Impact of Informal Settlements on the Environment in Southeast Europe – A Review

Abstract

Informal settlements are human settlements which, for various reasons, do not fulfill the conditions for legal recognition. The large-scale informal construction has resulted in an unplanned expansion of zones around cities suburb, usurpation of agricultural and public land and huge development problems regarding social, traffic and communal infrastructure, as well as the environment. Informal settlements are usually connected to an electrical and telecommunication network, and rarely on the water supply network. The most serious problem is the lack of sewage systems (less than 30%) due to high costs, which is further associated with adverse environmental impacts. A similar situation occurs with garbage collection and storage. In many cases the common informal communal equipment exists, but below prescribed standards which often threaten the ecological and living conditions. During the rapid development when regions are facing economic changes and challenges arising from environmental threats, various institutions have adopted numerous planning documents. One of them is the EU Directive on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). The SEA aims are regulation, i.e. legalization and improving informal settlements in the environmental and sustainable manner, as well as prevention of their future forming. The SEA is particularly relevant in the context of transition countries that a numerous strategies decisions are made with significant implications on the environment. Practically, all these countries have introduced SEA into their legal framework. National legislation relating to the environment usually are contained in one law (Environmental law), but in some states, the regulatory framework for environmental issues is very developed, as in Serbia by the several laws concerning the environment. A similar regulatory framework exists in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Macedonia and Bulgaria. The phenomenon of informal settlements is very noticeable in Montenegro, Turkey, BiH, Serbia, and Albania, while Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Moldova do not face any serious problems regarding this matter.