the procedure for data collection was initiated, to serve as basis for the preparation of the assessment of the state of the environment in the Municipality of Dojran. To this end, five working groups have been established to cover the following thematic areas: air, water, waste, nature and land use and soil. Upon the collection of the required data, the work sheets and tables were filled in and data was analyzed and processed through application of the DPSIR - methodology, resulting in a Draft Re- port on the State of the Environment in the Municipality of Dojran. The Draft Report was supported by additional field facts finding visits, after which the Assessment of the state of the environment in the Municipality of Dojran, identifying the key problems, was completed. After the adoption of the Assessment of the state of the environment by the Local Committee, a Survey was prepared with a total of 27 indicated problems, out of which the citizens were expected to select 10 which according to them were priority. The polling was conducted in the period May/ June 2005. The total number of respondents was 419 or 15% of the total population of the Munici- pality of Dojran, including representatives from the following settlements: Nov Dojran, Star Dojran, Sretenovo, Furka, Nikolic, Crnicani, Gjopceli and Asanli. The data collected through the conducted survey was processed by the members of the Local Committee and based on the results, the rank list of environmental problems on the territory of the Municipality of Dojran was composed. On the basis of the said Rank List of problems, the LC performed problems prioritization according to pre-defined criteria, thus producing the final List of priorities. In parallel with the problems prioritization, the SWOT analysis of the Municipality was carried out for the following areas: infrastructure, social welfare, demography, local self-government and local economy. The next step in the process of the LEAP development was to define the goals and the tasks required to solve each of the priority problems, i.e. the first stage in the preparation of the action seg- ment of the Plan. While defining the goals and the tasks, the SMART principle was applied, meaning that the defined goals and tasks were simple, measurable, applicable, realistic and time bound. The second stage included selection and definition of specific actions for priority problems settlement, with identified responsible institutions, time of implementation, budget and potential funding sources. Upon the completion of the above activity, the overall work and activity of the Local Committee were summarized and the Draft LEAP document was elaborated, serving as a basis for the public discussion. For this purpose, copies of the Draft LEAP were delivered to all local communities in the Municipality, commercial entities and primary school, who were requested to review the Draft

17 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

LEAP and submit their opinions, suggestions and comments. The results from the public discussion, in a form of written submissions, were then reviewed by the Local Committee and some of the suggestions and comments were accepted and incorporated in the Plan. In this way, the final stage in the process of the LEAP document was reached, i.e. the Draft LEAP was prepared and submitted to the Council of the Municipality of Dojran, for consideration and adoption, ending up in the publication of the final version.

18 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

II NATURAL - GEOGRAPHIC AND SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERIS- TICS OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF DOJRAN

II .1. DESCRIPTION OF THE MUNICIPALITY

Photo no. 1 Building of the Municipality of Dojran By means of the Law on Territorial Division of the Republic of Macedonia, the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia established the new Mu- nicipality Star Dojran in 1996 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 49 of 14 Septem- ber 1996). As of 2004, according to the Law on Territorial Organization of the Local Self-Government in the Republic of Macedonia (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 55/2004 of 16 August 2004) the Municipality of Star Dojran has been renamed in Municipality of Dojran, with a total of 3426 inhabitants and 13 populated places, namely: Star Dojran, Sretenovo, Nov Dojran, Nikolik, Crnicani, Furka, Gjopceli, Organdzali, Kurtamzali, Sevendekli and Durutli (Dzumabos and Causli).

1.1. Geographic characteristics

Municipality of Dojran covers and area of 132 km2 out of which 42 km2 are occupied by the Lake of Dojran. It is situated next to the Dojran Lake, on the end south-eastern part of Macedonia, at 146 m above the sea level, right next to the border with the neighbouring Greece. The terrain of the Municipality is hilly in most of its part. The western shore of the Lake accommodates the plateau Kalatepe situated at 691 meter above the sea level. On the north-western part, the Asanlisko Pole (field) raises mildly and then continues through the village of Nikolik into a fertile valley. Northwest above the Asanlisko Pole, the hill of Boska raises up to 720 meters above the sea level, as does the Mountain of Belasica, while the slopes of the Krusa Mountain spread on east, sloping down gently towards the Lake, and thus creating very fertile areas. The lowest part of the valley is on south, at the settlement of Kara-Dojran in the neighbouring Greece.

1.2 .Geological characteristics

The Lake of Dojran and its wider area are situated in the bordering parts of two major geotec- tonic units, namely the border between Serbia-Macedonian massif on east and Vardar zone on west. The terrains in this area have been built of Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic Upper Eogene and Neogene quartens.

1.3. Hydrogeological characteristics

Hydrogeological characteristics of the watershed area of Dojran Lake are of great importance

19 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran for for the hydrological regime, due to the fact that huge portions of waters entering the Lake and going out of it are transported via underground ways. Based on the hydrogeological investigations performed so far in the area of Dojran and wider, hydrogeological interpretation and hydrogeological map have been produced. The hydrogeological mapping of the Republic of Macedonia is based on the littoral and tectonic composition of the terrain, the structure of porosity and filtration properties of rocks. According to the criteria applicable to Dojran region, two basic types of hydrological environments can be distinguished: 1. Water permeable, further divided into three groups: unbound quartal sediments, solid green and other rocks and carbonate rocks, and 2. Water non-permeable rocks, the most represented being: deluvial depositions, Belasica gran- ites, sericite peach stone shale, Eocene conglomerates, etc. Deposits of ground water - aquifers In terms of hydrological and techno-economic values, Dojran region has four types of aquifers of practicalm and thematic relevance, such as: aquifers in lake sediments, aquifers in polluvial sediments, aquifers in marbles and zone of geothermal waters.

1.4. Tectonic characteristics

The wider area of Dojran basin is characterized by complex tectonic structure created through several periods and phases. The processes during these tectonic phases have been preserved in a form of folds and fissures of different rock complexes. The following periods can be distinguished as the most prominent: Precambrian, Caledonian-Hercynian and Alpine. Traces from Precambrian period can be found on Belasica, where gneisses are folded into anticline and in the Vardar zone, represented by Bogdanci anticline. The Caledonian-Hercynian tectonic period is extraordinary reflected in powerful folds and fissures of Paleozoic rocks spreading along North-West-Southeast direction. The Alpine period is represented by four tectonic phases that have resulted in the main structural features of the Vardar zone.

1.5. Relief The area of the Unit of the Local Self- Photo no. 2 Panorama of Dojran Government (LSGU) of Dojran is hilly in most of its part. The western shore of the Lake accommodates the plateau Kalatepe situated at 691 meters above the sea level. On the north-western part, the Asanlisko Pole (field) raises mildly and then continues through the village of Nikolik into a fertile valley. North- west above the Asanlisko Pole, the hill of Boska raises up to 720 meters above the sea level, while the slopes of the Krusa Mountain spread on east, sloping down gently towards the Lake, and thus creating very fertile areas. The lowest part of the valley is on south, at the settlement of Kara-Dojran in the neighbouring Greece.

20 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

1.6. Climate characteristics

Owing to the opnennes of the valley towards south, the territory of the LSGU Dojran is subject to climate influences from the Thessaloniki Gulf, coming in through the valley of Vardar River and the channel of Gjolaj. Generally, the climate is characterized by warm and dry summers with high temperatures and mild and humid winters. Daily temperature of more than 26 °C is present in Dojran area for more than 120 days per year. The average annual duration of solar radiation is 2440 hours. The average annual temperature is 14.2°C. January is the coldest month with average mean temperature of 3.6°C, while the warmest month is July, with average mean temperature of 24.7°C. The absolute annual minimum temperature is - 13°C in January (the highest value of absolute minimum temperatures in the Republic of Mace- donia), while absolute maximum annual temperature is 43°C in July. At an average, there are 118 summer, and 29 tropical days. This can lead to the conclusion that the Mediterranean climate influence is rather high, especially during winter periods. The average annual temperature of the water in the Lake of Dojran is 15.8 °C which is similar to the temperature of the air. The water has the lowest average temperature in January and February, when the shore area is most frequently frozen, while in 2002 the whole Lake was frozen. The water is warmest in July and August, with an average temperature of 24.4 °C. This area is characterized by quantities of precipitation conditioned by Mediterranean climate influence, and it is highest in November with 88 mm, and lowest in July with 33,5 mm. The average annual quantity of precipitation amounts to 682 mm, which counts for an average of 77 rainy days or an average of 8.8 mm per rainy day. By individual years, it has been noting wide deviations from the average value, ranging from the year with highest precipitation value of 855 mm, to the driest year with a value of 467 mm. The highest annual precipitations were recorded in the period 1954 - 1957 and 1979 - 1982, while the driest period was from 1998 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2002. In the period between 1951 and 2000, precipitations noted a declining trend. In Dojran valley, the north-western wind predominates throughout the year, with an average annual frequency of 319‰, average annual velocity of 3.8 m/s and maximum annual velocity of 26.4 m/s. Next is the eastern wind, with an average annual frequency of 89‰, average annual velocity of 2.6 m/s and maximum annual velocity of 22.6 m/s. Apart from favorable thermal properties, the Lake of Dojran is also characterized by very high quantities of dissolved soles, amounting to 274.5 mg/l. It is actually the richest in soles Lake in Macedonia. The water contains mostly chlorides (31.0 mg/l), magnesium (19.2 mg/l), dry residue (CaCO3 – 183,0 mg/l)..

Photo no. 3 Dojran in 1987

21 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

II -2. HISTORY OF THE COMMUNITY

Records on the town of Dojran date as back as in the IV Century BC under the name Taurijan. After the breakdown of the Roman Empire, Dojran was included in the Byzantium and assumed to have obtained the name Polin during that period, as a derivation from the Greek word “polise” meaning city in Greek. Considering the name attached to the city in that time, it is easy to conclude that even then it was an important cultural and commercial centre. The city was occupied by Turks in 1372 and during the Turkish ruling, Dojran was an urban and district settlement. Before the Balkan Wars, Dojran District had 35.000 inhabitants, and the city itself more than 8.000 inhabitants, and according to some authors even more than 12.000, among which 3.000 were Turks. The favorable climate and economic conditions contributed to Dojran having constant number of population in that time, including the high class of the Turkish society – beys. That is why some of the Turkish residents called Dojran “Kjucuk Istanbul” (Small Istanbul). The very presence of Turkish beys in Dojran indicated the importance and the magnitude of the city in that time. The city occupied an extraordinary favorable position. Two-story houses were distributed in am- phitheatrically and each house had a view to the Lake. The main street passed along the very shore of the Lake, which was actually the commercial district with more than 300 shops and craftsman workshops. As consequences from the two Balkan Wars, the trade and the craftsmanship in Dojran dropped significantly. Many inhabitants, Turks before others, left the city and so, in 1914, the number of the population in the area of Dojran declined from 35.000 to 20.000, while in the city itself – to 5.000 inhabitants. The First World War brought in an end to the life in Dojran, With the Dojran population being evacuated in 1916, while in 1918, due to the war activities, the city was destroyed to the ground. Despite of this, in the period between the two world wars, Dojran did not lose the status of a town, but was declared, by means of a law, for a town, getting the name of Dojran Srez (District), with its Headquarters in Valandovo. The authorities of that time developed an urban plan for the city re- newal, but due to certain frauds during the restoration, it was terminated. Several historical monuments have been left behind this period, the most well-known among which are the following: Clock Tower – built in the XIV Century, in 1372, to mark the victory and the conquer of the city by the Turkish army. It was named so, because a clock placed by the people was placed on it.

Photo no. 4 Remains from the Clock Tower

Photo no. 5 Remains from Seova Fountain in the center 22 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Along the road and at the entry in the modern Star Dojran, there are remains from the big Church of St. Ilija built in 1848. It was nevertheless spared from military destructions in 1918.

The Turkish Bath - Built in the XV Century in the upper part of the city, populated exclusively by Turkish population. It was operational by 1916 when it was ruined. Despite the fact that the Bath was subject to huge damages from the war, it could be a monument from the Turkish ruling period upon certain restoration works. Until 2005, these monuments were under the competence of Photo no. 6 Remains from the Church of St. Ilija the State Institute for Monuments Conservation. As of 2005, with the entry into force of the Law on the Territorial Organization and the Law on Cultural Heritage, the monuments are under the competence of the Scientific Institution Insti- tute for Cultural Monuments Protection and Museum – Strumica.

The Monastery complex of St. Partenij Zograf- ski in Star Dojran, re-established in 2001 close to the former (no non-existing) Bishop’s residence of Partenij Zografski.

Photo no. 7 Remains from the Turkish Bath Visitors may visit the Monastery of St. Maria Magdalena, which incorporates the newly built Church dedicated to Russian new martyrs - the Royal family of Romanov (a generation before that, Partenij Zografski was a teacher in the Royal Family), while the inns and the small church of St. Maksim the Confessor and St. Grigorij Palama belong to the closed monastic area.

Photo no. 8 St. Partenij Zografski

23 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

In the period between 1955 and 1960, due to the favorable climate conditions, curative properties of the Lake, fishing and hunting, a new settlement of hotels, camping sites and week-end houses was built, and thus, in the period from 1968 to 1970, Dojran reached the number of 100.000 over- night stays per year. The period following 1970 has been considered as a period during which tourism was the leading economic branch in Dojran, marked by imitation of intensive building of hotels, children’s and workers’ rest homes, camping sites, week-end houses, etc. In parallel to the growth of the number of tourist and catering facilities, the number of visitors, i.e. over-night stays, grew accordingly. In the period from 1982 to 1988, the average number of visitors in Dojran was above 60.000 per year, with the average number of over-night stays of more than 300.000. Dojran resembled a small city of 10.000-15.000 inhabitants. The growth in visitors number stopped in 1989, namely in the moment denoting the start of the agony of the Lake of Dojran. In 1989 already, with the reduction of the water quantity in the Lake of Dojran, the number of visitors dropped as low as to 25.000-26.000 with 100.000 over-night stays per year. This number underwent further decline by 20% each consequent year, up to 1994. The years of 1998 with only 8.000 over-night stays and 2000 with hardly 20.000 over-night stays have been recorded as the worst years ever (Graphic 1). In 2002, measures intended to stop the loss of the water from the Dojran Lake were undertaken, as part of the Project “Dojran Lake salvage”, financed and implemented by the Government of the Republic of Macedonia. In the framework of the Project, a pipeline carrying more than 0.5 m3 water/sec from the underground springs Gjavato into the Lake was built. The system was put into operation in 2002. Thanks to this Project and favorable hydrological conditions, the water level in the Lake has raised by 2.3 meters during the last two years. As a result from the improved state of the lake’s ecosystem, in 2003, the number of over-night stays reached 45.000, while in 2004 private and hotel accommodation facilities hosted 70.000 over- night visitors, noting further 25% growth in 2005 compared to 2004, with the recorded 87.000 over- night stays.

