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Natural resources are abundant in Kosovo. Kosovo is mainly rich in lignite and mineral resources such as: coal, zinc, lead, silver and chromium but also productive agricultural land. Kosovo is also rich in forests, rivers, mountains and soil; it is among the richest countries regarding natural resources in Europe, based on surface. Kosovo is especially rich in coal, being aligned among European countries as the third with the largest coal reserves. Kosovo possesses around 14,700 billion tons of lignite in reserves, which aligns Kosovo as the country with the fifth largest lignite reserves in the world. It also has reserves of other minerals at an approximated value of 1 trillion dollars, reserves such as: aluminium, gold, lead, zinc, copper, bauxite, magnesium, etc. Kosovo also possesses rich reserves of asbestos, chromium, limestone, marble and quartz. While the majority of Kosovo’s natural resources remain unused, its large reserves are a great potential for future development, as assessed by the World Bank.
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Land
Since it is the surface upon which most economic activities occur, land is one of the most important natural resources contributing towards economic development. Kosovo has a total surface area of 10,877 square kilometers which is classified as: 53 to 54.23% agricultural land, 40.92% forest land and 4.85% infertile land. Kosovo possesses a wide variety of soils. It is assessed that 15% of the soil in Kosovo is high quality soil, followed by 29% of medium quality, so 56% of all soil is poor quality soil, while the high and medium quality make up 44% of the soil in Kosovo. The high and medium quality soil is composed 11% by humus soil, 8.4% grey carbonate land, 7.8% alluvial soil, and other dark and serpentine soils. The poor quality soil is composed of diluvial lands, swamps, acidic grey soils and other infertile soils, and it mainly lies on hilly areas and mountains.
Agricultural land
The main economic activity in Kosovo is agriculture due to its underdevelopment. 54.23% of the land in Kosovo is qualified to be agricultural land, or 342,400 hectares of its area. However, the formal agricultural sector employs only 3.9% of the people in the workforce. Out of the 54.23% of land which is agricultural land, 15% of it is considered to be agricultural land of good quality, 29% of medium quality agricultural land and the remaining 56% is of poorer quality land.
Forest land
Forests have a great importance in Kosovo and they are one of the greatest natural resources of Kosovo. They encompass 40.92% of the total land area in Kosovo. Forests in Kosovo are of high importance because they are rich in biodiversity. Kosovo has a total of 464,800 hectares of forests, and another 28,200 hectares of forest land.
Flora
Kosovo possess one of the richest flora in the Balkans, although it encompasses only 2.3% of the area in the Balkans. The most important in these regards are the mountains Albanian Alps and the Sharr Mountains. Up to now, approximately 2,500 species of flora have been identifies in Kosovo. This high plant diversity in Kosovo represents a valuable natural resource, especially considering its low surface area. However, even with these rich resources, the flora in Kosovo has not been used to the benefit of the economy, not even in the past.
Wood
Wood is used in Kosovo as the main source of heating. Studies reveal that households in Kosovo consume 7.58 m3 of wood each during one year, or a total consumption of 1.525 million m3 per year.
Water
Kosovo can secure around 131 × 106 m3 of water per year from its underground water and river flows.
Kosovo possesses relatively low reserves of water as compared to its needs. The per capita water per year in Kosovo is estimated to be at 1,600 m3/s. The average from the annual water flow in Kosovo is calculated to be approximately 3.8 x 109 or 121.2 m3/s. Total accumulated volume of water in current accumulation points is 569.69 million m3. Apart from having insufficient water resources to meet its people’s and economy’s needs, Kosovo is also characterized by an unequal distribution of water across its surface. Due to its low potential, hydropower is only modestly used. Water resources are mostly located in the western part as opposed to the East which has lower reserves, and the South East where there is larger needs for water.
There is lack of research regarding groundwater reserves in Kosovo. Groundwater reserves in Kosovo are mainly located in different formations of rocks. Although these reserves have a high importance for drinking water needs as well as agriculture and industry, they are mainly used through private wells. In the area of the White Drin river basin, there are several groundwater accumulations, which have a total area of 998 km2, usable volume of 271x106 m3 and an estimated total capacity of 511x106 m3.
