Environmental issues in Pristina

Air pollution in Pristina

Main sources of air pollution in Pristina are:

Air in Pristina is polluted mainly from:

Gases

NO_x

The main nitrogen oxide found in air in Pristina is nitrogen oxide NO2. NO affects the color of textile materials, causes corrosion in metallic materials, and at vegetation causes the drop of leaves; therefore, limit values are set. NO2 is 4 times more lethal than NO, and it is mostly concentrated in urban areas. NO2 in Pristina comes 52% from transport, 28% from fuel for power production, and 11% from industry. Pristina has a lower annual average of NO2 emission as compared to the annual average limit allowed.

Annual average of NO₂ in Pristina

The annual average of NO₂ emission in Pristina was 20.82 µg/m3 in 2010, which is lower than limit of 40 µg/m3. There are no available data for 2011, which would allow in turn comparing 2010 and 2011. However, this result comes from very low percentage of data collected, with only 68% of data being valid; this means that the emission of NO₂, may not be accurate. In the other hand, according to the National Institute of Public Health of Kosovo study, the emission of NO2 is alarming; in only three months of, NO2 measurement have exceeded allowed emissions by 18 times. The emission of NO₂ is higher in winter, where the heating process is accelerated, with February being as the peak month. The main contributor to the pollution of air with NO₂ is Kosovo A and B power plants. Thus, NO₂ emission is estimated to be higher in urban areas where traffic is enormous. The good side of the story is that in Pristina there is no exceed of the NO₂ limit that would cause health problems in people’s life; however, this does not apply for other cities of Pristina.

SO₂

Annual average values of SO₂ in Pristina

The annual average of NO2 emission in Pristina was 20.82 µg/m3 in 2010, which is lower than limit of 40 µg/m3. There are no available data for 2011, which would allow in turn comparing 2010 and 2011. However, this result comes from very low percentage of data collected, with only 68% of data being valid; this means that the emission of NO2, may not be accurate. In the other hand, according to the National Institute of Public Health of Kosovo study, the emission of NO2 is alarming; in only three months of, NO2 measurement have exceeded allowed emissions by 18 times. The emission of NO2 is higher in winter, where the heating process is accelerated, with February being as the peak month. The main contributor to the pollution of air with NO2 is Kosovo A and B power plants. Thus, NO2 emission is estimated to be higher in urban areas where traffic is enormous. The good side of the story is that in Pristina there is no exceed of the NO2 limit that would cause health problems in people’s life; however, this does not apply for other cities of Pristina.

CO₂

Vehicles and fuel burning companies are the main CO₂ pollutants of air in Pristina. Fuel burning contains liquid fuels, natural gas and wood, combustion of coal, and industrial processes such as furnaces, paper factories, the refineries, and facilities for production of construction materials. CO₂ emission in air can be mitigated through plants; however, this is another problem in Pristina. The lack of green spaces and well-maintained parks makes impossible the mitigation of CO₂. The highest pollutant is the production of energy, with its annual CO₂ contribution to global warming is 5.5 million tons. CO₂ pollution comes 30% from fuel use for power generation, 29% from transport, 20% from industry, 15% from residential commerce, and 6% from other sources. If Pristina is compared with regional countries, it is noticed that Pristina exceeds the OSCE and EU emissions of CO₂. Pristina has higher emission of CO2 compared to the region of Serbia, and lower emissions compared to the region of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Particulate Matter (Dust)

PM emission on air comes mainly from transport in Pristina. In the road transportation, this comes mainly from cars and tires. The problem relies in the intensive increase of automobiles in Pristina, where most of them are old and do not possess catalysts. Pristina’s cars life span differs from 5 years to more than 15 years. 7.5% of registered cars are newer than 5 years old, 77.36% are older than 10 years, and 66.82% of them are more than 15 years old. Furthermore, each day in Pristina enter an enormous number of cars, creating traffic as well as air pollution. Out of the total number of vehicles registered in Kosovo, 31.18% of them are registered in Pristina; 84% are passenger’s vehicles, 13% are from transporting, and the others come mainly from urban traffic. The public transportation in Pristina contains mainly busses exported from other countries. There are 757 licensed buses routes per day and out of these 382 are executed on average per day. Buses/minibuses connecting urban and suburban areas total 151with 935 departures per day. There are two main stations in Pristina that measure the air pollution: Kosovo Hydro Meteorological Institute and "Rilindja."