Graphic no. 1 Graphical presentation of the number of over-night stays around Dojran Lake, from the beginning of environmental disaster in 1988 till present

Overn. stays

24 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran II -3. NATURAL RESOURCES One of the main natural resources enabling the sus- tenance of most of the population and development of the Municipality is the Lake of Dojran, which has been protected by means of the Law on Natural Rari- ties Protection of 1977 as a monument of nature. The Lake, with its curative properties, and the favorable climate, is also called curing resource (it has positive effects on many diseases, such as: bronchial, cardiovascular, rheumatic, skin and other diseases). Other important natural resources for the life in the Municipality include forests, represented with 13.874 ha, as well as the soil which supports the most impor- Photo no. 9 Mandra in Dojran Lake tant economic branch in the Municipality - the agriculture.

II - 4. POPULATION

The Municipality has 3.426 inhabitants in 13 populated places, out of which two are abandoned. Owing to the Lake and all favorable conditions it possesses, more than 600 week-end houses and 150 one-room apartments (into two complexes) have been built, and their owners spend most of the time during the year in Dojran, but they are not residents of the Municipality of Dojran. During major holidays, such as First of May and Eastern, Dojran is visited by more than 10.000 guests and similar number of one-day tourists. During summer season, under the current status of the water in the Lake, there are realistic chances to register 100.000 over-night stays.

Total population according to 2002 Census 3426 Number of populated places 13 Star Dojran - Sretenovo:total number of inhabit- 678 ants Nov Dojran 1100 Furka 570

Nikolik 541 Due to ecological disaster of Crnicani 221 Dojran Lake, economic activities Gopceli 155 in the area of the Municipality have Durutli 16 declined significantly, resulting in a Kurtamzali 121 process of migration. Organdzali 21 The social structure of the popu- Sevendakli 3 lation in the Municipality of Dojran is Dzumabos 1 presented in the tables below: Causli /

Table no. 1 Number of population in Dojran Municipality

25 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Total population as declared with regard to ethnic affiliation 1994-2002 Census

Alba- Bos- Other Total Macedonian nian Turkish Roma Vlach Serb niak 35-25 3651-3426 2670-2641 31-17 592-402 51-59 0-3 272-277 0-2

Total number of families, members in families and structure of families by type; 2002 Census Average no of Total number of members/ Structure in % ( total no of families = 100.0%) family Members/ Couple, Couple, Couple, Couple, Families families 3.2 married married with unmarried, unmarried, Mother with Father with 990 3166 without children without with chil- children children children 62.3 childen dren 7.6 1.4 27.6 0.7 0.4

Population, manpower and unemployment rate Population Manpower Employed Unemployed Unemployment rate Employment rate 3426 1434 1008 426 29.7 44.0

Unemployment among young people (as % of manpower aged between 15 and 24)

Manpower aged between 15 and 24 Unemployed aged between 15 and 25 Unemployment rate among young 220 131 people 59.5

Employment by economic sectors Employed Agriculture as % of Industry as % of the Industry as % of the Unknown as % of the 1008 manpower total total total 35.5 22.7 41.4 0.4

Table no. 2 Social structure of the population

26 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Data on population and households1

Population growth rates in the period 1994-2002 -0.80 Population density according to the Census of 2002 (inhabitants/ km2) 26.6 Natural population growth, 2002 -0.6 Demographic age - range, according to the Census of 2002 5 Total number of households, according to the Census of 2002 1020 Average number of members in a household, according to the Census of 2002 3.4 Share of persons in single member households in the total population, according to the Census of 2002 3.7 Total number of dwellings, according to the Census of 2002 2113 Percentage of households living in dwellings connected to public water supply (compared to the total number of households) 93.9 Percentage of households living in dwellings connected to public sewerage (compared to the total number of households) 23.5 Percentage of households living in dwellings with central heating (connected to public or private network), according to the Census of 2002 (compared to the total number of households) 1.6 Percentage of households living in dwellings with bathroom and toilet, according to the Census of 2002 (compared to the total number of households) 67.2 Economy, tertiary activities and infrastructure Number of organizational units in primary health care 5 Local roads 30 Number of post offices in 2002 2 Number of business entities - registered, 2004 (by 30 September 2004) 206 Number of business entities - active, 2004 (by 31 December 2003) 74 GDP per capita (in US$) (for the region) 6050 Employment rate, according to the Census of 2002 (percentage of employed in the total working able population - age between 15 and 64) 44.0 Rate of activity, Census 2002 62.1 Rate of activity of women, Census 2002 48.9 Unemployment rate, according to the Census of 2002 (Percentage of unemployed in the total manpower) 29.7 Unemployment rate of young people, according to the Census of 2002 (age between 15 and 24) 59.5 Long-term unemployment as percentage in the total unemployment 71.0 Expenditures per capita (in denars) 653 Public health care expenditures per capita (in denars) 0 Public education related expenditures per capita (in denars) 2,809 Public enterprises 2 Magnitude of voting corpus (number), Presidential elections 2004 2728

1Data source: State Statistical Office 27 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

II -5. EDUCATION

Photo no. 10 the Building of the Primary School “Koco Racin” The primary school “Koco Racin” from Nov Dojran was established in 1944-1945; since then, it has worked for more than 50 years in a successful and exemplary fashion in the field of education, training and contributing to the formation of young generations, thus contributing to their successful inclusion in all trends of social living. Up to 2001, the school worked in the old building built by the population by means of voluntary actions, located in the centre of Dojran. As of 1 September 2001, the scholl has moved into a new building, where the condutions for the performance of training and education process have been significantly improved, as have been the achievements of students. In the school year of 2005/06, the school has been attended by total of 333 students from first to eighth grade, while pre-school level has had 32 students or total of 365, instructed by 30 teachers. Within the school, there is also student’s home for students of Turkish ethnic affiliation accommodating 6 children. In the Municipality of Dojran, there is no kindergarten. The structure of the population, by literacy and current status in the education in the Municipal- ity are presented in the Tables below.

Structure in % of population (age above 15) by level of education acquired

Still in Without Un-completed Primary Secondary Advanced Higher Post-graduate Doctorate process of education primary edu- education education school education level primary education Faculty, cation Academy 0 2.7 25.8 32.7 33.5 2.2 3.1 0 0

Overview of number and structure by grades and classes and students enrolled therein during the school year 2005/2006 I II III IV Total grade grade grade grade Nov Dojran 5 6 8 14 33 Star Dojran 14 5 8 15 42 Nikolik 4 4 5 9 22 Furka 3 2 5 7 17 Crnicani 4 5 6 3 18 Gjopceli 3 4 4 5 16 Kurtamzali 4 2 5 5 16

Nov Dojran V grade VI grade VII grade VIII grade Total 46 42 38 43

Total 37 28 41 58 164

Table no. 3 Education structure of the population

28 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Редовни основни училишта во учебната 2002/2003 година 7 Ученици на еден наставник во редовните основни училишта во учебната 2002/2003 г. 13 Редовни средни училишта во учебната 2002/2003 г. - Ученици на еден наставник во редовните средни училишта во учебната 2002/2003 г. - Процент на деца на возраст од 7 до 14 години кои посетуваат основно училиште според податоците од пописот 2002 88.6 Стапка на писменост на населението на возраст над 10 години, според пописот 2002 97.4

II -6. HEALTH

Photo no. 11 Building of the Health Centre Nov Dojran Quality of the health care services

As of 1957, there has been a primary health care out-patient clinic in the Municipality of Dojran, organized through Public Health Organization Gevgelija. There are also five primary health care stations. At present, primary health care is available only for eight hours during the day. Medical staff in the Municipality of Dojran: One General Practicioner, one Internal Medicine Spa- cialist, one General Practice Specialist, four nurses, four midwives and one laboratory technician.

• There are no specialized out-patient clinics, nor biochemical laboratory. • In the Municipality of Dojran, there is a private veterinary station Napredok Gevgelija. • The rate of cancer incidence for the whole micro-region Gevgelija is 300.99 per 100.000 population, or 105 cancer cases by 2004, among which 86 in the City of Gevgelija and 19 in other settlements (including Dojran). Out of the above figure, 41 died, 26 of whom in the City of Gevgeli- ja, and 15 in other settlements (including Dojran). The leading diagnosis include: breast cancer and bronchial cancer with identical percentage share of 11.4%. • The natural population growth at the level of the whole Municipality is negative and amounts -0,6 per 1000 inhabitants, while mortality amounts to 9.1. • The total number of diceased amounts to 32, among which 17 male and 15 female (status in December 2004), or it is 9.34 inhabitants per 1000 population in 2004, with the main reasons being as follows: diseases of circular system - 22 cases, neoplasms 5, endocrine diseases 1, genitourinary system 1; sympthoms or insufficiently defined conditions 2; injuries and poisoning 1. • Infant deaths – 1 (status in December 2004) • Number of live births – male 17 and female 21 or total of 38 (status in December 2004) • 2.981 (for the whole micro- region of Gevgelija) beneficiaries who are unemployed, and health insured. Programme for the future health care development should be elaborated at the level of the Mu- nicipality, and it should envisage development of a Rehabilitation Centre for lungs, cardiovascular, rheumatic and other diseases, considering the geographical position and favorable micro-climate conditions. This would at the same time promote the development of health tourism in the Munici- pality of Dojran.

29 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

II-7. INFRASTRUCTURE

In terms of transportation, Municipality of Dojran is connected with the regional road sections R - 604 (Star Dojran-Strumica), R -110 (Udovo -Valandovo) and R - 111 (Gevgelija -Bogdanci-Dojran), through which it is connected with the highway Skopje -Gevgelija (E-75) as part of the EU Corridor 10. Photo no. 12 Private weekend house Streets are mostly asphalted, and there are non-asphalted streets only in some settlements - macadam road (Crni- cani). The road network includes: local roads in a length of 19.5 km, regional roads in a length of 17 km. Water supply of the settlements Nov Dojran and Star Dojran is carried out through ground water intake from three wells, namely: Derebas well with a capacity of 30 l/s at a depth of 90 meters; Mrdaja well with a capacity of 12 l/s and depth of 14.5 meters; Toplec well with a capacity of 20 l/s at a depth of 220 meters. Three reservoirs have been built to satisfy the demand for drinking water, with a total capacity of 1.250 m3. The lnegth of the water supply network is 30 km, while the coverage of the population reaches up to 93.9%, with 900 connections. Water supply in other populated places (Furka, Nikolik, Crnicani, Gjopceli, Kurtamzali, Duritli, Organdzali, Sevendekli, Causli and Dzumabos) is conducted through local water supply facilities, fountains and wells. These water supply facilities are managed by local communities. The said facilities do not comply with some of the basic technical norms and most of them are managed improperly. For the purpose of the Dojran Lake protection, the main water collection system was built in 1989 in a length of 8.340 meters. It is necessary to built secondary networks in Nov Dojran and Star Dojran, in a total length of 29.000 meters, out of which 6.500 meters have been constructed and 397 or 23.5 % households connected, while the number of septic tanks is 1762. The main sewerage network to connect the settlement of Nikolik is not completed, lacking 6.000 meters, as well as the secondary sewerage network in Nikolik. Based on the above, the wastewater treatment plant treats only the existing connections, although it has designed capacity to treat the whole quantity of wastewater. For the purpose of replenishment of additional quantity of water into the Lake of Dojran, water supply system was built in 2002 and Public Enterprise “Hydrosystem for Dojran Lake Protection” established by the Government of the Republic of Macedonia. At present, the main purpose of the operation of the hydrosystem is the survival of Dojran Lake, which has been enabled by means of uninterrupted water puping out of the wells located in the area of Gjavato in a quantity of 400-600 litres per second and its transportation to the Lake of Dojran. Dojran is supplied with electricity through two separate 110 KV long distance transmission lines from Bogdanci and from Valandovo, operating under voltage level of 35 KV and power transformation station of TS 35KV/10KV. Electricity transmission lines are of total length of 39 km and more than 900 connections, thus providing 100% coverage of the population. Construction of a new power transformation station TS 110 KV/ 35 KV/ 10KV has been planned. In 2001-2002, Dojran has had two post offices, while the number of telephone subscribers was 1.258 in 2001 and 1.402 in 2002.

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II -8. URBAN AND SPATIAL PLANNING

New general urban plan for the settlements of Nov Dojran and Star Dojran was adopted in 1999. Detailed urban plan (DUP) for the settlements of Nov Dojran and Star Dojran was developed in 1977, while the amendment of the detailed urban plan for Star Dojran, concerning the Lake shore area, was completed in 1996. In addition to the above, urban documentation was also adopted for the settlements Furka, Nikolik, Crnicani, Gjopceli and Kurtamzali in 2000. Construction of all buildings in the Municipality of Dojran is carried out in accordance with the Law on Building and norms prescribed by the DUP, with minor exceptions concerning illegaly built structures dating back in 1970, accounting for 3% compared to all other built structures. The undeveloped building land is still owned by the state, which is the reason why the LSGU is not able to create the local economic development of the Municipality (lack of legal possibility to issue building land plots to potential foreign or domestic investors).

IX -9. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT

There is only one representative body of the central government, i.e. Local Office Nov Dojran under the Ministry of Justice, Local Division in Gevgelija. Its role is to carry out the matters related to election lists (check up of the election list, changes, deletions) in the domain of registration matters in the populated places in the Municipality of Dojran (entry in Registry of Births, Registry of Deaths and Registry of Marriages) and other matters connected with the registration issues in the Municipality of Dojran.