Lakes
In Kosovo, there are only few natural lakes. Among its artificial lakes are: Radonjićko Lake, Gazivoda Lake, Batlava, Prilepnica and Badovci, which have the following characteristics:
Gazivoda lake:
Batlava lake:
Badovci lake:
Radonjićko lake:
Rivers
From the rivers in Kosovo:
The rivers in Kosovo have irregular flows during the year, but they typically have high flows in the Winter season and early Spring. The four main rivers in Kosovo are: White Drin, Lepenci, Morava and Iber. The river White Drin is the longest river in Kosovo with a length of 122 km. Below are the length and surface area of the main rivers in Kosovo:
Thermal and mineral water
Kosovo also enjoys rich reserves of thermal and mineral water. Although little attention has been given to these resources, the data collected thus far shows that there are around 30 sources of thermal and mineral water in Kosovo. The main sources of such waters are: "Banja e Pejës", "Banjska" and "Banja e Kllokotit", for which there are also more data since they also operate as "healing thermal baths".Although these sources of water are suitable also for thermal power generation, they are mainly used for healing and recreational purposes. The range of the temperature of these sources of water is between 17 and 540C and the mineralization degree ranges from 2 to 5 g/l. These thermal and mineral water sources in Kosovo have in their composition also hydrocarbons, sulfates, magnesium and calcium. The following table present the physical-chemical characteristics of some thermo-minerals sources in Kosovo:
Fisheries
Fisheries are evident in Kosovo in most of the freshwater sources; however, there is a lack of fisheries management which makes the maintenance of fisheries difficult. The main fish species found in Kosovo are: trout, catfish, luce, perch, roach, sneep etc.
Mining and metal industry
There are two lead and zinc smelters in Trepča in Mitrovica, which are currently not operating because they were closed down during the UNMIK administration in 2000. They were closed down because of their environmental hazards. There are also several other enterprises which have been privatized after the war, such as: Ferronikeli in 2005, Llamkos Galvasteel in 2005, and Sharrcem in 2000. These enterprises: Ferronikeli in Drenas, a nickel mining and smelting complex; Sharrcem in Han i Elezit, a miner of limestone and manufacturer of cement; and Llamkos Galvasteel in Vushtrri, a manufacturer of steel, were "industrial champions" in the former Yugoslavia. Investments in the mining and metals sector in Kosovo have been very low and even declining during 2007-2011; however, this industry constitutes the largest portion of Kosovo’s exports. The mining and metals industry provides almost 76% of the export revenues in Kosovo. This has also contributed to decreasing a portion of the rent-based income in Kosovo and increasing the real-economy income in Kosovo. Nevertheless, there are many structural imbalances in this sector and although it constitutes a high portion of the exports, the industry is also heavily dependent upon imports. The mining and metals industry in Kosovo shows a lack of internal integration, which means that there are few links in the production process between different segments in the industry and there is a need for investments in the field. Also, by establishing new enterprises in the mining and metals sector, Kosovo was able to decrease its current account deficit in 2011 by around 537 million Euros. Although metal processing developed quickly within the mining and metal industry during 2003-2011 and it increased export revenues by 16-fold, it was not able to encourage production linkages within the industry. During 2009-2011 the only mining licenses issued were to existing companies in Kosovo and only 5 were issued for extraction projects. During 2003-2011 imports also increased of ore and ore concentrates which were then processed locally and re-exported. While ores extracted by private companies or at Trepča are exported and further on processed and refined out of Kosovo, the domestic manufacturing industry uses processed metals imported from abroad. Thus, there are no linkages within the metals and mining industry in Kosovo and the industry is fully dependent linked with external economies. The extractive sector, although it is increasing in importance, it still remains at a relatively low level of 1.1% of GDP (2010) and significantly lower than its level prior to the war and the 90s. In 2008, the export of nickel ingots amounted to almost half of the whole exports value. The mining sector contributes relatively low to GDP (approximately 1%). Base metals accounted for almost 33% of all exports in 2010. These figures align Kosovo among the countries which the World Bank evaluates as "mineral economies".
Institutions in the energy sector
The main institutions in the energy sector in Kosovo are: The Ministry of Energy and Mining, the Energy Regulatory Office and the Independent Commission for Mines and Minerals (ICMM), while some of the major enterprises are: the Kosovo energy Corporation (KEK) and the Kosovo Electricity Transmission System and Market Operator (KOSTT).