PM₁₀

Number of days with exceeded limit values of PM₁₀

As it can be seen from the table that the maximum amount allowed to be exceeded with PM10, is 35 days and the maximum daily value is 50 µg/m3. However, according to KHMI, Pristina has exceeded this limit for 99 days in 2010 and for 68 days in 2011. The majority of days with exceedance of average daily values were during the winter months. The table below presents PM₁₀ maximum, minimum, and average monthly values, where November is the month with the highest recorded PM₁₀ value.

Monthly average values, max and min. of PM₁₀, station IHMK (Prishtina1)

The annual limit of (40 µg/m3)14 was also exceeded in 2010 and 2011, as it can be seen from figure 2. The highest pollution value reached from traffic in Pristina was estimated to be 75.74 µg/m3, which is 1.9 times more than the average annual limit.

PM_2.5

Annual Average of PM_2.5

The average annual emission of PM_2.5 is 25 µg/m3. However, Pristina has exceeded this limit in 2010 and 2011. Furthermore, the PM_2.5 concentration has increased from 37.34 µg/m3 in 2010 to 40.40 µg/m3in 2011. The highest value of PM2.5 has been recorded in the winter months, with November leading among other months.

Monthly average values, max and min. of PM_2.5, station IHMK (Pristina1)

Kosova A and B Power Plants

Kosovo A and B power plant are the number one pollutant of Pristina. It is the primary factor contributing to the pollution of air with the above-mentioned gasses. Kosovo A and B power plant produce 97% of the energy used in Pristina, while only 3% comes from water. Kosovo Energy Corporation is the main polluter in Pristina region. There is no continuous emission monitoring system from those two plants. However, lower emissions have been reported in Kosovo B compared to Kosovo A. Kosovo A has three blocks, A₁, A₃, A₅, and Kosovo B has two blocks B₁ and B₂. According to the state report for environmental conditions in Kosovo, both power plants have exceeded the SO₂ limit in air, that of 400 mg/Nm3, and the NO₂ limit that of 500 mg/Nm3, and dust emission limit that of 50 mg/Nm3. CO₂ emission from A is lower from power plant B, as it can be seen in the table below.

CO₂ emissions from power plant A and B in Pristina

Electro filters are planned to be established in A₃, A₄ and A₅ with the aim to increase the efficiency of the existing electro filters. However, as it can be seen, KEDS CO₂ emissions are more than 6 million tons annually, which means 520 tons per hour. When KEDS produces at full capacity (200 MW), it emits 25 tons of dust and ash (that includes gases) per hour, which is 74 times more than the European limit. Critical months are April, June, July, October, November and December, where the emission of gases and dust exceeds the limit allowed.

Facts from Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning in Kosovo:

"Greenhouse gasses: 10,797,000 tons of CO₂ and 425,000 t of CH₄" "CO emissions: 986,000 tons" "Dust emissions: 167,000 t with specific values from 1,881mg/m³ to 7,523 mg/m³ at Kosovo A and 250 mg/m³ at Kosovo B" "SO₂ emissions: 167,000 t with specific values of 895 mg/m³" "NO_x Emission: 20,000 t with specific values from 358 mg/m³ to 478 mg/m³ at Kosovo A and 735 mg/m³ at Kosovo B." The Ministry of Environment has concluded that the problem with dust emitted from those two power plants is serious and it cannot be avoided without major redesign of the boilers. Units in Kosovo A need serious assessment since they are at the end of their lifespan. On the other hand, Kosovo B has a longer lifespan, but the existing electrostatic precipitator is in very bad conditions and also there is low control of dust emission in the air. European Union has set some targets that those power plants reach by 2017. Dust emission should be max 50 mg/Nm³, SO₂ max 400 mg/Nm³, and NO₂ max 500 mg/Nm³.

Emissions released from Power Plants A and B

Termokos and Household Heating

Heating company "Termokos" covers most of the neighborhoods in Pristina. This company operates with oil and gas, while the cogeneration system is considered to be a very stable solution for the improvement of the heating system in Pristina. However, Termokoscovers only three main cities in Kosovo, 3-4% of households in general are heated from it. There are some problems related with Termokos:

SO₂ pollution from Termokos

As it can be seen in the table Termokos releases 491 mg/Nm³, while the limit, as stated before is 400 mg/Nm³. In this way, it can be noticed that Termokos is one of the main pollutants of Pristina. Households in Pristina use mainly wood for heating. Oftentimes, households use old sofa that do not use filters, and the pollutants end up in the air. This problem could be avoided if the central heating problem would be solved, so that Termokos could supply with heating each house in Pristina region. This in turn would disincentivize people to secure heating materials on their own, which in turn would decrease the air pollution as well.