II -10. LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

Municipality of Dojran represents the unit of the local self-government with its headquarters in Star Dojran. Bodies of the Municipality include the Council composed of nine members as representative body of the citizens and the Mayor, who represents the Municipality. For the purpose of performing the matters from within the scope of the bodies of the Municipal- ity, and in accordance with the Act on Organizational Setup, the municipal administration is divided into three Divisions: 1.Division of Urban Planning, Communal Activities and Environment Protection; 2. Division of Legal, Financial, Public, Local Economic Development, Budget and General Affairs; 3. Division - Inspectorate with Taxation Unit. Municipal administration has total of eight employees, and there have been no plans for specific Departments. There is also Public Enterprise “Komunalec - Polin” from Star Dojran, with a total of 24 employees, established in 1980. Primary activity of the Enterprise is the water supply in the settlements of Nov Dojran and Star Dojran, maintenance of the public hygiene, maintenance of the sewerage network and collection system for Dojran Lake protection. The range of the collection of charges for the service provided by the Public Enterprise to users is between 57 and 65%.

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II -11. ECONOMY

Owing to its geographic position, natural resources, culture and tradition, as well as to existing facilities, the main activities in the Municipality include tourist industry, vine growing, vegetables growing and tobacco production. Development trends focus on livestock breeding, metal processing industry, construction and other branches of industry. The main proponents of the economy in the Municipality of Dojran include: - DPPT “AD Dojran” Nov Dojran with primary activity vine and fruit growing, established in 2000. It has three major plantations: Asanli, Vladaja and Furka. The main products of this company include table and wine grapes on an area of 135 ha, almond (36 ha), olive (3 ha), cabbage (5 ha), wheat (50 ha). It has 23 full time employees and additional 20 part time during seasonal work.

- “Megaplan 2001“ Gevgelija in Nov Dojran was established in 1992, with the main activity of cardboard packaging production, drop-by-drop irrigation systems, while during the last six years the company has also introduced production of vegetables in greenhouses, at an area of six hectares. They have 35 employees. The company makes no impact on the environment.

- “Agrolozar” from Bogdanci has 400 ha vine growing plantations and 50 employees, and during harvest they engage additional 200 workers during six seasonal months per year.

- DOO Eksport Import “Velder” from Nikolik is a factory for chord and chord products. Its production capacity is 60.000 tons iron armature and 15.000 tons/ year grid and carriers, with total of 160 employees.

- Factory for amortisseurs “STD” DOO from Nov Dojran was founded in 1983 as craftsmanship workshop, transformed into “STD” DOO Eksport Import metal processing industry for motorcars parts production in 1995, with a capacity of 15.000 pieces of amortisseurs and other mechanical parts per year and total of 20 employees.

- “KM Kompani“ from Nov Dojran was founded in 1995 and deals with production and processing of olives and olive oil, as well as production of nursery plant material (olive, fig). They have 2 full time employees and 20 seasonal workers.

- In 2005, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia issued a concession for five year period use of the fish stock in the Lake of Dojran to the company DPTU “NOTA DTH DOOEL” export-import - Star Dojran. The control over the use of the fish stock on behalf of the concessionaire is performed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy.

The existing catering and tourist facailities in the Municipality of Dojran are listed in Attach- ment no. 1.

32 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

II -12. CULTURE AND SPORTS By means of general public action, in the period between 1949 and 1950, the House of Culture, serving several purposes, was built. Namely, it includes cinema projections, theatre performances, conferences, etc. Presently, it is used as premises for administrative activities, such as the local office. The cinema hall is not operational, as it is old and damaged. The building also accommodates the Citizens’ Service Centre, a donation under the EU Phare Project supporting the local self-government development. The Municipality also has football play ground, football clubs FK “Dojransko Ezero” in Nov Dojran and local football teams in other settlements. Traditional cultural and artistic manifestation “Dojranski Rakuvanja” (Dojran Handshakes) is held at the summer open scene under the maples in continua- tion as of 1976.The manifestation takes place from 25 July to 25 August each year, and it is attended by many folk, theatrical and artistic groups, poets, paintings ex- hibition, and scientific symposia and days of Macedo- Photo no. 13 FC “Dojran Lake” nian film take place, too.

II-13. CIVIL SECTOR

Non-governmental organizations active at the level of the Municipality are as follows: -“Environmental Society for Dojran Lake Care and Protection “; - Environmental Society “Javor” from Nov Dojran (par- ticipates in many voluntary environmental actions); - Association of Pensioners; - Fire Prevention Voluntary Society; - Tourist Society; Photo no. 14 “Dojran Handshakes” - Women’s Association “Dojrana”; - Association “Isik” Dojran.

Photo no. 15 Dojran specialties prepared by Women’s Association “Dojrana” - Nov Dojran

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III. STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT REPORT OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF DOJRAN

The Assessment of the State of the Environment in the Municipality of Dojran was carried out by application of the DPSIR methodology. The Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning of the Republic of Macedonia used this methodology while preparing the Second National Environ- mental Action Plan under the Project “Technical Assistance for the Development of the NEAP II” financially supported by EU. The Driving Force - Pressure - State - Impact - Response) enables to define driving forces that make impacts on the environment, determination of the state, the pressure, the impacts on the environment, as well as to identify the appropriate response in line with the linkages and relations presented on the Scheme below.

Figure no. 16 Presentation of DPSIR Methodology

34 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran The development of the environmental state assessment was carried out through the following phases:

• Development of DPSIR diagram on the following thematic areas: nature, waste, water and water resources, air, land use and soil; • Data and information collection; • Definition and selection of a set of indicators; • Comparison of data on the state of the environment with the applicable standards and regulations; • Preparation of report on environmental problems.

III -1 THEMATIC AREA NATURE

State of nature in the Municipality of Dojran

There are no ore finds on the territory of the Municipality of Dojran, except temporary basalt crusher, used as asphalt base which has not been identified as specific problem. Exploitation is conducted as needed by the Construction Company “Mavrovo” from Skopje.

Dojran Lake Dojran Lake is located on the border between the Republic Greece and the Republic of Macedo- nia. The area of the Lake itself at the level of 146 meters above the sea level amounts 42.74 km2. One third of of the Lake’s area is on the territory of Greece, with an area of 15.92 km2 (37.46%), while Macedonia has 26.58 km2 (62.54%). The watershed of Dojran Lake covers an area of 270 km2, out of which 190 km2 (around 70%) belong to the Republic of Greece, and the rest to the Republic of Macedonia. Natural values of the Lake of Dojran have been recognized by the scientific and expert community in Macedonia, as a result of which the Lake has been declared a “Monument of Nature”, as a third level category of protection according to the International Union for the Conservation of Na- ture (IUCN). The values specific for the Lake include high diversity of invertebrate fauna, algae and fish. With regard to biological diversity, Dojran Lake is of particular importance due to its aquatic and wetland macrophite vegetation growing in its shore part. According to the Strategy for Biologi- cal Diversity Protection in the Republic of Macedonia with an Action Plan, this type of habitats is of priority importance for Macedonia and needs to be placed under protection. It is a closed hydrological basin with a perimeter of 26.20 km, out of which 14.80 km (56.49%) belong to the Macedonian side and 11.40 km (43.51%) to the Greek. The length of the Lake amounts 8.9 km, and the biggest width is 7.1 km. The average depth is 6.7 meters, while the deepest point is at 10 meters. In the period before the decline of the level, the area of the Lake was 42,5 km2 (water level above the sea level of the Lake is 148 m), while at present it has reached 32.5 km2 . • In 1955, the water level was high (23 cm higher than the maximum water level proposed in 1940). • Bilateral Agreement was concluded between the Government of the Federative Peoples Repub- lic of Yugoslavia and the Government of the Kingdom of Greece on 9 June 1956 for undertaking of measures in relation to the high water level. The Yugoslav side was the only one showing interest in the issue of high water level of the Lake, in order to avoid problems in the context of the specific manner of fishing and flooding of the agricultural land limited at that period. 2 The Strategy for Biological Diversity Protection in the Republic of Macedonia with an Action Plan was adopted by the Government of the Republic of Macedonia in 2003, with an implementation period by 2010 35 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

On the other side, Greece, had clear position: to irrigate as much as possible land areas outside the watershed area, i.e. the fields in Dojrani - Kristonija, water supply in vegetation period, as well as for electricity production in winter period, under conditions of high water level of the Lake. For irrigation and other uses, the Greek side agreed to the maximum water utilization up to the water pillar height of 1.2 m (from the highest point in the Lake at 146 meters above the sea level, and the lowest at 144.80). • By 1975, the water level was maintained mostly in compliance with the Agreement, i.e. 4 cm from the minimum level. • From 1976 to 1987, the water level in the Lake was below the minimum agreed level almost each year, although the average precipitation amounted to 648 mm, while precipitation in vegetation period was 278 mm; however, water evaporation from the Lake was high (above 800 mm). Thus, the cause was not the dry period, but the excessive and irresponsible water usage by Greece, in breach of the 1956 Agreement. • In the period from 1988 to 2000, the water level in the Lake noted permanent decline, reach- ing lower absolute minimum alsmost each year. As a result from water loss, the Lake reached the lowest point (3.88 meters below the zero point). This, in combination with the previously lost water pillar above the zero point (2.40 m) means an actual reduction of water pillar of the Lake by total of 6.28 meters. Such water loss, in a lake with maximum water depth of around 10.0 meters, is drastic and equal to disaster. This low water level has led to rapid and undesired changes in the lake aquatic ecosystem, i.e. its flora and fauna. The reduced water volume caused rise in the water temperature, including the one in the lower layers of the water pillar, which has further intensified the processes of eutrophication and trends towards death of the Lake as specific ecosystem. In fact, having reached the lowest point (3.88 meters below the zero point), the total water volume of around 262,0 million m3 as an agreed maximum, it declined at only around 60-70 million m3, reflecting a loss of around 200 millioni m3 of water. • In paralel with the reduction of the quantity of water in the Lake, radical reduction of its fish stock was recorded, resulting ultimately in significantly reduced fish catch. From the average of 420 tons of fish caught in the period between 1974 and 1988 (15 years), in the period 1988-2003 this average dropped at 188 tons, noting particularly that in 2000 it amounted only 71 tons, in 2001 it was 75 tons, dropping at only 25 tons in 2002 (Graphic 2).

Photo no. 17 Dojran Lake 36 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Graphic no. 2 Graphical overview of the decline in the total fish catch in Dojran Lake, in kg from the beginning of water uncontrolled elements in 1988 till present

Catch

• As it is well known, during the last two-three years have been much more favorable in hydrological terms, compared to the 20-25 preceding years, which has stopped the process of water level decline. The newly constructed hydro-system for water replenishment to the Dojran Lake (2002), operational for three years now, has contributed to this improvement. At the moment, the system operates with reduced capacity of around 400-600 litres per second (it has been designed for 1000 l/s), its contribution to the status promotion is obvious. • According to the estimates, the former reached absolute minimum (3.88 meters below the zero point) has increased by around 1.8 meters, which means that there is still lack of 2.08 meters in water pillar in order to achieve the zero point at the water measuring strip and than to initiate the process of water pillar filling of 2.40 meters which is above the zero point, but currently lacks. The water pillar could be regarded revived even Photo no. 18 New Hydrosystem in such case, and that is the height of 147.34 meters above the sea level, which would mean that the Lake has regained its original 262 million m3 of water, and thus the process of its revitalization, at least in relation to the total water volume, would be completed. • This year, owing to abundant precipitation, the Lake’s water level has increased significantly, and the former tourist glory of Dojran has returned in part. Apart from Mediterranean, Central European and Eastern flora and fauna elements, the Lake of Dojran and Valley have their special taxа, i.e. their endemic flora and fauna, that are exceptionally abundant in numbers considering the small depth of the Lake.

