Skopje, 4 February 2025 (MIA) — To strengthen institutional capacities and raise public awareness of the importance of protecting and sustainably managing the country's groundwater resources in a changing climate, top officials signed Tuesday an agreement to cooperate on a Groundwater Management, Use and Protection Program project co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

According to the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning in a press release, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environment and Physical Planning Izet Mexhiti, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy Cvetan Tripunovski and National Hydrometeorological Service director Igor Lazarovski signed a memorandum of understanding with Swiss Ambassador Véronique Hulmann to cooperate on the GWP project.

The project aims to lay the groundwork for a long-term transformation of the state's groundwater management by building stakeholders’ capacities, securing a collaboration mechanism and improving the legislative and planning framework. The memorandum of understanding contains a detailed plan of activities and project tasks, the release said.

"Water, especially groundwater, is a strategic natural resource, but its potential has not been sufficiently explored, used, monitored, logged, protected or managed," the release said, adding that the state needed to strengthen the responsible institutions' capacities as well as address the incomplete legal framework and align it with EU legislation.

"Additionally, low awareness of the status of groundwater is reflected in low public pressure and weak mobilization of the public and civil society on water resource management issues," the release said.

In particular, the GWP project is expected to strengthen the key institutions and stakeholders' skills for integrated and sustainable groundwater management by the end of 2027; develop a management plan for the Vardar River basin; and implement pilot projects with farmers, public utilities, the private sector and municipalities. It also aims to align national laws with the European Union's environmental acquis.

The project is financially supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation with CHF 4.6 million through 2027, the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning with CHF 300,000 (over the next three years) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy with CHF 200,000 (over the next two years), the release said.

It will be implemented by Consortium Skat Consulting from Switzerland and PointPro Consulting from North Macedonia together with the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy. mr/