Laws on air pollution

For more information visit: Kosovo Law on Air Protection

For more information visit:"" Kosovo Law on Environment Protection

Water Contamination

Pristina City has limited quantities of surface and groundwater, which are mainly distributed in the peripheral areas. A small fraction of the available water is found as underground water, such as that in "Pajtimi" field that amounts to 50 liters / sec and "Germia" source that amounts to 15 liters /sec. Watercourses are scarce. There are small rivers in the urban area, such as Pristina and Vellusha Rivers that collect the water flows of faux pas coming from Lagjia e Spitalit, Mati, Kodra e Trimave, and Shkabaj. Vellusha and Pristina Rivers serve to collect rainwater from all urban areas of Pristina. The main drinking water sources remain Batllava and Badovc Lakes. Batllava Lake – it has a capacity of 38 million m³ of water and supplies the town of Pristina with 65% of drinking water. Batllava represents the main source of drinking water for the municipality of Pristina. It was built in 1960-1963; initially it worked only for technical water supply to the energy complex in Obilic. From 1982 it turned into water resource for drinking water for the Pristina region. Recently, the water treatment plant in Shajkovc was built, which has a maximum capacity of 900 liters/sec. Badovci Lake- has a volume of 27 million m³ and supplies the town of Pristina with 35% of drinking water. It was initially built in 1960 for the supply of drinking water, irrigation, and technical water for Kishnica mine. From1980 this lake is mainly used for drinking water purposes for Pristina region. The water treatment plant has been built in Badovc, which has a maximum capacity 400l/sec. Those two lakes are the main source of water in Pristine. They both supply around 90% of population in Pristina region with drinking water. However, the distribution power has many problems. Most of the pipes used are older than 50 years, which lose around 50% of available water; 35% are technical losses, while 15% are commercial losses. As a result there are reductions on available water to citizens, with 8-10 hours/day water cuts to each household. Another problem is the water contamination. There is no urban water monitoring in Kosovo. There are only some small regional, water companies that do not have large competencies on water monitoring. Wastewater discharges remain the main pollutants of water in Pristina. Those wastes are dangerous because they contain substances such as soluble compounds of phosphorus, dissolved oxygen, pathogenic bacteria and viruses, nitrogen (eutrophication), and other matters that affect the water quality. Main carrier of underground waters pollution is Prishtevka River, which at the same time is the main carrier of sewage and rainwater.

Waste in water

There are two main pollutants of water in Pristina: collective pollutants and industrial pollutants. Collective pollutants are households and individuals that throw waste in water and have common canalization system. Industrial pollutants are the largest industrial pollutants, such as agriculture, chemicals, and ironmongery pollutants. There are 6 individual pollutants in Prishtevka River, and 1 collective pollutant. There are 15 collective pollutants in Llapi River, and 7 individual pollutants. Sitnica River has 24 collective pollutants and 7 individual pollutants, and Gracanka River has 3 collective pollutants, and 1 individual pollutant. The table below shows the individualpollutants in Pristina and their landfills.

Individual Water Pollutants in Pristina

Sewage waters

The city of Pristina has the system of moving sewage water out of the center of Pristina, but it does not have the system of continuing maintenance of sewage waters. The movement of sewage waters is done toward rivers in Pristina, mainly on Sitnica River. Sitnica is the main receiver of sewage waters coming from citizens of Pristina. The total amount of water discharged into Sitnica from urban area is 800liters/sec, from which 450liter/sec are taken through Pristina River and 150 liters/sec through Vellushariver. Other amounts are taken through Shkabajfaux pas. There are only 8 settlements in Pristina with public or own canalization system. The table below presents main regions of Pristina and their landfills of sewage waters.

Water pollutants in Pristina

As it can be seen from the table, the main polluted river with most sewage waters flows on it is Prishtevka. It can be said that Prishtevka has turned into a river flow of sewage waters, withmore than 400,000 inhabitants polluting it. Another big problem is with sewage waters that are present in Taukbashçe Park, which besides the fact that they are polluted and are part of the park, they also smell horrible for people who visit the park. This may cause health problem to people, given the fact that elderly people are those that visit this park mostly.

Underground Waters

Considering the problem of Pristina to supply its citizens with water, underground water has been thought to be a rescue for this problem. Kolevica underground waters have been the main supplier of water for Pristina from 1950 to 1970. Those waters are placed in the northern side of Pristina, with a maximum capacity of 50 liters/sec. However, with the construction of Batllava River, those underground rivers were left unused, and now they form part of the polluted waters in Pristina. Germia Source is another underground water resource that lies in Germia Park ad is the oldest water sources known. It has been used many years ago, and it has a flow of 15 liters/sec. This source is used for GermiaBasis,while those days Germia’s underground waters are considered to be the main source of water for Pristina citizens.