37 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

HABITAT3 In accordance with the European Habitats Directive 92/43/EU) and the Guide for European Habitats Interpretation (1999), the following habitat types have been identified in Dojran Lake and its Valley: 1. Code 3130- Oligotrophic to mesotrophic standing waters with vegetation of Littorelletea uniflorae and/or Isoeto-Nanojuncetea type. 2. Code 3150- Natural eutrophic lakes of Magnopotamion or Hzdrocharition vegetation type. 3. Code 6420 - Mediterranean highly humid grass habitats of Molinio-Holoschoenion type. 4. Code -91FO- Riparian mixed forests of Quercus robur, Ulmus laevis and Ulmus minor, Fradzinus angustifolia along major rivers. 5. Code 92AO -Galleries of Salidz alba and populus alba. Habitat type 3150 is abundant and forms a wide reed belt on the Lake’s shore, including the following species: Phragmites australis, Scripis lacustris, Tzpha angustifolia, T. Latifolija, Spar- ganium neglectum. There is a strikingly visible zone of dead shells of fresh water shell Dreissenia polzmorpha, mixed with rare vegetation. The tropical-subtropical species Paspalum distichum ssp. Paspalodes has recorded massive growth forming huge green carpets on humid soil close to the shore line. The absence of gorgeous underwater meadows of Vallisneria spiralis, Ceratophzllum demersum and other low submersed vegetation that used to decorate the littoral zone of the Lake is most obvious (Matevski and Micevski, 2001). FLORA Among submersed plants, the following are the most frequent: Ceratophzllum demersum, Na- jas marina, Potamogeton perfoliatus, Mzriophzllum spicatum, Vallisneria spiralis and other. The species Najas minor is limitted to shallow southern parts close to the edge of the Lake, while Mz- riophzllum spicatum is represented in all communities, but it grows most abundantly at depts of 40 cm, forming large underwater meadows. Najas marin and Potamogeton perfoliatus grow almost equally abundant, with the difference being that Najas marina spreads to the depth of three meters, while Potamogeton perfoliatus can be found deeper, as well. The species Centaurea rifidula, Verbascum doiranense, Verbascum burgeffii and Astragalus thracicus doiranensis have been described as found at sites within Dojran Basin or close to it. Up to 1988, the micro-flora component of Dojran Lake was composed of 257 phytoplankton and periphyton taxa. The role of the main producer of organic matter in the Lake ecosystem belongs to plankton algae-phytoplankton, which represent the initial ring in the series of food chains in the Lake. The Lake of Dojran is also characterized by exceptionally rich diverse periphyton, as specific ecological association. The reduction of water in the Lake of Dojran, accompanied by changes in ecological parameters, results in reduced quality of species composition. During the latest investigations carried out by Levkov and Stojanovski (2002), as many as 139 diatomaceous taxa have been recorded. Most of them belong to the group of highly tollerant species, indicating eutrophic to hyper-eutrophic aquatic bio-types. FAUNA Biodiversity of the fauna in the Lake of Dojran and its Valley is complex, both from taxonomic and ecological aspects. Representatives of the type Protozoa are insufficiently studied. During the investigations (Pop- 3 Data on habits, flora and fauna originates from the Study developed in the course of the activities of the Committee supporting the development of the Assessment of Natural and Economic Values of Dojran Lake, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Project Team EKBZ (Greek Biotope/Wetland Centre, RG and BIOEKO - Society for Biodiversity Study and Protection and Sustainable Development of Natural Ecosystems, Republic of Macedonia 38 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran ovska-Stankovik 1999, 2000) representatives of the genus Diflugia shellfish amoeba have been -re corded, as typical inhabitants of swamps and marshes, as other registered and typical inhabitants of swamps and marshes. Other Protozoa species in the Lake belong to genus Epistzlus and genus Vorticella. These are sedentary, eco-commensal forms found on copepod calanoid Eudiaptomus gracilis. This Calanoid has occured for the first time in the plankton assemblage of Dojran Lake 10 years ago. The only data concerning parasitic Protozoa is presented by Hristovski (1999). He has identified the following three species: Mzdzobolus czprini, Thelohanellus nikolskii and Trichodina sp. The type Porifera is represented in Dojran Lake through the family of Spongillidae, through presence of three species, including the endemic Dojran sponge Spongilla carteri dojranensis. From among the type Plathelminthes (fat warms) representatives of the classes Turbellaria and Cestoda have been identified. The type Mollusca in Dojran Lake is represented through the species belonging to the two classes, Gastropoda (snails) including 21 species among which the Dojran endemic snail Graecana- tolica macedonica and Bivalvia (shells) with five species, the most impressive being the species Dressena polzmorpha. The type Segmented worms (Annelida) in the Lake of Dojran is studied mostly through representatives of the classes Hermaphrodite annelid worms (Oligochaeta) and Leeches (Hirudinea), as well as Branchiobdelides among which four species have been recognized as Dojran endemic species. The decline in the number of the river carb in the waters of Dojran Lake has caused adverse effects on the survival of the four Dojran endemic Branchiobdelides (Petkovski 2003). The class Oligochaeta is represented by 22 species in the Lake of Dojran, including the Dojran endemic species Isochaeta dojranensis. The type Arthropods (Arthopoda), in the Lake and the Valley of Dojran is represented by highest number of species. The sub-species Crustacea is abundant in the waters of the Lake, the class Copepoda is represented with all three orders of fresh water Copepods, endemic Dojran ciklopoida Microczclops varicans dojranensis. The sub-type Traheati is the richest in species in the frames of Antropoda. The order Dragonflies (Odonata) is represented throug 39 registered species. From among the representatives of the order Plekoptera, the species Rhabdiopterzdz dojranensis is Dojran endemic species. The order of Butterflies (Lepidoptera) has total of 526 species of butterflies in Dojran Basin and Dojran Valley, which is an exceptional concentration of diversity on a rather limitted territory. The order Diptera in the Lake of Dojran is represented with the species from the family of Chironomidae, with 51 registered species. They play an important role in the bentos community of Dojran Lake. The type of Chordata in the fauna of Dojran Lake and Valley is represented through the representatives of sub-type of Vertebrata. Vertebrates compose the most significant group in zoology, in terms of complexity of their structure and in terms of richness and diversity of their forms.

39 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

According to data presented by several authors and to the official list included in the European Red List of Vertebrates, the following fish species occur in the Lake of Dojran:

NAME OF THE SPECIMAN LATIN NAME DOJRAN ALBURNUS Rutilus rutilus Dojranensis CARP Ciprinus carpis CHUB Leuciskus cephalus vardarensis DOJRAN BLEAK Scardinius erythrophtalmus dojranensis LINIS Tinca tinca DOJRAN SALMON Albumus albumus macedonicus PLATICCE Rhodeus sericeus meridionalis MERGUR Rutilus macedonicus KRKUSHKA Gobio gobio Perkia BALKAN BARBEL Barbus barbus meridionalis CHEATFISH Silurus glanis PERKIA Perca fluviatilis macedonicus EEL Angulla angulla BLENIUS Blenius fluviatilis PLATNICA Rutilus pigus virgo Table no. 4 Fish species in Dojran Lake

Within the cosystem of Dojran Lake, the class of Am- phibia is represented by 10 species. The species Rana balca- nica and Trituris karelinii, as well as sub-species Pelabates szriacus balcanicus, Bombina variegata scabra and Triturus Cheatfish vulgaris graecus are Balkan endemites.

Carp Carp

Photo no. 19 Fish species

40 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

87 species of the class of Birds have been registered in Dojran Basin, namely:

BLACK-THROATED DIVER Gavia arotica DABCHICK Tachibartus ruficollis GREAT-CRESTED GREBE Podiceps cristatus GOLDENMOUTH GREBE Podiceps nigricollis BIG CORMORANT - GARO Phalocrocorax carbo PYGMY CORMORAN Phalocrocorax pygmaeus DALMATIAN PELIKAN Pelecanus crispus Гаро-корморан BITTERN Botaurus stellaris LITTLE BITTERN Ixobrychus minutus NIGHT HERON Nycticorax nycticorax SQUACCO HERON Ardeola ralloides LITTLE WHITE HERON Egretta garzetta BIG WHITE HERON Efretta alba PURPLE HERON Ardea purpurea GRAY HERON Ardea cinerea BLACK STORK Ciconia niger Ачко REDBILLED SWAN Cygnus olor GADWALL Anas strepera DUCK BERIJA Anas crecca MALLARD Anas platyrhyncos PREVEZ Netta rufina FERRUIGINEOUS DUCK Aythia nyroca PATKA BATOGLAVICA Bucephala clangula LITTLE DIVER Mergus serrator BIG DIVER Mergus merganser MARSH CRAKE Rallus aqvaticus RED-TAILED CRAKE Gallinuia choropus LISKA Fulica atra OGRLICAR Philomachos pugnax BLATNA SLUKA Gallinago gallinago BLACK-TAILED GODWIT Limosa limosa Драјки CRNOKRILA PRUTKA Tringa achropus Photo no.20 PRUTKA MIGAVICA Tringa glareola Bird species LAKE GULL Larus ridibundus LAKE GULL SEA GULL Larus cachinnanus LAKE CHICORY Sterna hirundo BLACK CHICORY Childonias niger RIBARCCE VODOMARCE Alcedo athis BELA TRESIOPASKA Motacilla alba MARSH WARBLER Aerocephalus shoenobaenus WARBLER Aerocephalus scirpaceus BIG WARBLER Aerocephalus arundinaceus

Table no. 5 Bird species in Dojran Lake

41 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran Endemic taxa in Dojran Lake: Spongilla carteri dojranensis; Graecanatolica macedonica; Bran- chiobdella capito; Cambarincola dojranensis; Pterodrilis prion; DZironodrilis crassus; Isoghaeta dojranensis; Microczclops varicans dojranensis; Phzsoczpria inversa; Candona angulata meridionalis; Limnocztere inopinata; Niphargus pancici dojranensis; Rhabdiopterzdz doijanensis; Sabane- jenjia doiranica. The List presented clearly shows that the Lake of Dojran accomodates numerous endemic taxa, where Dojran endemites are mainly of lower taxonomic rank. AGRICULTURE Municipality of Dojran has total of 1.940 ha agricultural land area, out of which 1.120 ha are state owned and the rest of 820 ha is in private ownership. Out of the total agricultural land, 1696 ha are cultivated, with the following structure of crops: plowed fields 1.100 ha, fruit yards 54 ha, vine yards 500 ha and meadows 42 ha. As far as the consumption of fertilizers is concerned, a quantity of 335 tons/year is used, while chemical protection means amount to 8.2 tons, which leads to the conclusion that they do not cause negative impacts on the quality of agricultural production and one can claim that agricultural production in the Munici- pality is healthy and of high quality. Data from 2002 on the Municipality of Dojran show that, out of the total of 2.528 ha arable land, 903 ha or 36% are cultivated. Most of this area or 454 ha is under wheat, mainly wheat and corn. In this area, the annual yield of the said wheat crops per hectare reach the Macedonian average, namely: wheat 2.500 kg/ ha /year; corn 5.000 kg/ ha /year. Vegetables are grown on an area of around 172 ha, including mostly cabbage (57 ha), potato (26 ha) and tomato (24 ha). Fodder crops are cultivated on an area of around 157 ha, including mainly lucerne, fodder bean, and fodder corn. Relatively low production of furage crops indicate the low number of livestock. From among industrial crops, the only product cultivated is tobacco (120 ha). Its yield of 1.300 kg/ha is among the highest in the Republic of Macedonia. However, agricultural land areas under most intensive use are the greenhouses in Nov Dojran, occupying an area of 6 ha, used for early vegetables production. In the area of agriculture, the following problems have been identified in the Municipality of Dojran: lack of developed irrigation system to increase the cost-efficiency of agricultural production, and protect the Lake at the same time from being used as water resource, as well as unorganized farmers. FORESTS The Municipality has total of 13.874,4 ha area under forests. Forest tree species are represented by: oak, beech, scrub tree, cypress, black pine and black locust. Forests are managed by the Public Enterprise “Macedonian Forests” – branch “Kozuf” from Gevgelija. The exploitation of forests on the territory of the Municipality has been organized into forest management units Karabalija, responsible for a total area under forest of 4.428.3 ha and Padarnica Karaula for total area under forest of 9.446.1 ha. The Table below shows the trend in forest areas exploitation on the territory of the Municipality of Dojran: Year Volume of harvested wood Area under harvested 1999 2460 30 2000 3165 60 2001 2348 84 2002 1733 60 2003 2796 30 2004 4591 45 Table no. 6 Forest areas exploitation 42 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Besides explotation, the Public Enterprise has also carried out afforestation of new areas. Data is presented in the Table below: Year Area of newly planted forest (black pine, cypress and black locust - ha) 1999 25 2000 10 2001 12 2002 2003 20 2004 29 Table no. 7 Forest areas plantation It can be concluded that areas under forest have declined during the last six years on the territory of the Municipality of Dojran, especially through increased exploitation of the wood biomass, the reforestation of which requires greater attention. Investigations have indicated increased illegal wood cutting in paralel with the decrease of the economic ability of the population, despite of the control performed by forest police. In addition to illegal wood cutting, forests are under great danger from forest fires, considering the fact that there are no access roads to the forests on the territory of the Municipality for the fire extinguishing vehicles. Due to high temperatures and insensible behav- iour of the population, there are fires every year, especially in the period August-September. These fires are not of great scale, except the fire that broke out in August 1997 in the area of Nikolik on the Mountain of Belasica, ending up in a burnt area under beech and oak forest covering total of 50 ha. The territory of the Municipality is also covered by different species of medicinal and other herbal species, but their collection is unorganized and carried out individually to satisfy the needs of the population and toursists visiting Dojran. HUNTTING Based on the decision of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, two hunting grounds have been established on the territory of the Dojran Valley: “Crnicani” with a total site area of 3.825 ha and “Karablija” covering an area of 6.200 ha. Neither of the two sites has accommodation facilities for hunters. The hunting grounds on the territory of the Municipality are managed by the Public Enter- prise “Macedonian Forests”. The current concession for hunting management is valid by 2007. Nevertheless, in terms of organization, the hunting on the territory of the Municipality is under the responsibility of the Hunters’ Society “Dojran” from Dojran and, in a part (the area of the village of Crnicani) the Hunters’ Society”Tigar” from Stojakovo. The Table below shows the number of chased game specimen on the territory of the Municipa- lity: Number of issued Number of chased specimen Year permits Wild boar Hare Wolf Fox 1999 38 6 154 / / 2000 26 8 132 / / 2001 26 10 90 / / 2002 28 20 180 4 15 2003 68 15 150 4 15 2004 70 10 150 4 15 Table no. 8 Number of game hunted 43 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Field observations performed by Hunters’ societies indicate reduced numbers of animal species (wild boar, deer, hare, partridge and pheasant), i.e. species endagered with potential extinction due to uncontrolled hunting of all game species. One of the measures specified in the Concession Contract, as a responsibility of the concession holder, is the game reproduction and population. The concession holder, border police and police carry out frequent controls. Introduction of bird species suitable for Dojran area (pheasant and partridge) was done in 2003. FISHING Fishing in the Lake of Dojran has always been the main economic activity for the local population. In the past, the international scientific literature presented the Lake as one of the most produc- tive lakes in Europe, playing an important role in the supply of local residents with fish. The average annual fish catch participated with 50% in the total national fish catch in the Republic of Macedonia (in the period preceding the intensive construction of artificial fish ponds). The Lake of Dojran is also famous by its unique fishing manner. Since ancient times, local inhabitants used the reed for different purposes, including for fishing. Huge quantities of reed were used to make special fish traps, in different forms, designs and size (mandra, naseka, funta). Fishermen hunt bowl birds and cut down their primary feathers, keeping them close to mandra (special trap). These birds are actually used as fish chasers into the fishing traps. This old fishing technique is very efficient, because in this way, in only one mandra as much as 20.000 to 30.000 kg of fish can be caught. The decline of Lake’s water level and degradation of its quality has had negative impact on the manner of fishing, as well as on the fish stock. The data available on the annual fish catch in the Lake indicate a trend of reduced fish catch. This can be seen in the Table below:

Year Quantity of fish catch (in tons) 1999 145 2000 72 2001 66 2002 25 2003 88

Table no. 9 Annual fish catch in the Lake Data of this type existed by 2003, when the company dealing with fishing terminated its activity due to bankruptcy by the end of 2003, while the new decision on the fish stock utilization – on concessional basis, was granted in October 2005. According to the decision on concession granting for the fishing area of Dojran Lake, the company DPTU “NOTA DTH DOOEL” export-import Star Dojran is responsible for the organization of fishing activity in the next five years. The measures specified in the concession agreement include the responsibility of the concession holder to stock the Lake with fish, to protect the fish stock and to organize fishing activity. The reduced economic ability of the citizens resulted in increased illegal fishing, i.e. poaching despite the existing fish guards provided by the concession holder and the activity of Fishery In- spector employed in the Local Office of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy - Gevgelija. There is no data on the possible impacts on the Lake’s flora and fauna from additional quantities of water replanished to the lake of Dojran through the hydrosystem constructed to save the Lake.

