An overview of environmental policies of local government organizations in the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the structure of local government environmental expenditures by purpose, term and economic type, as well as the sources of their financing. Design/methodology/approach – Research and data analysis were carried out on the basis of relevant sources of data gathered from the publicly available decisions on annual statements of accounts for 2011, published on local governments’ internet pages. Findings – The main domains of expenditures are pollution abatement, waste and wastewater management and protection of biodiversity. The most of expenditure relates to operating expenses, while only a few percent relates to long-term investments. The most of environmental protection expenditures are financed from the local government organization's (LGO) general budget. Practical implications – In the field of environmental protection, the most significant direct responsibility lies with local governments. On the other hand, information on the structure of environmental protection income and expenditures at the local government level is very limited and highly defragmented. The study may represent a starting point for further research in this field. Originality/value – The methodology and the results reported in this research could be used for exploring environmental policy of LGOs in other European countries.