5.1 The role and importance of environmental education

Education has always been and will always be the most effective way to solve serious problems. The educational process about protection and improvement of the environment represents the conscious and planned development of man’s  knowledge  about the environment. Environmental education should provide a very secure knowledge of the basic environmental issues of modern society, develop a critical attitude to the growing degradation of the environment and point to the need for rational use of natural resources. Environmental education and the formation of an ecological way of thinking begins at an early age, which is why the role of educational organizations at all levels of knowledge acquisition (primary, secondary, and higher education) is very important.

Zajecar district

The education system in Serbia is organized as follows:[1]

- preparatory pre-school program - getting to know the natural and social environment that incorporates environmental protection content;

- young elementary schools - environmental content is often permeated through almost all teaching subjects, and is most represented in the subjects World around us in first and second grades and Nature and Society in third and fourth grades, as and through elective course in the first cycle of elementary education "Keepers of Nature" through which awareness of the need and opportunities for personal engagement in environmental protection is developed, strengthens the adoption and application of the principles of sustainability, ethics and rights of future generations to the environment;

- senior elementary school grades - ecological contents are represented through the subjects of natural sciences: biology, geography, chemistry and physics;

- secondary education - as a separate subject, ecology is emerging for the first time at in some vocational secondary schools. In addition to this special subject, ecological content is also studied through general educational subjects;

- Higher education - environmental studies are present in almost all faculties, to a lesser or greater extent. Many faculties have study fields - departments that specialize in higher education in eco-safety and environmental protection (Faculty of Occupational Safety, Faculty of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Biology, Faculty of Agriculture, ABHAO Military Academy, etc.).

A special form of education is to constantly raise the level of knowledge of farmers by organizing lectures, presentations, "winter schools", workshops and other forms of training to improve agricultural production, use of modern achievements in compliance with the rules of good agricultural practice in plant protection, waste management, etc. These activities are carried out by the Agricultural Advisory Expert Service (PSSS) in the territory of the Zajecar Administrative District, but also by NGOs, as well as Agro Services of leading companies involved in the sale of seeds, pesticides and fertilizers.  Improper use of pesticides can cause adverse environmental effects, and therefore an education plan is in place, after which the farmer will receive a certificate on the proper application of plant protection products. By 2021, farmers will receive training, after which they will receive a certificate on the proper use of pesticides, as only then will they be able to buy and use pesticides on their properties without control.

Vidin district

In accordance with the ongoing processes of raising awareness and knowledge of environmental protection, from educational institutions to manufacturing companies, pupils, students and all employees are provided with appropriate training in environmental policy. The trainings include activities on environmental protection, soilscaping of the school and business environment, energy savings, as well as rules for the use of natural resources in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner. Also, within the activities described above, on the local level, emergency preparedness training is provided for various natural disasters, environmental emergencies and environmental pollution. Through the training, all contingency plans, actions and procedures have been elaborated, which ensure proper and timely intervention in order to eliminate the cause and prompt repair of the damaged environment.

Special attention is given to educating the school population. Environmental topics are present to varying degrees in curricula in all areas of education from primary to secondary school, as well as in higher education institutions in the Vidin district. In the region, specialized training in the field of natural sciences and agriculture is offered in 4 departments after the completion of the seventh grade, namely:

• High School "Tsar Simeon Veliki", Vidin, profile "Natural Sciences" - 1st grade;
• Hristo Botev High School, Archar Village - Grade 2 - Specialty "Flower Shop";
• High School „N. J. Vaptsarov ", Ruzhinci village - 1st grade - specialty" Mechanization of agriculture".

Also, as a part of higher education in Vidin, a branch of Angel Kunchev University in Ruse offers course in Agricultural Engineering and Technology.

[1] Šehović, S. (2012): The role of environmental education in protecting and improving the environment. Faculty of Pedagogy Belgrade

5.2 The role and importance of implementing land protection regulations

Zajecar district

The so-called environmental legislation in the Republic of Serbia consists of over 100 laws and regulations. Basic legal norms for environmental protection in domestic law are regulated by the standards of the Environmental Protection Act, Soil Protection Act, Environmental Impact Assessment Act, Integrated Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Act, etc.

As in Art. 3 of the Soil Protection Act ²⁵ says, the aim of this law is to preserve the areas and functions of soil as a natural resource and to prevent or eliminate harmful changes in soil that may result from:

• erosion processes;
• reduction of soil organic matter content;
• inappropriate agricultural and forestry production (inadequate and uncontrolled agricultural and ameliorative measures, deforestation, etc.);
• uncontrolled changes in soil use and management;
• unplanned urbanization, that is, unplanned construction and development of infrastructure;
• acidification, salinisation and alkalisation of soil;
• soil compaction, soilslides and rock slides; fires and chemical accidents;
• pollution (generated by waste management, wastewater discharge, emissions from point and diffuse sources, chemical pollution, etc.);
• exploitation of mineral and organic raw materials;
• exploitation of gravel, stone and sand;
• unauthorized archaeological excavations and researches, etc.