44 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

TOURISM The development of the tourism in this area is under the influence of many factors, such as natural values of the Lake, the favorable climate conditions, the closeness of the European transport corridor E-75 Skopje-Thessalonika, regional road connections with Gevgelija, Valandovo and Stru- mica, as well as the border crossing Dojran. Three periods of tourism development can be distinguished in the development of the tourism of Dojran Lake area, namely: - From 1965 to 1981 – period of intensive building of accommodation facilities; - From 1981 to 1991 – the most successful period in terms of number of visitors, overnight stays and positive economic effects; - Period from 1992 to 2003 is characterized by tourism collapse resulting from the lake’s water level decline. During the last years, the number of tourists has increased significantly, due to the increase of the water level in the Lake. This can be seen in the following Table: Year Number of overnight stays The above overnight stays are realized 1999 28000 mainly in private accommodation facilities, 2000 25000 as well as in summer resting homes and ho- 2001 22000 tels. The registered private accommodation 2002 20000 facilities have 310 beds, while the capacity 2003 50000 and the condition of hotels, camping sites 2004 70000 and summer rest house are presented in the Attachment 1. Table no. 10 Annual number of overnight stays The new Law on Catering Activity and the Law on Tourism Activity Performance has prvided grounds for the Municipality to employ an authorised inspector to perform supervision over the implementation of the said laws (registration of guests and number of overnight stays in guests records keeping books, control over the collection of the tourist charges). The high number of closed tourist facilities and unsettled status with regard to legal and property relations are the reasons for insufficient respond to the demand for accommodation compared to the scale of visits. The existing infrastructure (water supply, sewerage, roads, parking areas) are insufficient during the summer tourist months and week-ends. Additional pressure is made by the so called one-day guests, i.e. visitors and tourists during holidays. Thus, on 2 May, there are around 15.000 visitors and on 2 August around 30.000 visitors. The above stated leads to the conclusion that the key problems in the Municipality of Dojran in the thematic area nature, include:

• Lack of developed irrigation system to reduce the costs of agricultural production and protect the Lake from being used as water resource; • Unorganized agricultural producers; • Uncontrolled wood cutting; • Lack of passable access road in case of fire; • Uncontrolled game hunting; • Lack of monitoring of the status of the flora and the fauna in the Lake of Dojran; • Uncontrolled fishing and fish stock destruction; • Insufficient infrastructure (parking areas, well developed sites for tants and camping cottages); • Unregistered guests in weekend houses and non-reporting of tourists staying in Dojran.

45 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

III -2. THEMATIC AREA WASTE

Status of the waste in the Municipality of Dojran The responsible institution for the waste management in the Municipality of Dojran is the Pub- lic Utility “Komunalec-Polin”, founded in 1980. At present, this Public Utility is organized into four operational units, these being: water supply and sewerage, public hygiene, system for the Dojran Lake protection K1 and financial and legal affairs unit, with a total of 26 employees. According to the accounting records and final balance sheets reported to the Council of the Municipality each year, the Utility is solvent. However, it should be noted that the Utility provides services only in the settlements of Nov Dojran and Star Dojran, or 1.780 inhabitants in the Municipality use the waste collection system. The generated municipal waste is disposed at the site Dikiltas with an area of 10.000 m2 which has a landfill of temporary nature. Other places where waste is disposed are actually illegal waste dumping sites that are not under the Utility competence. Such major dump sites include Solunski Pat, Karac, Toplec and others, occupying total area of 20.000 m2. One of the measures that needs to be implemented is closure and reclamation of these illegal waste dumping sites. The landfill of Dikiltas is located at only 500 metri from the settlement of Star Dojran. This gen- erates problems in terms of odour in the resort, while in cases of the waste self burning, the unpleasant odour can be felt in the settlement of Star Dojran itself. All waste dumping sites are rehabilitated each year by the Public Utility. The waste collection and transport are performed by old machines (20 years old), using one specialized vehicle and two tractors. The waste is collected from 83 containers. The total quantity of collected municipal and other non-hazardous waste amounts to 2.430 t/year. The Table below shows the waste collected by periods in the year:

Table no. 11 Waste collected in the Municipality

The Table indicates that the increase of the number of visitors in Dojran is accompanied by increased quantities of waste generated, i.e. the quantity of generated waste differs in the period from September to May compared to the period June-August.

46 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

It should be also noted that no selection of the collected waste is performed. Apart from this, data in the table above present the state in urban, i.e. populated places only. The Public Utility does not collect the waste in rural settlements and thus there is no accurate data on the quantity of waste generated. However, by calculation of waste generated per number of inhabitants we can reach the following data on the quantity of generated waste:

• Furka 240 t/year (530 inhabitants x 1.25 kg/ inhabitant/day) • Nikolik 275 t/ year (600 inhabitants x 1.25 kg/ inhabitant/day) • Crnicani 90 t/ year (200 inhabitants x 1.25 kg/ inhabitant/day)

There are certain sites in the villages Nikolik and Crnicani, but the waste is dumped in an unorganized manner, by individual citizens. The costs for waste collection and disposal are high, further increased by the old vehicle fleet and frequent defects. The charges collection rate is low and the price of 2 denars per m2 used area is insufficient to cover the costs of the operations. The problem gets even more severe with the fact that most of the service users in the settlement of Star Dojran are owners of week-end houses. They stay there between May-June and gen- erate huge quantities of waste, while the Public Utility does not have sufficient capacity to collect the whole quantity of waste generated and this causes interruptions in the regular waste collection. In addition to this, their frequent absence from the houses leads to low bills collection rate, which results in lack of revenues which is the main reason for the impossibility to improve the state in this domain. Public awareness of the necessity to protect the environment and the nature in the Munici- pality is very low.

The key problems with regard to environmental quality:

During the assessment of the state of the environment in the thematic area WASTE, the following problems making negative impact on the environment have been identified:

• There is no organized landfill of proper standard technical and technological characteristics; • There are waste dumping sites of temporary nature: Dikiltas, Solunski Pat, Karac, and Toplec covering total area of 40.000 m2; generated municipal waste is disposed at the site of Dikiltas with an area of 10.000 m2 at which there is no sanitary landfill, but waste dumping site of temporary nature. Other sites for waste disposal are illegal and the Public Utility holds no responsibility for their management. Such major sites, despite annual reclamation, should be closed. • Increased temperatures cause waste self-burning in the waste dumping sites, resulting in unpleasant odour; • The waste collection and transportation is carried out by old vehicles (20 years), including one specialized vehicle and two tractors. • Insufficient number of containers and waste bins is a problem underlined during week-ends and holidays; • The waste in the Municipality is not selected; Inappropriate and untimely waste collection and transportation – insufficient financial resources to improve the state.

47 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

III - 3. THEMATIC AREA WATER AND WATER RESOUCES

Water supply in urban settlements (Nov Dojran and Star Dojran) Water supply in all settlements of the Municipality of Dojran, with an exception of Kurtamzali, is solved through water supply wells. Urban settlements Nov Dojran and Star Dojran have sufficient water quantity and quality. These settlements are covered by water supply network of the water supply system (wells of Derebas, Toplec, Mrdaja), managed by the Public Utility “Komunalec-Polin” - Star Dojran. The quality and the health safety of drinking water is controlled by the Public Health Organization – Institute for Health Protection from Veles, Organizational Unit in Gevgelija through water sampling from basic bacteriological and physical and chemical analysis. This Institute con- ducts only basic, and not sufficient water analysis, performed twice in a month, sampled at four points or total of 72 analyses per year. In addition to the basic, expanded drinking water analysis is carried out once in a year by the Republic Institute for Health Protection Skopje. Based on bacteriological and physical and chemical indicators, the water has proved hygienically safe during the past five years, according to the Rulebook on drinking water hygienic safety. Based on the analyses, there are no concentrations of polluting matters above the prescribed norms. No water borne or infective diseases have been recorded in relation to drinking water. Water disinfection is carried out perma- nently, by use of gas chlorinator in the three wells. The quantity of residual chlorine in analyzed water samples ranges between 0.3 and 0.5 mg/l water. It is important to note that, during the summer tourist season, there is lack of drinking water; according to the Public Utility, the shortage is 20l/sec in higher zones of Nov Dojran and Star Dojran, which is due to the increased number of tourists. In order to overcome the above situation, the implementation of the first phase of the project aimed at supplying additional drinking water quantities has been initiated - Toplec 2, i.e. transportation of additional quantities of water from the well area of Toplec to the reservoir in Nov Dojran. The initiation and implementation of the second phase of the project, the required additional water quantity will be transported regularly to the new water reservoir planned to be constructed in Star Dojran at bigger height and this would settle the water supply related issues in Star Dojran (higher zone). Due to the old water supply network constructed in 1956, composed mainly of asbestos pipes, there are frequent defects. Another cause of frequent defects is the fact that the main pipeline connecting Nov Dojran and Star Dojran has been designed for the purpose of supplying additional water quantities to Nov Dojran from the well area in Star Dojran, while currently it is used in the opposite direction, i.e. from Nov Dojran towards Star Dojran. This water flow results in low persistence of water supply pipes and they carry lower water quantity ending up ultimately in frequent defects and increased costs for electricity in order to transport the water. Water supply in rural settlements (Furka, Nikolik, Crnicani, Gopceli) in the Municipality of Dojran4 The monitoring and the maintenace of drinking water quality in the rural settlements are inappropriate, as they are performed by the local communities that manage the water supply systems. In the course of 2004, total of 40 samples were taken from these water supply facilities. The results showed that 22.5% of the total number of analyzed water samples were bacteriologically unsafe due to bacte- rial contamination – indicators of faecal pollution. The identification procedure isolated Eserihija koli. (Identical results have been obtained by drinking water analyses in water supply systems during the past three to four years). 4Data is taken from the Information on the state of water supply and quality of drinking water in the Municipality of Dojran for the period 01.01.-31.01.2004, Institute for Health Protection, Organizational Unit Gevgelija, Marija Penova, PhD

48 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

The state of water supply and the quality of drinking water in villages supplied from local water supply systems and from natural fountains and wells are infavorable, because of bacteriological unsafety of certain number of water samples, making the said water supply facilities non-compliant with the basic hygiene and technical norms. In most of the cases, these systems are managed in non- professional manner, left over to local communities and they are not subject to regular disinfections. Based on the regular surveillance of the trends in intestinal infective diseases (intestinal typhus, Para typhus, enterokolites, communicable hepatitis A type) that can be communicated through drinking water use, the recorded morbidity in the Municipality of Dojran does not show a trend of increase in the number of such patients compared to the previous year. In other words, the recorded morbidity is not of a hydric origin related to water supply. DOJRAN LAKE5 During the last 15 to 20 years, the natural aging process in the Lake of Dojran has been acceler- ated by the activity of human factor. People with their activities can intensify the natural processes of aging and extinction and shorten the time of the Lake’s ecosystem existence. This has exactly happened in the case of Dojran lake. Such process was exceptionally present in 1988-1989, when peopled used the Lake’s water in an uncontrolled manner and allowed loss of huge quantities of water from the Lake, further burdened by long dry period. The rapid loss of part of its surface area and enormous reduction of its water volume, the lake suffered from disturbed ecological balance which was a stress for the living world in the Lake. The quality of water in the Lake of Dojran is monitored from health point of view, for the purpose of undertaking efficient measures and preventing negative impacts on human health, and this is done by the Institute for Health Protection Veles, Organizational Unit in Gevgelija. The analysis of water quality are based on samples taken at seven measuring points, conducted six times per year: once in each spring, summer, autumn and winter, and twice during the summer period. Water sampling is performed at a distance of 20-30 meters from the shore where the frequency of children swimmers is the highest. All water samples taken in the period from 1 January to 31 December 2004 were subject to physical, chemical and bacteriological analyses, without toxic matters, performed in the laboratories of the Institute for Health Protection in Veles. Based on the completed sanitary and hygiene tests, the water in the lake of Dojran, at all measuring points, considering its bacteriological safety, belonged to II and I class of surface water in accordance with the decree on waters classification. With regard to tested physical and chemical parameters (turbidity and saturation), the water in the Lake of Dojran is classified in IV - V classes of surface waters, while in relation to the presence of organic matters, pH value, iron, BOD5 ) in III class. With reference to other parameters, the water in the Lake of Dojran belongs to II and I classes of surface waters. The above deviations concern physical and chemical parameters that do not cause negative impacts on human health, and result from the natural chemical composition of the water. According to the tests made by the Institute, the water in the Lake of Dojran can be used for recreational purposes. The constantly rising pressure on the area of the lake’s basin and deteriorated ecological status of the lake poses the need for undertaking the necessary and urgent measures for area management that will include environmental standards as well.

