Balkan Green Foundation part of the panel discussion on 'COVID-19 and Green Economic Recovery'

Within the third edition of Kosovo Sustainable Development Week (KSDW), a panel discussion was held on the theme “COVID-19 and Green Economic Recovery”, where present were officials from government, international experts, and civil society.

The discussion commenced with opening remarks from Visar Azemi, Balkan Green Foundation’s Executive Director, who marked the significance of the event while underlining that since its inception, KSDW has been bringing together key actors from government and civil society to work together and bring focus to a green agenda for Kosovo. 'For the recovery to be green, policy support should come from both central and local government. On the other hand, civil society should continue to push for these policies which ensure a green and sustainable recovery in Kosovo.' marked Mr. Azemi during his speech. 

Alexandra Linden, Project Manager “Sustainable Municipal Services” at GIZ Kosovo, went on to emphasize the impact the pandemic has had not only financially and economically, but also in health and wellbeing, where she added that “Now is the time to strive jointly with the broad range of actors, to invest funds that can lead to a more resilient recovery of the economy with the creation of jobs and initiatives on those field of the economy that are striving toward green and sustainable investment.” 

Ismail Hetemaj from the Ministry of Economy and Environment and Learta Hollaj, Advisor for Sustainable Development and Partnerships at the Kosovo Assembly, jointly conceded on the work of the government particularly on the institution of legal frameworks and strategies for different sectors such as pollution, climate changes, energy, water, biodiversity, and waste. However, Mr. Hetemi pointed out the challenges the ministry is facing, which are mainly related to the implementation of action plans.

In this regard, Ms. Hollaj, showed the steps that Kosovo’s legislative body is taking to achieve the environmental and sustainability goals. 'One major action that the assembly is taking is the visits to citizens from different municipalities by the speaker of the assembly together with committees such as the one for economic development, environment, and health. The main objective of these meetings is to understand the concerns and issues citizens have as well as to monitor the implementation of the legislation by government institutions.' 

To watch the full discussion, click here.