Wells in Pristina

There are hidden wells in Pristina, which most of them are covered with waste and are in the most polluted areas of Pristina. These sources are used when surface water is lacking. Recently, water has been found in "Pajtimi" field, which currently is one of the waste polluted areas. However, in an attempt to clean Pristina environment, and also find water, the opening phase of these wells has started and they are estimated to be completed by mid-2014. In this place, 9 wells are found, and the flow is estimated at 60 liters/sec. There are two other wells in Llukar village. Those wells are estimated to have a flow of 50 liters/sec. The problem with those two wells is their usage, mainly for auto washing. Those wells ceased being used in 1989, and they are expected to become active again by mid-2014. A plan to plant trees in Pristina and lower air pollution, has prompted that 17 artificial wells to be opened in Pristina. The Pristina municipal government has provided funding for these wells, which would supply the water the irrigation of the newly planted trees.

Law on Water Protection

For more information visit: Kosovo Law on Water

Waste

The region of Pristina is the highest waste container. In 2007, 61.644.35 ton of waste have been collected only in Pristina, while in 2008, 80.185.06 ton of waste have been collected in Pristina.

Waste Collection in Pristina 2007 and 2008

The average amount of municipal waste disposal in Pristina is 0.9 kg/day per person, while 332 kg/year per person. If Pristina is compared with other municipalities, it can be seen that Pristina differs much more. While in Pristina the average waste disposal is 332 kg/year per person, in other municipalities this average is 95 kg/year per person. The problem relies in the disposal of this waste is done in (field-waste) municipal surface. Those waste disposals have not filled the minimum standard requirements for waste. They are settled near habitats and rivers, which most of time end up polluting the rivers also, especially underground waters and wells. Oftentimes those waste disposals are burned from nature, as well as from people. During summer they smell badly because most of waste is not even covered with grit. Some disposals in Pristina have been closed, with the aim to reduce those negative effects in the nature; however, still most of them remain uncovered. Pristina regional waste disposal collects waste from Prishtinë, Obiliq, Lipjan, Fushë Kosovë and Drenas(Gllogoc). The size of this disposal is approximately 40 hectares, it has a lide span of 15 years, and its total capacity is 3,500,000 m³ while its monthly capacity is 6000 tons. The status of this disposal is miserable, with a very bad smell causing many health implications to people.

Local Waste

As the capital city of Kosovo, Pristina has the largest number of inhabitants, which in turn means that it has the largest amount of waste disposal. Generation, collection, treatment, and elimination of waste in Pristinais done by "Pastrimi" Company, which covers the highest percentage of people with this service compared to other municipalities. In 2007 this company covered 64% of the population with this service, in 2008 52%, in 2009 53%, and in 2010 55%. Collection of waste is done through two ways: 52% door-to-door collection and 48% for collective apartments.

Waste collection in Pristina

In 2012, local yearly waste per capita was 515 kg, while daily waste per capita was 1.4 kg. The total amount of waste collected in Pristina is 248,832 ton. (cite 37) The collection of local waste in Pristina has increased from 2007 to 2012. In 2007 182,000 ton were collected, while in 2012 249,000 ton were collected. This is an example of an increase in the efficiency of waste collection. If Pristina is compared with the other regions, the collection of waste per capita is much higher. Only in 2012, the difference between Pristina and other regions collection of waste was 0.7 kg.

Industrial Waste

Industrial waste contains substances in various aggregate forms that remained for a long time in different facilities, warehouses, and industrial units.Over time, the usage of some of these substances has expired or degraded by changing their composition, making them as highly hazardous substances for people’s health.

Industrial Waste in Pristina

As it can be seen, Kosovo A power plant is one of the largest pollutants with industrial waste, followed by Kishnica Laboratory.

Medicinal Waste

This type of waste includes medicinal pills whose usage is not valid anymore. This sector in Pristina does not have a system of collection, transportation, or elimination. Even though, new waste disposals have been set in hospital as well as in medicinal family centers, they are not being used as much. Medicinal pills are thrown in normal waste disposals. When medicinal pills stay for a long time without valid usage time, then they release dangerous substances for human’s health. The Municipal Family Medicine Center in Pristina releases 60 tons/year medicinal waste. Medicinal waste is found also in some pharmacies in Pristina. The central pharmacy of Pristina has declared 200 kg of medical waste. Other pharmacies have also reported medical waste, such as Agani Warehouse.

