Manual for Efficient Sanitary Landfill Management in SEE

The Network of Associations of Local Authorities in South Eastern Europe (NALAS), supported by the Open Regional Fund for South East Europe (ORF), has initiated a project with a focus on landfill management.

At present, many of the landfills in the project region are not operated satisfactorily and cause negative impact on human health and environment. Thus, the project analyzed the current status of waste disposal in the region, and based on the findings developed recommendations for future improvements.

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Fiscal Decentralization Indicators for South-East Europe

This report has been prepared by the Fiscal Decentralization Task Force of the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South East Europe (NALAS). Its purpose is to provide national and local policy makers, researchers, and interested outside observers with reliable comparative data on municipal finances and intergovernmental fiscal relations in South East Europe.

Like its object of analysis, the report is a work in progress. It represents a first attempt by NALAS to assemble from its member associations basic data on fiscal decentralization. Over time, NALAS hopes to expand and deepen the analysis in response to requests and suggestions from both member associations and interested observers. For the moment, however, the report provides a snap shot of the structure, functions, and financing of local governments in South East Europe, as well as an overview of how intergovernmental financial relations have evolved over the economically turbulent period 2006-2010.

The report is divided into four sections. It begins with a brief discussion of the data and some of the methodological issues surrounding its use and interpretation. It then presents basic information about the size and structure of municipal governments in South East Europe, as well a few key macro-economic indicators. The report continues by examining the composition of local government revenues and expenditures and concludes with a few observations about trends over the last five years.

NALAS-FDIndicators.pdf

Challenges of Regularisation of Informal Settlements in South-East Europe

NALAS has published a new report addressing an issue of central importance to the social, economic and institutional development of local governments in South-East Europe. Challenges of regularisation of informal settlements of thirteen entities with diverse backgrounds in terms of economic management and political structure were assesed. Almost all are currently at different stages of a major socioeconomic transition which imposes new challenges for all sectors of economic management. Rapid urban growth has generated a dramatic increase in the need for land, services, credit and livelihood opportunities. Understandably, local governments have found it difficult to keep pace with the complexity and scale of these needs. As a result, people have resorted to self-help and various types of informal settlements have emerged in all the countries as observed by the local government associations that participated in the Study.

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Municipal Solid Waste Information System Model

There is a common understanding that waste management in the region of South-eastern Europe is burdened with a lack of relevant information on municipal waste at the local level, and consequently, often characterized by inadequate tariffs and inefficient service. The need for municipalities and Public Utility Companies (PUCs) to undertake efforts in order to provide services as efficient and affordable as possible is therefore clear. In order to improve service levels in municipal waste management policy at the local level, efficiency and quality must be enhanced under the umbrella of an affordable tariff structure. This makes continual analysis and planning essential. Service level evaluation, performance indicator comparison and planning needs require the development of standardized solid waste management calculation tools based on up-to-date information. The harmonisation of the information required for processing and comparison purposes is crucial, and is mirrored in the needs of waste management information tools. It is commonly recognized that solid waste management in South East Europe is weakened by the lack of reliable data at local, institutional and national level. The SWIS model is a tool designed for municipal waste management data collection and analysis and is intended for use by public entities in charge for the provision of this service. It will help local governments to collect and process relevant data on the most important questions in municipal waste management.

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Guidelines on Local Government Borrowing

This publication contains best experiences available in the region of South East Europe in debt financing and managing complex capital investment projects.
Improved information is intended also to lead to proposals for changes in laws and regulations that are restricting local borrowing in some countries. In this guide the project team analyzed recent trends (2010) in local government borrowing in Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Republika Srpska – BiH, Romania, Serbia and Turkey.

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ICT for Local Governments

The ICT for Local Governments is a guidance study based on best practices for establishment of Local e-Government services. It is aimed primarily for the South East Europe region, but can be used for all developing or transitional countries. It also contains an extensive list of references and resources that can mitigate the transition from basic ICT usage towards a connected local e-Government.

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Energy Efficiency Measures in South-East European Municipalities and The Role of National Associations and NALAS

A network-wide assessment of the needs and potentials for joint activities of the member associations promoting Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the local level has been compiled within the framework of a NALAS study. A total of 13 member associations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey participated in the study group, which was working under the auspices of the NALAS Task Force on Energy Efficiency. The study is available on the link below.

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