5 Data is taken from the Information on the state of water supply and quality of drinking water in the Municipality of Dojran for the period 01.01.-31.01.2004, Institute for Health Protection, Organizational Unit Gevgelija, Marija Penova, PhD 49 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

There is a need to implement joint (from Macedonian and Greek side, respectively) and complex projects, through which the sources of pollution would be identified and measures for the lake integrated protection as an ecosystem would be proposed. It is also necessary to establish a monitoring system and permanent observation of certain parameters, including the measurement of pesticides and heavy metals, in order to have constant in- sight in the status of the lake’s system and undertake preventive measures; Dojran Lake protection and supply of water in order to return the original water regime should be one of the priority projects, including full operation of the system for additional water quantities delivery to the Lake from the springs located in the fields of Gjavato. For the purpose of Dojran Lake protection against wastewater, a system for Dojran lake protection has been developed alongside the shoreline (wastewater collection system and treatment plant), put into operation in 1988. The total length of the collection system is 8.231 meters and initial height point at 146.80 meters, constructed of PVC pipes (ø250 to ø500 mm), including the required inspection and connection manholes. The wastewater treatment plant “Toplec” was built in 1988, as the final point of the eastern and western collection branches. The pressure pipeline of ø 350 mm, maximum capacity of 160 l/s and length of 2.250 meters to the outlet at the height of 211.80 transports the treated water from “Toplec” to the discharge point at the river of Luda Mara, tributary of Anska Reka. As a result from the Lake’s water level decline, the number of tourists during tourist season declined, too. This issue, together with the negative birth rate and migrations from the area, contributed to the fact that the existing wastewater treatment plant became too large and extremely inefficient in terms of cost-efficiency of operations. For this reason, in 2001, reconstruction of the plant introduced new mechanical and biological treatment technology, with significantly lower electricity consumption and capacity able to respond to the demand during and outside tourist seasons. The newly reconstructed plant has a maximum designed capacity for 1800 eequivalent inhabitants and consists of two Bioblocks. The Bioblock 1 has a capacity for 600 eequivalent inhabitants and is under regular operation. Bioblock 2 has maximum capacity for 1200 eequivalent inhabitants, but it also contains equipment for a capacity of 600 and 900 eequivalent inhabitants and it is put into operation during the summer season. The technology used for the wastewater treatment provides for full wastewater treatment. The treated water is then disinfected and with the remaining pollution level amounting to maximum of 20 min BOD5/l it is pumped to the basin of the river of Luda Mara where it has satisfactory water quality that can be used for irrigation of the crops grown in this area. The utilization rate of the wastewater treatment plant capacity is 23%, because the number of households connected to it is 397, while the rest of the population of the Municipality of Dojran uses septic tanks, most of which are found in rural settlements. This situation could result in ground waters contamination and consequently in reduced drinking water quality used by inhabitants in the villages. The pressure on the Lake through water use is increased to satisfy the demand for irirrigational water. The use of ground water resources for irrigation should be strictly controlled, through application of drop-by-drop irrigation systems that save water to the maximum extent. There is a high number of holes made on the territory of the Municipality aimed at supplying water to the private sector and there is no accurate data on these holes. After the flood events in the area of the Municipality in June 2004, several dams that used to

50 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran serve the irrigational demands of agricultural areas were destructed, thus reducing the possibility for irrigation of major part of agricultural areas.

 Key problems:

Considering the state in the Municipality in the thematic area WATER, the following have been identified as problems with negative environmental impacts:

• With regard to quantity, there is shortage of water in the summer period from June to september, when the number of drinking water consumers is higher. • The main water supply pipeline connecting Nov Dojran and Star Dojran has been designed to replanish water to Nov Dojran, but is used in the opposite direction from Nov Dojran towards Star Dojran. This causes strong pressures resulting in frequent defects. • Old water supply network of 50 years (asbestos pipes). • Villages use water of uncontrolled quality and waters are managed by local communities (untrained staff). • Septic tanks cause problems because 77% of the population is not connected to the sewerage network. • Lack of economic feasibility of the wastewater treatment plant operation because of excessive electricity consumption. • Lack of irrigation system on the territory of the Municipality of Dojran. • Lack of organizedmonitoring – monitoring of the status of the Lake of Dojran both in terms of quality and quantity. • Nonregulated bilateral agreement concerning the Lake management.

III -4. THEMATIC AREA SOILS AND LAND USE

There is relatively low level of data on the soils in the area of Dojran. On the Lake’s shore, soils are organic and formed through vegetation decomposing. In other parts of the basin, the following types of soils have been registered (according to Vilarov, 1956): - Delluvial soils originating primarily from erosion processes in upper areas, through steep slopes, and they lack vegetation cover (e.g. due to wood cutting). There is presence of sub-types of carbonates and non-carbonates (ranging from clay sand to clay), brown (clay to dust-like clay). - Alluvial-delluvial soils are more humid compared to pure delluvial soils. They manifest particular folding and swelling up resulting in their high humidity. During dry periods, this property results in surface fissures. - Muddy alluvial soils composed of mixture of cut alluvium and marshy lake alluvium that can not be clearly distinguished. These two sub-types constitute deep soils, where river alluvium is characterized with sandy structure, while marshy lake alluvium is more clay. - Marshy soils are found on areas with abundant vegetation, in micro-depressions at the very lake shore. They are characterized by high level of organic matter. - Soils of the type “vertisol” are old, black soils, formed during the Pleistocene epoch, when the water level spread on the surface. They used to be widely spread in the past, but this type of soil is now limited at two sites. The soil type vertisol is characterized by clear distinction of soil horizons, where the surface part is sandy and the deeper layer rather clay. - The soil type terra rossa can be divided into three sub-types, commonly featyred by watertight- ness at the depth of 10 cm. The first subtype is composed of eroded, shallow and carbonate soils

51 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran and and is located at higher areas. The second sub-type is made of shallow soils present in hollows, where this reddish soil turns into brownish due to the higher humidity. The third sub-type spreads at relatively flat parts of the area and is composed mainly of terra rosa brought in from higher areas. Municipality of Dojran occupies an area of 12.916 ha thus being one of the smallest municipalities in the country. Villages of largest area within the Municipality are Furka with 2.144 ha, Nov Dojran with 1.930 ha, Sretenovo with 1.567 ha and Nikolik with 1.464 ha. The rest of nine villages occupy smaller areas. The territories of all villages are dominated by forest and pasture land cover. Uncultivated land, including forests, pastures, meadows and reed, is a predominant land category, covering 9.844 ha or 76% of the Municipality of Dojran. Within this percentage, forests occupy 68.8% (or 6.768 ha). Arable land covers 2.428 ha or 20% of the Municipality and it includes 1.940 ha (plowed fields and gardens 1.100, fruit yards 54, vineyards 500 and meadows 42, pastures 194), out of which 1.120 ha are state owned and 820 ha belong to private sector. Unproductive land covers 554 ha or 4.3% of the total area. The industry on the territory of the Municipality does not pose any threat to the soil to the extent to be identified as a problem, owing to the fact that the planned industrial zone is located on land unsuitable for agricultural production. The number of inhabitants in the Municipality of Dojran does not make a problem in terms of burden to land and soil, however during week-ends, holidays and summer tourist season high number of tourists and guests visit Dojran. Such number exceeds the carrying capacity of the area in Dojran, i.e. significant pressure is done in these periods. This pressure is particularly felt in one-day visits to the area. The Municipality does not have sufficient area intended for camping cottages and tents, and for placement of other types of urban facilities. In this context, the problem of insufficient parking space is of particular importance, leading to parks and green areas degradation during vacation and holiday periods. Regional Spatial Plan for Dojran and the surrounding area has not been developed, and thus there is no general framework for the land use in the future development of the Municipality (except through the National Spatial Plan which includes the area of Dojran). Detailed urban plans have been elaborated for the areas of Nov Dojran and Star Dojran. Such plans are required for the settlements of Nikolik, Furka and Crnicani. The lack of urban planning documentation is a problem in terms of the pressure made on the land under circumstances of tourist activity expansion through issuance of building approvals. The enormous increase of waste generation during weekends and holidays by one-day staying visitorists results in use of part of the land and soil for illegal waste dumoping sites formation. Rural settlements lack organized system of waste collection and thus the inhabitants of the villages use free areas to throw their waste away.

 Key environmental quality problems Considering the problems existing in the Municipality in the thematic area LAND USE AND SOILS, the following can be defined as problems with environmental impacts: • Insufficient parking space for one-day visitors and tourists; • Insufficient camping space; • Insufficient level of urban equipment (waste bins, containers, etc.).; • Insufficient parking space; • Increased waste quantity during weekends and holidays and its inappropriate disposal at illegal dumping sites;

52 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran • Lack of organized system of waste collection in urban settlements; • Lack of full urban planning documentation for all populated places.

III -5. THEMATIC AREA AIR

The position of the settlements in the Municipality (along the Lake of Dojran), their amphite- atrical arrengement and influence of mediterranean climate, together with the absence of industrial polluting facilities that would pollute the air provide sufficient grounds for the assumption that the air in Dojran is a clean environmental medium. The Municipality of Dojran has not been covered by the air quality monitoring under the environmental monitoring programmes at the level of the Republic of Macedonia, as it has been assumed that the monitored pollutants could not exceede the maximum permissible concentrations. So far, several aeropalinological investigations have been carried out in this town, in the frameworks of which it has been concluded that Dojran has the lowest quantity of aerosediment. The only problem present is related to the presence of heavy fright vehicles driving towards the border crossing Dojran. Their driving through the centres of urban settlements (main streets are at the same time part of regional and international road sections) poses a problem both in terms of traffic safety and noise generation and release of exhaustive gases.

2003 2004 1 qaurter in 2005

Passengers PMV HMV Buses Passengers PMV HMV Buses Passengers PMV HMV Buses

106678 28428 20321 36 124587 35087 20541 60 44084 13383 4359 06

Table no. 12: Total passengers and motor vehicles passing through centres of urban settlements

 Key environmental quality problems: During the analyses made in the frameworks of assessment in the thematic area AIR, the Work- ing Group has identified the following problems: Lack of bypass road, excessive frequency of heavy freight vehicles driving towards the border crossing.

53 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

IV. SWOT – ANALYSIS OF THE MUNICIPALITY

SWOT – Analysis is an analysis of internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as of external opportunities and threats. The title is an abbreviation of the English words: Strengths, Weaknessess, Opportunities and Threats. SWOT is actually an analysis of internal and external factors making impacts on the functioning of the Municipality. All internal factors on which the Municipality has or can have influence, belong to the group of strengths or weaknesses, depending on whether they have positive or negative impact on the functioning of the Municipality. Opposite to that, all external factors on which the Mu- nicipality does not or can not influence, belong to the category of opportunities or threats, depending on whether they have positive or negative impact on the functioning of the Municipality.

In the process of the development of the LEAP of the Municipality of Dojran, the SWOT analysis included the following areas:

• Demography • Social welfare • Infrastructure • Local self-government • Local economy

54 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

IV-1. SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE AREA: DEMOGRAPHY

Strengths Weaknesses: 1. Municipality covers an area of 132 km2, and 1.Professional profiles incompatible with the has only 3.500 inhabitants and thus there is no needs of the market, i.e. lack of technical staff significant pressure on soil and air in terms of of all profiles. their pollution. 2.Unemployment causing migration of young 2. there is infrastructural connection between people, especially experts. settlements and good configuration. 3. The low economic and financial standing is a 3. Heterogeneous composition of the popula- threat for potential negative impacts on the en- tion, with good inter-ethnic relations. vironment. 4. Human resources – educated persons of cer- 4.Age structure is unfavorable (lacking ability tain profiles. to take part in the public life). 5. Long tradition of inter-religious tolerance 5.Weak education level with the population of through respect for all customs. Turkish ethnic affiliation and in villages dealing 6. The presence of the Lake with the tourism with agriculture. and closeness of the border provide for increase 6.Poor infrastructure in agriculture leads to low of the cultural level. yields and thus is unattractive to young people.

Opportunities Threats 1.Human potential from outside the Municipal- 1.Low birth rate – reduced number of popula- ity – educated and trained staff migrated from tion. Dojran. 2.Tranzit road with heavy motor vehicles threats 2.Active involvement in certain activities in- the environemnt and human health. tended to improve the quality of living in the 3.Border crossing, casino facilities, etc. (besides Municipality. strengths) – threat of negative impacts (smug- 3.High level educated experts of all profiles with gling, trafficking in human beings, etc.) temporary stay (owners of weekend houses) with expressed interest in the improvement of the life in the Municipality. 4.Economic and human opportunities offered by the border crossinng (transboundary cooperation). 5.Utilization of water potential, hydro-systems and electricity to improve the conditions for agricultural production.

55 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

IV-2. SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE AREA: SOCIAL WELFARE

Strengths Weaknesses 1. Infrastructure - facilities (hotels, rest houses, 1. New school building, but lack of sports hall. outpatient clinics, school). 2. reduced number of students (combined 2. Professional staff. class). 3. Cultural and historical monuments (church 3. Poor technical equipment of the school (con- clock tower). cerning training equipment). 4. Traditional organization of cultural manifes- 4. Lack of kindergardens. tations “Dojranski rakuvanja” 29th in order. 5. Lack of institution to deal with the Lake’s hy- 5. Dojran Lake. drobiology. 6. Computers introduction in the school. 6. Lack of social welfare institution. 7. Inappropriate high level educated staff. 8. Non-functioning of the basic cultural and educational facilities: house of culture, cinema hall, theatre, museums, city library. 9. Specialized outpatient clinics do not exist. 10. Primary health care works only eight hours/ day. 11. Lack of biochemical laboratory.

Opportunities Threats 1. Higher level of education. 1. Lack of secondary legislation in the area of 2. New archeological sites. catering and tourism, and building land. 3. Alternative tourism. 2. Closure of local schools. 4. Sports and recreation tourism. 3. Loss of employment. 5. Rehabilitation centre. 6. Geriatrics centre.

56 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

IV-3. SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE AREA: INFRASTRUCTURE

Strengths Weaknesses 1.General urban plan was adopted in 2000 for the 1.Ruined roads connected the populated places settlements Nov Dojran and Star Dojran; based in the Municipality. on them, detailed urban plans are developed in 2.Old water supply system (dating back from phases on locations of priority for urbanization. 1958) with high water losses and old water dis- 2.There is urban documentation for the settle- tribution network – asbestos pipes. ment of Nikolik; development of urban docu- 3.Low percentage of population coverage with mentation for the settlements of Furka and Crni- secondary sewerage network (23%). cani is underway. 4.Lack of customs terminal – weak utilization of 3.Good communication between populated border crossing. places – asphalted roads. 5.Undeveloped irrigation channels. 4.Water supply system for Nov Dojran and Star 6.Unurbanized settlements and illegal buildings Dojran; other populated places have their own on the entire area of the Municipality. water supply systems managed by the respec- 7.Increased frequency of heavy freight vehicles tive local communities. via settlements – lack of bypass road. 5.Built wastewater collection system with treat- 8.Lack of major industrial facilities. ment plant in 1988. 9.Economic inviability of water supply and 6.Full electrification of the Municipality. wastewater collection system. 7.Constructed hydro-system for additional wa- 10.Closed tourist facilities with unsettled sta- ter quantities replanishment to the Lake. tus. 8.Telecommunication network in all populated places. 9.Existing hotel facilities.