Law on Waste

For more information visit: Kosovo Law on Waste

Factsheet for Kosovo under UNSCR 1244/99

Land Degradation

The continued impact of human activities on land causes land degradation, which is harmful for human and socio-economic environment. Since Pristina is the capital city of Kosovo, most of the population lives here. This means that land degradation issue is more present in the Pristina region; however, Pristina was always industrial-oriented city, with less agricultural land used for food cultivation. Land degradation happens because of the increased construction of settlements (unplanned constructions), road construction, industry (solid waste, surface mining), local and sanitary waste, erosion and uncontrolled exploitation of gravel.

Land Usage

Below are some facts for land usage in Pristina Municipality:

Constructed Land: 2365.6 hectares or 30.45% of the total surface

Residential Areas: 2011.58 hectares. It is characterized with individual residence 23.17%, with only 2.72% collective residence.

Economic Areas: 217.94 hectares or 2.81% of total constructed areas belongs to the industrial development.

Educational Institutions: occupy a surface of 34.7 hectares or 0.45% of the constructed area

Health Institutions: occupy a surface of 33.9 hectares or 0.44% of the constructed area

Administrative Institutions: occupy a surface of 50.08 hectares or 0.64% of the constructed area

Green Areas: 5023.05 hectares or 64.04% of the total area

Specific Areas: 149.11 hectares or 1.92% of the total area

Transport and Traffic Areas: 231 hectares or 2.97% of total area

Ownership in Pristina Municipality is divided into two groups:

Public Ownership: 2695.21 hectares or 34.7%

Private Ownership: 5073.48 hectares or 65.3%

Degradation of Agricultural Land

Pristina has 9155 hectares of agricultural land, from which 8508 hectares have the system of irrigation on them. Since Pristina has a much polluted air, then it tis thought that this emission of pollution be transferred from air to land. This happens through rainfall that dissolves air pollution and deposits it into the land. One of the most common ways of agricultural land degradation is the transformation of agricultural land into industrial land. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development, in the period from 1998-2006 1 hectare of land in Pristina was transformed. However, the construction of Pristina started the last five years, with more people building apartments in each neighborhood of Pristina. The problem of land degradation is that it happens in both ways: through the permition of the municipality of Pristina, but also without the permission of the municipality of Pristina. According to the director of the agricultural association in Kosovo, land degradation is happening each day more and more, and the most dangerous zones to remain without agricultural land are lands between Pristina and Skopje highway.

Spatial Planning

Spatial planning in Pristina is very important, given the enormous construction plans happening currently. The construction of collective apartments has started in Pristina the last five years, and some of them follow the directives for constructing from Pristina Municipality, but others do not. However, when dealing with spatial planning, it is very important to protect local zones from construction, especially parks that people use for recreational activities. One of the natural spatial areas protected from the municipality of Pristina is the national park "Germia."

Protected zones - Germia

The regional park "Germia" is protected and monitored from the public enterprise "Hortikultura." This park is protected from construction, as well as because of its biodiversity in fauna and flora. Germia lies in the northern part of Pristina and it has a surface of 62 km2. The boundaries of Germia starts with vineyards fields in the west, continues with Miredita hills in the east toward the Hajvalia mining and Gracanica River. In the South it continues with Busise River, and in the east it ends up with Badovci River. Besides of its geographic boundaries, Germia is protected because of its diversity in flora and fauna. 610 types of vascular flora have been found in Germia separated into 82 families. 83 types of mushrooms have been found and 4 forest communities. It is the only place of Pristina where the air pollution is lower, and most of people use it as a recreational place. 41.40.52 hectares of Germia are under the protected zone, starting from the Germia Basis and continue with fields, children parks and toys, and sporting centers. The status of Germia is a Protected Regional Park, including 1.126.01.00 hectares. Germia Park is evidenced as a protected zone in the international list of protected places.

Laws on Spatial Planning

For more information visit: Kosovo Law on Spatial Planning

Environmental Protection Measures

During 2011-2012 the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning in Kosovo, has formulated the Strategy for the protection of the Environment in Pristina. Those strategies have been created for the future of Pristina environment in 2015-2022. Those strategies entail specific plans and EU standards that Pristina needs to fulfill by the end of year 2022. Local Plans for Environmental Actions are mandatory for each municipality in Kosovo. In Pristina this plan has been approved and it only waits for the starting period of implementation. This plan has been taken in cooperation with the Swedish Agence for International Development. The municipality of Pristina is developing and implementing this plan for other municipalities as well. 14 plans have been established for waste management in Pristina, according to the Kosovo Law for Waste.

For more information visit: Pristina WWTP Feasibility Study

For more information visit: EU Twinning Project to Support the Environment Sector