According to Art. 5 of the same Act, soil protection is based on the following principles:

• "conservation of the natural value of soil" means that the soil is used under the conditions and in a manner that ensures the conservation of its natural values ​​in accordance with this and

other laws;

• "Integrity of soil protection" means that the Republic of Serbia, bodies of the autonomous province and bodies of the local self-government unit provide integration of soil protection into all sectoral policies by implementing mutually agreed plans and programs and implementation of regulations through a system of permits, standards and norms, financing and other soil protection measures;
• "polluter pays" means anyone who causes pollution to the soil pays compensation in accordance with the law and bears the costs of preventive measures in reducing pollution, the cost of eliminating soil risks, and the cost of procedures compensation for damage to soil;
• "consumer pays" means the obligation of a soil user to pay a fee for his use in accordance with the law and, if necessary, bear the cost of sanation, that is remediation and recultivation;
• "subsidiary responsibilities" means systematically imposed soil protection obligations

in relation to the hierarchy of state bodies, which, within the limits of their financial capacity,

eliminate the consequences of damage, soil pollution and damage in cases where the pollutant is unknown, as well as when the damage arises from pollution of soil from sources outside the Republic;

• "information and public participation" means the right of the interested public to be informed of the condition of the soil and to participate in the decision-making process of the great social importance;
• "the protection of the right to preserve the natural values ​​of soil" is the legal right to use soil in such a way as to preserve its natural values, and which citizens, groups of citizens or their associations, professional or other organizations exercise in accordance with these and other laws.

Vidin district

The main activities for the protection of soil are related to the harmonization of the domestic, Bulgarian legislation with the European regulation in the field of protection, sustainable use and restoration of soil. At the same time, participation in the preparation of documents at European level, the development of regulations, strategies, programs, evaluations and analyzes are indispensable. A very important segment is the coordination of commitments under the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, the National Strategy and the Action Plan to Combat Desertification and Soil Degradation and their Implementation measures.

All this leads to the implementation of preventive, ongoing and subsequent control over the implementation of the provisions of the Soil Act and by-laws.

5.3 The polluter pays principle

The polluter pays principle means that the costs of environmental protection are paid by whoever made them, that is, a pollutant[1]. The good application of this principle leads at the same time to the improvement of efficiency within the economic system, because it imposes the “optimal” level of pollution, which is the most economically efficient. For the adequate implementation of the polluter pays principle, it is first of all necessary to define the general policy of application of the principles, appropriate laws and regulations and institutional environment, determine the sources of pollution, ways of measuring pollution, define payers, calculation criteria, amount and method of calculation and payment of fees and other elements.

Economic instruments based on the polluter pays principle should stimulate investment in new, eco-friendly, non-polluting or less polluting technologies. The essence of economic environmental financing instruments is reflected in the fact that the polluter makes a decision on the amount of pollution based on lower costs: the cost of a fee / fee or the cost of acquiring new non-polluting technology. Therefore, an "optimal" level of pollution is required, which is the most economically efficient.

Revenues generated by pollutant taxation are often misused to compensate for work tax burdens or in the process of fiscal consolidation. Examples of such systems have been encountered in Italy since 2011. Similarly, in Hungary there is a special profit tax on energy suppliers, the so-called "Robin Hood" tax, which is used solely for generating additional revenue. To avoid this, dedicated funds are usually set up. Examples of this linking of expenditures with revenues can be seen in many countries.

In the Czech Republic, most air pollution funding is channeled into a national fund to finance air pollution abatement programs. In ?, similar practices apply to the use of plastic bags, while the rest is used for other environmental improvement purposes. Such systemic solutions exist in Latvia, Portugal and Cyprus as well, which has proven to be very beneficial for the environment and biodiversity. In some cases, tax instruments are designed to be tax neutral as the fully collected income is returned back to the economic system.

Best practice examples indicate that local governments trying to build a circular economy model take care to foster sustainable development, through tax measures and influence economic operators to become more involved in environmental conservation. One example is the municipality of Aschaffenburg in Germany, where applying the 'pay as you throw' principle, which is a direct application of the 'polluter pays' principle, has significant benefits for the local community.

Croatia's environmental tax revenue remains one of the largest in the EU. Environmental taxes in 2017 accounted for 3.43% of GDP (EU-28 average: 2.40%). At the same time, energy taxes accounted for 2.59% of GDP, while the EU average was 1.84%. In the same year, environmental tax revenues amounted to 9.08% of total tax revenues (which is above the EU-28 average of 5.97%).[2]

Contrary to good practices, the sample of 125 municipalities in Spain in PuigVentosa showed a typical example of a lack of use of the polluter pays principle and of discouraging environmentally responsible entities. A survey on local soilfill fees conducted in 2015, covering about a third of the Spanish population, shows that the average fee is relatively low and cannot offset costs.²⁶ In addition, the fee structure is problematic because a large number of municipalities apply a fixed fee policy, while in those municipalities where variable fees exist, they are rarely correlated with the amount of waste generated.

[1] Anonymous: (2018): Legal and economic aspects of the application of the polluter pays principle. Institute of Economic Sciences, Belgrade

[2] European Commission (2019): Review of environmental activities for Croatia 2019, Report for Croatia, Brussels