Opportunities Threats 1.Favorable geographic position. 1.Lack of drinking water. 2.natural resources (forests, water, Dojran 2.Contamination of soil and ground water from Lake). agriculture. 3.Improvement – upgrading of border crossing 3.Air pollution by traffic. and establishment of appropriate services for proper functioning. 4.Construction of bypass road. 5. Construction of industrial facilities.

57 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

IV-4. SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE AREA: LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Strengths Weaknesses 1. Under the Law on Territorial Division of 1996, 1. Uncompleted process of adoption of laws and Dojran is an independent Municipality deriving regulations concerning the local self-govern- from the former Municipality of Gevgelija. ment. 2. Relationship Council-Mayor functions well; 2. Inefficient performance of local communi- problems concern all citizens of the Municipal- ties. ity, settled jointly regardless of their political af- 3. Lack of public newspaper on local level. filiation. 4. Insufficient participation of the public. 3. Existing NGOs participate in the implementa- 5. Non-established manner of self-funding of tion of projects and project activities. the Citizens’ Service centre and danger for its 4. Citizens’ Service centre has been establish to closure. provide services and information on the activity of the Council and the Mayor. 5. There are direct meetings with the Mayor in specified days. 6. The information providing service concerning the issuance of certain documents (identity card, passport, etc.), submission of certain applica- tions by citizens to the Municiipality addressed to the relevant authorities functions well.

Opportunities Threats 1. Transboundary cooperation and development 1. Conflict of interests among members of dif- of alternative forms of tourism, promotion of ferent political parties on local and central le- cultural and tourist resources, etc. vels. 2. Regional cooperation with other municipali- 2. Lack of execution of decisions adopted by the ties and settlement of problems of common in- Council of the Municipality by the citizens. terest. 3. Insufficient clarity in the delegation of certain 3. Increase of economic ability of citizens competences from central to local level. through settlement of the status of closed tourist 4. Insufficient cooperation of central govern- facilities, i.e. their privatization. ment with the citizens.

58 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

IV-5. SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE AREA: LOCAL ECONOMY

Strengths Weaknesses 1.Availability of built tourist facilities. 1.Professional profiles incompatible with the 2.Availability of tourist society (bureau) and market demand. civil associations. 2.High percentage of professional staff migrat- 3.High percentage of technical staff. ing from the Municipality because of unemploy- 4.Border crossing. ment. 5.Rich history and cultural values. 3.Insufficient equipment of the border crossing 6.favorable climate conditions for agriculture and lack of certain services. development. 4.Lack of concession on the Lake management 7.Lake as natural resource. and lack of entity to manage the Lake as Monu- ment of Nature; insufficient protection of the Lake and uncontrolled fishing and fish stock de- terioration. 5.Lack of financial institutions at local level (banks, branches). 6. Expensive Internet network. 7. Lack of public newspapers at local level. 8. Low quality tourist accomodation. 9. Insufficient level of utilization of sports facilities.

Opportunities Threats 1.Development of sports tourism. 1.Existence of high number of tourist facilities 2. Intensification of cross-border cooperation with unsettled status. and use of experiences of the Republic of Greece 2.Slow permitting procedures for enterprises es- as EU Member State. tablishment. 3.Taking advantage of professional staff from 3.lack of interest by banks to open local branch- neighbouring municipalities in the development es. of small-scale industry in certain areas. 4.Exploitation of water resource (Dojran Lake), 4.development of small and medium scale en- i.e. unregulated status of the lake’s water use be- terprises. tween the republic of Macedonia and Republic of Greece.

59 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

V. PUBLIC OPINION POLL

V. 1. Description of conducted public poll

The opinion of the citizens is an exceptionally important factor in identification and indication of priority environmental problems in the Municipality. Therefore, public poll was conducted with the main purpose to acquire the opinion of the citizens with regard to environmental problems. For the above purpose, a polling list of 27 indicated problems (Attachment 2) was prepared and citizens were required to mark 10 that according to them were priority. The polling was carried out in May/June 2005. 500 polling lists were printed out and 419 respondents or 15% of the total number of inhabitants in the Municipality involved. The polling performance in practice was carried out by members of the Local Committee for the LEAP of the Municipality of Dojran development. The polling included the following settlements: Nov Dojran, Star Dojran, Sretenovo, Furka, Nikolik, Crnicani, Gjopceli and Asanli (Graphic 3). Dtata collected through the conducted poll was processed by the members of the Local Com- mittee.

Graphic no. 3 Polling in the Municipality of Dojran

Settlements

Nov Dojran Star Dojran Sretenovo Furka Nikolik Gjopceli Crnicani Asanli Total

Number of repondants Number

Graphic no. 3. presents the results from the polling conducted, individually by settlement. The number of respondents in Nov Dojran was 179, in Star Dojran 62, in Sretenovo 27, in Furka 68, in Nikolik 37, in Gjopceli 20, Crnicani 24 and two inhabitants in the populated place Asanli. Out of the total number of respondents, 192 were male (46%) and 227 (54%) female (Graphic no. 4).

60 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Graphic no.4 Gender structure of respondents

Male Female Male Female

Graphic no. 5 Status of respondents

Pensioners

Students Employed Employed Unemployed Students Unemployed Pensioners

Во однос на социајалниот статус на испитаниците, беа анкетирани 198 вработени лица, или 47%, 161 (или 38%) невработени, ученици 40 (или 7%) и пензионери 20 (или 5%) (Граф. 5). Возрасната структура на испитаниците е прикажана на граф. 6.

Graphic no. 6 Age groups

7-14 15-18 19-25 26-40 41-65 Above 65

Respondents by age groups 7-14 15-18 40 19-25 26-40164 41-65 Above 65 / 107 88 20

61 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Conclusion from the conducted poll

Through the answers obtained in the conducted poll, the citizens of the Municipality of Dojran took active part in the identification and definition of priority problems in the Municipality in terms of the quality of the environment. Citizens did not have aditional comments or problems that were not listed on the polling list. It was clearly demonstrated that the main problems faced by the citizens of the Municipality include: low percentage of the population covered by secondary sewerage network, uncovered rural settlements by the wastewater collection system, old water supply network, uncontrolled fishing and offsprings destruction, lack of bypass road, excessive frequency of heavy freight vehicles driving towards border crossing, uncontrolled game hunting and endangering species with potential extinction, unappropriate management of water supply systems in rural settlements by local communities, etc. Having thus underlined priority problems, the Municipality will search for specific solutions and improve the everyday living of the citizens.

Priorities setting

Based on the conducted poll and comments provided by the citizens, the rank list of environmental problems in the Municipality of Dojran has been composed (Attachment 3). The said Rank List has established the basis for priorities setting, by means of which and based on predefined criteria. The members of the Local Committee assessed the listed problems and prepared a Report on the set priorities (please, see Attachment 4). The overall procedure has contributed to the establishment of the list of defined priorities.

62 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

VI. LIST OF DEFINED ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITIES IN THE MUNICI- PALITY

Priorities setting

The list of environmental problems in the Municipality of Dojran served as basis for environmental priorities setting in the Municipality.

It is important to take into account that:

• Prioritization was done in order to distribute the limited resources of the Municipality for efficient activities implementation; • Prioritization was used as starting point in the review of actions to be taken towards solving of the problems in the community. Prioritization of environmental problems was made on the basis of pre-established criteria, in order to enable comparison among individual environmental problems. The following criteria were used for the purpose of priorities setting in the area of environment in the Municipality of Dojran: • Impact on human health; • Impact on the environment; • Impact on the quality of living; • Spread; • Intensity; • Irreversibility; • Public opinion; • Level of control of the Municipality over the problem; • Planning, legal or other regulatory requirements; • Opinions of the members of the Local Committee. Environmental priorities setting in the Municipality of Dojran was done by the Local Commit- tee. As a result from the overall process, the following problems have been identified as priority ones in the area of environment in the Municipality of Dojran: 1. Low percentage of the population covered by the secondary sewerage network and rural settlements uncovered by wastewater collection system. 2. Low level of public awareness of the need to protect and preserve the environment and the nature in the Municipality. 3. High number of illegal waste dumping sites. 4. Uncontrolled forest cutting. 5. Uncontrolled fishing and destruction of the offspring. 6. Lack of organized, technically and technologically proper constructed landfill. 7. Lack of local monitoring of the status of the Lake of Dojran. 8. Lack of water in the Lake. 9. Existence of stalls in the villages at unsuitable locations and neat cattle and sheep and goats breeding in urban environments. 10.Uncontrolled game hunting and endangering of species that could result in extinction. 11.Lack of passby roads around the settlements – extensive frequency of heavy fright vehicles towards border-crossing. 12.Old machines for waste collection and insufficient number of waste containers and bins. 63 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

13.Insufficient parking space, camping sites, locations for tents, etc. 14.Inappropriate management of water supply facilities in rural settlements by local communities. 15.Insufficient utilization of agricultural land for eco-products production. 16.Old water supply network (50 years – asbestos pipes) and frequent defects occurrence. 17.Inappropriate and untimely waste collection and transportation. 18.Unregistered guests in week-end houses and non-reporting of tourists staying in Dojran. 19.Unsettled status of tourist facilities – closed. 20.Insufficient quantity of drinking water during summer period. 21.Lack of developed irrigations system for agricultural areas. 22.Lack of economic justification for the operation of the wastewater treatment plant due to excessive electricity consumption. 23.Low level of collection of charges for the waste management. 24.Lack of practice with people for waste minimization and composting of organic waste. 25.Unorganized private farmers. 26.Lack of passable road to forests in case of forest fire. 27.Huge quantities of reed and other plant weeds.

In relation to all above listed priority problems in the Municipality of Dojran, goals and tasks have been established, i.e. Action Plan has been developed. In cases where some of the prioritized problems treat the same matter, they have been grouped, i.e. subject to a single action plan. Priority number 6: Lack of organized, technically and technologically proper constructed landfill will not be addressed in the action plan, as it will be treated in the National Solid Waste Management Plan. Priority number 11: Lack of pass-by roads around the settlements – extensive frequency of heavy fright vehicles towards border-crossing will not be treated in the action plan as well, as this problem is under the competence of the central government. As different from the above, priority number 2: Low level of public awareness of the need to protect and preserve the environment and the nature in the Municipality is not addressed specifically in the plan, or its overcoming has been based on actions envisaged while planning the actions aimed at solving other (specific) priorities. Based on the above, the List of environmental priorities addressed in the Action Plan for the Municipality of Dojran is presented below.

64 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

VII. PLAN FOR THE LEAP IMPLEMENTATION

Based on the predefined tasks, such as assessment of the state of the environment in the Munici- pality of Dojran, identification of priority problems, completed prioritization and priority problems identification, the Local Committee has composed all specified and planned elements in a logical sequence resulting in the Plan for the LEAP implementation for the Municipality of Dojran.

The Plan for the LEAP implementation consists of the following elements: • Goals • Tasks • Actions • Responsible institution • Time of implementation • Budget available • Potential sources of funding

65 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran - Low percentage of the population covered by the secondary sewerage network and rural settlements uncovered by sewerage network and rural settlements secondary - Low percentage of the population covered by wastewater collection system consumption due to excessive electricity plant treatment the wastewater - Economically unjustified operation of

Priorities:

66 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran - Lack of practice with people for waste minimization and composting of organic waste and composting of organic - Lack of practice with people for waste minimization - High number of illegal waste dumping sites Priority: and bins number of waste containers insufficient - Old machines for waste collection and for the waste collection - Low level of collection charges

76 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran - Uncontrolled forest cutting could result in extinction of species that - Uncontrolled game hunting and endangering of forest fire - Lack of passable road to forests in case

Priority:

77 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran - Huge quantities of reed and other plant weeds - Uncontrolled fishing and destruction of the offspring - Uncontrolled fishing and destruction of and quantity status of the Lake Dojran in terms quality - Lack of local monitoring the - Lack of water in the Lake

Priority:

78 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

79 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran - Insufficient parking space, camping sites, locations for tents, etc. locations - Insufficient parking space, camping sites, in Dojran houses and non-reporting of tourists staying - Unregistered guests in week-end – closed - Unsettled status of tourist facilities

Priority:

80 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran - Insufficient quantity of drinking water during summer period - Insufficient quantity of drinking water during summer - Inappropriate management of water supply facilities in rural settlements by local communities by local in rural settlements facilities - Inappropriate management of water supply

- Old water supply network and frequent defects frequent - Old water supply network and Priority:

81 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran Priority: - Insufficient utilization of agricultural land for eco-products production Priority: - Insufficient utilization of agricultural areas for agricultural - Lack of developed irrigations system private farmers - Unorganized and sheep goats breeding in urban environments and neat cattle locations unsuitable - Existence of stalls in the villages at

82 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

IX. ATTACHMENTS

1. Existing catering and tourist facilities in the Municipality of Dojran;

2. Polling list for the public opinion survey with regard to environmental problems;

3. Results from the polling list obtained through public polling concerning environmental problems;

4. Report on priorities setting – position of the members of the Local Committee;

5. Photos taken during the LEAP development related to certain areas.

83 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

ATTACHMENT 1

1. Existing catering and tourist facilities in the Municipality of Dojran Motel “Istatov” Nov Dojran built in 1986, reconstructed in 2005. It provides catering and hotel services, as well as sports and recreation centre with sports hall, playground, sweeming pool, sauna and wightlifting room. The capacity is 80 rooms and 190 beds; total of 20 employees.

Photo no. 21 Motel “Istatov”

There are other private companies in Nov Dojran as well: Restaurant “Kaldrma”, Café Bar “Dani-Ani”, “Caa-promet”, Café Bar “King” and several private comodity shops, such as “Dita”, “Migel”, “Tomar “, “Almi”, “Mako”, “Zi-Zi”, etc. There are 40 workers’ rest houses in Star Dojran intended for vacation of the employees of the companies that own the facilities.

