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Description
The project proposal refers to the environment and non-transparent methods of decision making regarding the construction of the Regional Centre for Waste Management in Karlovac County, which the political authorities decided to locate in the area of nature reserves rich in water resources, making a number of very suspicious actions on the way, due to which a criminal complaint has been filed for the second time with the competent Croatian institutions. The main objective of the project is to strengthen the advocacy role of NGOs and encourage civic engagement of local community on the importance of healthy environment and protection of natural resources. The specific objective of the project is to further sensitize the public about the procedural shortcomings in the preparation of the RCWM Babina gora and to initiate the process of revision of the conclusions reached on the location suitability and decisions on financing the project of the Centre for Waste Management (CWM). The said activities require an urgent response because a tender has been announced to finance the construction of RCWM Babina gora. The “Babina gora” initiative cooperating with organisations that deal with similar issues on other locations in Croatia, trying to point out the wrong, outdated and too expensive concept of waste disposal in Croatia. Until now, it has been established that there had been obvious irregularities in the approach to site selection, inconsistencies and manipulations relating to exploratory hydro- and geological works, quantities of waste which should be processed in the centre, and multiple misuse of EU funds. Reactions to the actions of NGO representatives indicate a disregard and incorrect attitude of public services towards the residents in the local community. Stakeholders gathered in the initiative believe that the progress they have made is visible and that they lack greater support from the interested public, which they want to achieve with this project.
Summary of project results
The main goal of the project was aimed at strengthening the advocacy role of NGOs and encouraging civic engagement of local community residents on the importance of a healthy environment and protection of natural resources. The specific objective of the project was to sensitize the public about procedural shortcomings in the preparation of the RCGO Babina gora project and to initiate a process of reviewing the conclusions reached on the location and decisions on financing the project of the Center for Waste Management (RCGO). These activities required an urgent response because a tender was announced for the selection of contractors for the construction of RCGO Babina gora. Project activities have raised the level of interest of local community residents in this problem. Through media announcements, poster campaigns and invitations to participate in the site visit for the construction of RCGO Babina gora, residents of the local community, especially those living in the area where the construction of landfills is planned, expressed their opposition to the construction of the center. money. Support for the project "For Babina Gora''s health" enabled the launch of a whole series of activities in a relatively short time. In addition to media promotional activities during the project, advocacy activities took place through contacts with relevant institutions, the Office of the President, representatives of political parties in the Croatian Parliament, members of the EU Parliament and relevant representatives of EU institutions. Activities carried out during the project went beyond the local community and indicated that the arguments of the representatives of the "Initiative for Babina Gora" carry weight. This was especially evident by the decision of the State Commission for the Control of Public Procurement Procedures of February 4, 2021, which annuls the decision on the design and execution of works of the Babina Gora Waste Management Center due to a number of technical and other omissions described on 32 pages. on the project in some way suspended until the administrative procedure that has begun is completed, which gives the representatives of NGOs involved in the "Initiative for Babina Gora" new space to take new activities to address this chronic problem for the local community. water purposes for more than 16 years.