Vienna, Austria – October 2024 – A delegation of environmental experts from the Western Balkans gathered at the Environment Agency Austria (Umweltbundesamt) for a study visit designed to improve air quality monitoring in the region. As part of the EU4Green project, this visit represented an important milestone in efforts to advance environmental protection in the Western Balkans, introducing European expertise to strengthen local capacities.

A Valuable Learning Experience

Experts from ministries, institutes, and national environmental agencies engaged closely with their Austrian counterparts in several practical sessions at the Agency’s modern calibration laboratory, national reference laboratory and intercomparison facility. Over the three-day visit, participants explored advanced techniques for monitoring harmful pollutants like ozone and nitrogen dioxide, critical for reducing air pollution.

One highlight of the visit was the deep dive into advanced air quality calibration methods. These techniques are essential for ensuring that air monitoring stations across the region provide accurate, reliable data that can be used to protect public health and the environment.

A Step Towards Healthier Air

“This visit has been incredibly valuable,” said Mr. Ljupcho Grozdanovski, B. Sc., from the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, Macedonian Environmental Information Center. “We are taking home practical skills that will help us improve how we monitor air quality in our own countries. This is an important step towards healthier air for everyone. This interlaboratory comparison was a good experience for us and an opportunity to exchange experience with neighboring laboratories, especially with the National reference laboratory of Environment Agency Austria (Umweltbundesamt – UBA). Due to the COVID crisis, comparisons in 2020 were canceled, and this intercomparison organized by UBA Austria, through the EU4Green project, was very useful for us to check our calibration standards and equipment.”

Darko Šipka from the Republički hidrometeorološki zavod Republike Srpske added, “It was very valuable for me to see what your calibration lab looks like, as I have not had the opportunity to see the equipment and hear practical experiences from the calibration laboratory before. We can use our instruments from the study visit as transfer standards and calibrate other instruments, such as CO and NOx analyzers. We hope to develop a calibration laboratory in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and with your help and advice, it is possible.”

Irisi Hada, a specialist from the National Environment Agency of Albania, also shared insights: “My most significant takeaway from the study visit was learning how calibrations are done firsthand at a National Reference Laboratory (NRL). In the past, we always contracted companies to do our maintenance and calibrations, so it was valuable to understand the process better. Moving forward, our focus will be on determining equipment issues and reestablishing maintenance, as well as expanding monitoring stations and possibly establishing a national reference laboratory.”

The study visit emphasized collaboration, not only with Austrian experts but also among participants from the Western Balkans. By sharing knowledge and learning from each other’s experiences, these economies are working together to tackle the region’s air pollution challenges.

Next Steps/Actions

Participants will now work to apply the knowledge gained during the study trip to enhance air quality monitoring in their own economies, and to build up national reference laboratories in the long run. This will help provide better data on air pollution levels and inform actions to reduce harmful emissions. Further collaborative initiatives between the Western Balkans and Austria are expected to follow, building on the momentum from this successful visit.