The Union of Municipalities of Montenegro is actively supporting local governments in strengthening sustainable water services management through a range of strategic initiatives—from preparing technical documentation and improving access to donor funding, to developing professional training programmes and platforms for inter-municipal cooperation. These initiatives were presented at the conference “Smart Water Resources Management in the Context of Climate Change,” held in Andrijevica and organized by the Municipality of Andrijevica as part of the Interreg project “Adrikom.”
Sanja Živković, secretary of the Committee for Public Utility Services and the Environment at the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, was a panellist in the discussion “Water as a shared resource – between community needs and future challenges”, where she highlighted the key mechanisms the Union is developing to strengthen the capacity of local governments for responsible and efficient management of public water services.
She placed particular emphasis on the importance of financing the preparation of technical documentation, which enables municipalities to access donor funding and development loans for the construction of water infrastructure. One of the key outcomes of the Union's dialogue with the Government of Montenegro has been the establishment of a revolving fund for the pre-financing of donor-funded projects. This mechanism provides local governments with improved access to financing and facilitates the implementation of infrastructure projects in the field of water services.
The Union of Municipalities also carries out continuous activities to keep its member municipalities informed about available funding opportunities, while implementing a capacity-building programme to strengthen their ability to prepare and implement development projects. As part of this effort, the Union has established a network of external experts who provide municipalities with specialized technical assistance and professional support.
In the field of water services, the following initiatives were presented: the annual Water Conference jointly organized by the Union of Municipalities and the Water Supply and Sewerage Association; the Stakeholder Dialogue Platform; the Guidelines for Cooperation between Local Governments and Public Utility Companies; and the training programmes delivered under the RCDN+ project, with a particular focus on regulatory oversight and wastewater utility management.
In conclusion, Živković highlighted the importance of strengthening cooperation between municipalities and water supply and sewerage utilities, noting that this is one of the two areas identified as a good practice for which the Union of Municipalities will present an award this year "Best Practice"..
