Expanding the Air Quality Monitoring network: 200 new Sensors to measure Air Quality across Serbia

On November 8, 2023, the Belgrade Open School gathered more than 40 individuals from the Air Monitoring network in various regions of Serbia to exchange experiences in the fight for clean air and present the results of their previous work.

Activists received guidance on how to develop and enhance their advocacy initiatives, and through discussion, key conclusions and priorities for the activist network in the upcoming period were defined. Activists were introduced to a new generation air quality measuring sensor that will be installed in cities and municipalities where official air quality monitoring has not been established.

The meeting addressed the significance of having a civic air quality monitoring network, taking into account the capacities and timeliness of government monitoring, as well as the importance of informing the public about this issue. The problem of polluted air is not a recent issue, and resolving it requires collaboration between the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Mining and Energy, the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, local governments, and all other relevant stakeholders. Subsequently, participants had the opportunity to be part of thematic groups where they discussed similar issues, exchanged experiences, and received guidance from facilitators on how to develop and improve their advocacy initiatives.

As part of the "Together for the Environment" project, it is planned to distribute a total of 200 new sensors in the coming period, as well as to expand the network of activists collaborating with BOŠ. The gathered activists attended the conference "Hold your breath!" the day after the meeting, where the main topic was the annual Report on the State of Air Quality in the Republic of Serbia for 2022, published by the Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). This report, revealing what we breathed in 2022, was only disclosed in October.

For more information about the conference, visit the Belgrade Open School website: bos.rs