Integrated Water Resources Management in Kosovo (IWRM-K) Program Phase 2

Kosovo is among the most water-stressed countries in Southeast Europe: its need for freshwater has long exceeded supply due to lack of investments in water infrastructure, inefficient use of water use, and high levels of pollution. Growing demand for water related to economic development and rapid urbanisation amplifies the challenge. For that reason, the country’s water resources are rapidly deteriorating, while climate change is increasing water related risks. In fact, at least 50% of the water bodies in Kosovo fail to meet the ecological standards defined by EU regulations the country aspires at. Moreover, the management of the water resources in Kosovo is complex as it shares its four river basins with its neighbouring countries.

Against this backdrop, Kosovo has made significant progress over the past years by establishing new legal and institutional frameworks for its waters, formulating River Basin Management Plans (RBMP), improving water monitoring as well as water information management, ensuring proper stakeholder involvement in water management and by piloting smart solutions to the most pressing water related challenges. Many of these achievements have been kick-started, catalysed and validated by the Integrated Water Resources Management Program Kosovo (IWRM-K) Phase 1 (2020-2024) co-funded by the Swiss and Kosovar governments, and implemented by Skat Consulting Ltd. in partnership with the Environment Agency Austria.

Phase 2 of the IWRM-K is designed to take the water sustainability agenda in the country to the next level. It seeks to transform Kosovo into a model for resilience and sustainability in managing water resources in a context of uncertainty and growing complexity. Over the time period of 2024-2029, the Program intends to embrace some of the root causes of Kosovo’s severe challenges in water and build the capacities to tackle these. Most prominently, it fosters further alignment of the country’s water policy, strategic and planning framework with EU-based standards and approaches, while facilitating the implementation of targeted measures of RBMPs to address sources of pollution from industry, agriculture, and settlements. Further, the Program deploys institutional and organisational development support for the authorities responsible for water resources management, while strengthening water education, research, and training. Finally, it nurtures the stakeholder participation mechanisms and pilot water monitoring programme emerged during RBMP development, while facilitating empowered stakeholder sand civil society organisations to partner with the authorities on water resources management action. By doing so, Phase 2 consolidates sustainability requirements, and devises an exit strategy. It envisions empowering national institutions to lead Phase 3 with reduced external support, enabling autonomous pursuit of long-term water governance goals.

The consortium composed of Skat Consulting Ltd. (Skat) and Environment Agency Austria (EAA) acts as implementing organisation of the Program. Skat leads the consortium and represents the associates in its dealings with the client. With its management and backstopping team at headquarters ensuring the strategic lead, thematic development and overall steering of Program delivery, Skat also deploys and supervises the team of seven professionals at the local Program Facilitation Unit (PFU) in Pristina as well as the specific thematic experts subcontracted from other organisations going to be identified as per arising needs. EAA provides thematic expertise and quality control by deploying key advisors and a pool of experts as peer support to work processes of the Kosovar partner institutions and as thematic backstopping to the PFU. Program implementation operates in a dynamic context alongside ongoing relevant processes. Its flexible design allows for learning from and complementing other projects, programs, and initiatives in Kosovo, fostering enhanced coordination in IWRM across various stakeholders.

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