Cooperation for the Enhancement of Environmental Citizenship in the Context of Securitization: The Case of an OSCE Project in Serbia

Abstract

Environmental citizenship has an important role in rooting environmental security at the local level as both the consequences of environmental degradation and efforts towards its preservation are directly felt there. An increasing level of environmental democracy may also result in improvements in equality and access to justice which, in the long run, may lead to improving social stability. At the same time, a more distinct sense of entitlement to one's environment can inspire deeper concern for it. For these reasons, international organizations have increasingly started to emphasize questions of environmental citizenship in development cooperation. It is thus important to study what are the biggest problems in trying to increase participation, and furthermore, how international organizations can best work towards these goals in their projects. This article focuses on a specific case of such an effort, carried out by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Serbia. The aim of the project was to promote the implementation of the Aarhus Convention by establishing regional Aarhus Centers to reach the local population and address their environmental concerns, support local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and facilitate the interaction between the grassroots level and local administration. The analysis, which was based on interviews with local OSCE and other NGO officials as well as project reports, found that the biggest problems lie in the lack of cooperation between different levels of administration and their interaction with the civil society. In addition, the reinforcement of environmental citizenship requires a distinctly cross-sectoral, comprehensive approach. International organizations can work as mediators and ease these processes, but at the same time they should aim to leave the responsibility for the cooperation to the local level.