Photo no. 22 Foremer “Pelagonia” Photo no. 23 Post Office Rest House Photo no. 22 Hotel “Beton”

Rest Houses:

Rest Houses with unsettled status, closed and out of operation: ‘Beton’-Skopje, ‘Tipo’- Skopje, ‘Karpos’- Kriva Palanka, ‘Employment Bureau ‘- Skopje and Stip, “Auto Makedonija import and export “ - Skopje

Rest Houses operating with their full capacity: -”Jaka” - Radovis - “Alkaloid” - Skopje -“Electric Company of Macedonia”- Skopje, Strumica, Stip, Kocani, Delcevo, Kavadarci -“ZOIL” Makedonija - Skopje, Kavadarci, Veles, Strumica, -“KOING” - Stip, -“Pelagonija’- Skopje, M.V.R. - Skopje A.R.M. -Skopje, Red Crost-Skopje, Partizan- Skopje, Stopanska Banka - Strumica, Stip, Ograzden Strumica, Telekomunikacii - Skopje, Evroazija -Sko- pje , ‘Preciz- Stil’ Stip, Jugopromet - Strumica, Water Supply and Sewerage - Skopje, “KP Dom” Idrizovo, Children’s Home 11-ti Oktomvri Skopje, Rest House of the Municipality Sveti Nikole, Poultry Farm Belimbegovo.

84 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Photo no. 25 Restaurant “Fuk tak” Photo no. 26 Restaurant “Renesans” Photo no.27 Weekend House

Private inns and restaurants: Restaurnats ‘Fuk-tak’, ‘Nota’ “Renesans” “Graniko”. Piza Restaurants ‘Preziden’, ‘Vavilon’, ‘Reform’,’Luna’, ‘Boemi’ ‘Target’, foodstuff shops, etc. Taxi Companies: Taksi-Bas, Taksi - Forti, LM Kompani taksi.

Photo no. 28 Casino Hotel Hit Casino-Hotel Hit Internacional, closed type, 68 rooms, 160 employees Total area 10 ha

Photo no. 29: Casino Hotel Atlantik

Hotel Atlantik Casino Built in 2002, closed type, with 18 apartments, fitnest sala-tere- tana 30 m2; Total of 129 employees.

- Hotel Polin built in 1969, reconstructed in 2005, with a capacity of 50 rooms and 112 beds. - (Hotel’Galeb’, Hotel’ Beton’ are currently closed).

85 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

2. Overview of tourist and catering facilities, the capacity they possess and their status in 2005

Hotels Capacity Status Casino Hotel Hit International 68 rooms Renewed, for foreign guests only Hotel Atlantik 18 apartments Renewed, for foreign guests only Hotel Polin 52 rooms Renewed, works Hotel Galeb 110 beds Out of work Motels Motel Istatov 80 rooms Renewed Auto camping sites MVR Works ARM Works Partizan 104 camping cottages Works Children’s House “11 Oktomvri” 40 camping cottages Works Acikot 3000 camping units Out of work Rest Houses Beton 72 beds Out of work Tipo 72 beds Out of work Karpos 110 beds Out of work Jaka 60 beds Renewed, works Alkaloid 60 beds Works, closed type ECM 150 beds Works ZOIL Makedonija 60 beds Works Employment Bureau 36 beds Out of work Pelagonija 72 beds Works Red Cross 90 beds Works Stopanska Banka-Stip 32 beds Works PTT Telecommunication 44 beds Works Municipality Sv. Nikole 80 beds Works Prestiz 80 beds Works Jugopromet 40 beds Works Water Supply&Sewerage 40 beds Works KPD Idrizovo 35 beds Works Poultry Farm Belimbegovo 40 beds Works Ograzden Strumica 80 beds Works Evroazija 30 beds Works Ministry of Finance - Tax Admi- 15 beds Works nistration - Valandovo KOING Stip 30 beds Works

Table no. 13 Tourist and catering facilities

86 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Polling list for the public opinion survey with regard to environmental problems

Dear citizens of the Municipality of DOJRAN Please, find below the table of environmental problems in our Municipality. This List of environmental problems has been produced through the assessment of the state of the environment in our Municipality, carried out by the Local Committee for the LEAP development for the Municipality of DOJRAN and working groups in the following thematic areas: water, air, waste, nature, and land use and soils. Please, devote 10 minutes of your time to consider the list of problems. Then, please mark by X the 10 problems you consider to be the most severe.

No. Problem Please, mark 1 Insufficient quantity of drinking water during summer period Old water supply network (50 years – asbestos pipes) and frequent defects occur- 2 rence Inappropriate management of water supply facilities in rural settlements by local 3 communities. Low percentage of the population covered by the secondary sewerage network and 4 rural settlements uncovered by wastewater collection system. Lack of economic justification for the operation of the wastewater treatment plant 5 due to excessive electricity consumption. 6 Lack of developed irrigation system for agricultural areas.; Existence of stalls in the villages at unsuitable locations and neat cattle and sheep 7 and goats breeding in urban environments. 8 Lack of water in the Lake. 9 Huge quantities of reed and other plant weeds. Lack of local monitoring of the quality and quantity status of the Lake of Dojran. 10 Insufficient utilization of agricultural land for eco-products production. 11 12 Unorganized private farmers. 13 Uncontrolled forest cutting. 14 Lack of passable road to forests in case of forest fire. Uncontrolled game hunting and endangering of species that could result in extinc- 15 tion. 16 Uncontrolled fishing and destruction of the offspring. 17 Insufficient parking space, camping sites, locations for tents, etc.

87 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Unregistered guests in week-end houses and non-reporting of tourists staying in 18 Dojran. 19 Unsettled status of tourist facilities – closed. 20 High number of illegal waste dumping sites. Lack of organized, technically and technologically proper constructed landfill in 21 urban settlements Nov Dojran and Star Dojran. Old machines for waste collection and insufficient number of waste containers and 22 bins. 23 Low level of collection of charges for the waste management. Lack of practice with people for waste minimization and composting of organic 24 waste. 25 Inappropriate and untimely waste collection and transportation. Lack of passby roads around the settlements – extensive frequency of heavy fright 26 vehicles towards border-crossing. Low level of public awareness of the need to protect and preserve the environment 27 and the nature in the Municipality.

Please, mark the data in the tables below by circling

Gender Status Settlement (local community) Male Female Unemployed Employed

Age groups 7-14 15-18 19-25 26-40 41-65 Above 65

Please, deliver the filled in polling list to the Citizens’ Service Centre in Nov Dojran

Thank you for your cooperation.

Local Committee for the development of the LEAP of the Municipality of DOJRAN

88 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Results from the polling list obtained through public polling concerning environmental problems

Total of 415 respondents out of 500 printed polling lists

No. Priorities according to polling results Total 1 Old water supply network (50 years – asbestos pipes) and frequent 322 defects occurrence 2 Uncontrolled fishing and destruction of the offspring 300 3 Low percentage of the population covered by the secondary sewerage network and 284 rural settlements uncovered by wastewater collection system. 4 Low level of public awareness of the need to protect and preserve the environment 227 and the nature in the Municipality 5 Lack of passby roads around the settlements – extensive frequency of heavy fright 227 vehicles towards border-crossing 6 Uncontrolled game hunting and endangering of species that could result 203 in extinction. 7 Uncontrolled forest cutting. 176 8 Inappropriate management of water supply facilities in rural settlements by local 166 communities. 9 Insufficient parking space, camping sites, locations for tents, etc. 160 10 Lack of local monitoring of the quality and quantity 158 status of the Lake of Dojran. 11 Lack of water in the Lake. 152 12 Existence of stalls in the villages at unsuitable locations and neat cattle and sheep 138 and goats breeding in urban environments. 13 Old machines for waste collection and insufficient number of waste containers 129 and bins. 14 Lack of economic justification for the operation of the wastewater treatment plant 121 due to excessive electricity consumption. 15 Lack of developed irrigation system for agricultural areas. 117 16 High number of illegal waste dumping sites 112 17 Lack of passable road to forests in case of forest fire. 107 18 Insufficient quantity of drinking water during summer period. 105 19 Lack of organized, technically and technologically proper constructed landfill in 96 urban settlements Nov Dojran and Star Dojran. 20 Unorganized private farmers. 95 21 Unsettled status of tourist facilities – closed. 89

89 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

Insufficient utilization of agricultural land for 22 87 eco-products production. Unregistered guests in week-end houses and non-reporting of tourists 23 81 staying in Dojran. 24 Huge quantities of reed and other plant weeds. 79 25 Inappropriate and untimely waste collection and transportation. 46 Lack of practice with people for waste minimization and composting of organic 26 43 waste. 27 Low level of collection of charges for the waste management. 18

Data on the poll

Gender Status

Gender Female Unempl. Employed 199 225 192 198

Settlement (local community) Total 419 /500 Nov Dojran 177 Star Dojran 60 Sretenovo 27 Furka 68 Nikolik 37 Gjopceli 20 Crnicani 24 Asanli 2

Age groups 7-14 15-18 19-25 26-40 41-65 Above 65 / 35 107 164 88 21

90 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

5. Photos taken during the implementation of some of the envisaged activities

Photo no. 30 Session of the Municipality Photo no. 31 Respondents in polling during the public opinion polling on the draft LEAP document prior to adoption

Photo no. 32 Meeting with external consultants Photo no. 33 Meeting by LC-SWOT analysis- SWOT analysis

Photo 34: Working group-regional meeting Photo 35: Photos from LC meeting on problems prioritization and some of the materials used to determine priorities

Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran Total (average) Total 47 46 45 42 41 40 - 5 5 5 5 5 5 Opinion of the mem bers of the Local Committee - 5 5 5 5 5 5 Planning, legal or other regulatory require ments - 5 3 5 1 1 1 Level of control by Munici pality 5 5 3 4 5 2 Public opinion - 3 5 3 5 5 3 Irrevers ibility 5 5 5 5 5 5 Prioritization criteria Intensity 5 5 5 5 5 5 Spread 5 4 5 4 4 5 Impact on quality of life - 5 5 5 5 5 5 Impact on environ ment Worksheet no. 3: Priorities setting by the Local Committee Worksheet 4 4 4 3 1 4 Impact on human health - - - - -

Problem Low percentage of the by covered population the secondary sewerage net settlements rural and work uncovered by wastewater collection system. aware public of level Low protect to need the of ness and preserve the environ the in nature the and ment Municipality High number of illegal waste dumping sites Uncontrolled forest cut ting Uncontrolled fishing and destruction of the offspring techni organized, of Lack cally and technologically landfill constructed proper in urban settlements Nov Dojran and Star No 1 2 3 4 5 6

92 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran 38 38 38 35 34 34 32 5 5 5 3 5 5 5 5 3 5 5 4 5 5 5 2 3 1 3 5 5 3 3 3 5 5 3 4 2 5 2 5 1 1 1 5 5 4 4 3 2 4 5 3 5 5 3 5 2 4 5 5 2 5 4 3 3 5 3 4 3 2 2 1 2 3 1 2 2 1 - - - - - Lack of local monitoring of the quality and quan tity status of the Lake of Dojran Lack of water in the Lake Existence of stalls in the villages at unsuitable lo and cattle neat and cations sheep and goats breeding in urban environments Uncontrolled game hunt ing and endangering of species that could result in extinction Lack of around passby the roads – extensive settlements frequency of heavy fright vehicles to wards border-crossing Old machines for waste insufficient and collection number of waste contain ers and bins space, parking Insufficient camping sites, locations for tents, etc. 7 8 9 11 10 12 13

93 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran 32 31 28 28 28 28 5 5 3 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 3 3 5 3 5 5 5 1 4 2 5 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 1 3 2 1 2 4 4 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 2 3 2 5 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 2 1 1 - - - a - f water supply f Inappropriate ment manage o settlements rural in cilities by local communities Insufficient utilization of agricultural land for eco- products production network supply water Old pipes) asbestos – years (50 and frequent defects oc currence Inappropriate and un timely waste collection and transportation Unregistered guests week-end in houses non-reporting of tourists and staying in Dojran. Unsettled status of tourist facilities – closed 14 15 16 17 18 19

94 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran 27 27 27 27 27 27 26 18 2 5 5 5 3 5 3 3 5 2 5 5 3 5 4 1 5 3 5 5 3 2 1 2 2 3 3 1 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 3 1 2 2 3 4 3 5 5 5 4 2 5 4 2 1 3 3 2 3 1 2 1 1 2 2 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 - - - - There have been priorities with equal number of scores: Insufficient quantity of drinking water summer period during Lack of developed irriga tion system for agricul tural areas Lack of economic justifi of operation the for cation the wastewater treatment plant due to electricity consumption excessive Low level of collection for the waste of charges management Lack of people practice for waste minimi with zation and composting of waste organic private Unorganized farmers Lack of passable road to forests in case of forest fire Huge quantities of reed and other plant weeds 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

In order to set priorities, the first criterion taken into account was the public opinion, for higher transparency, in case the impact on the environment is the same, while in case in while same, the is environment the on impact the case in transparency, higher for opinion, public the was account into taken criterion first the priorities, set to order In of equal scores again, the scale control Municipality on its settlement was taken into account.

Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF DOJRAN

Key message:

“Join us, dear citizens, to work together for our own wellbeing and for the wellbeing of our children, towards healthy, clean and beautiful environment, as your active participation

will bring in success and the right results”

Municipality of Dojran Tel:034-225-278 www. opstinadojran.gov.mk/ e-mail;[email protected]

97 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran

REFERENCES

1. “What happens in Dojran Valley and with Dojran Lake”, Momcilo Andrejevik, PhD, 1998;

2. “Dojran History” Risto M. Tasev, 2004

3. “Dojran Lake – Phenomenon of Nature”, Risto Stojanov, PhD, 2002

4. “The Truth of Dojran Lake” documents and expert opinions, Water Fund, Aleksandar Lep- avcov, PhD, 2002

5. “Dojran through Centuries”, Kostadin Kajdamov, 2006

6. Strudy prepared within the activities of the Committee for Support and Development titled “Assessment of natural and economic values of Dojran lake”, EKBZ Greek Biotope/NJetland Centre, Republic of Greece and Society for Biodiversity Study and Protection and Sustainable Development of Natural Ecosystems, BIOEKO, Republic of Macedonia, 2004.

98 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran Comments:

99 Local Environmental Action Plan – Municipality of Dojran LEAP

Dojran Lake

TOGETHER FOR IMPROVED ENVIRONMENT

100