The Importance of Air Quality Monitoring and the Need to Improve Air Quality Management in Local Self-Government Units (LGUs) in the Republic of Serbia

Predrag Dragičević; Aleksandra Radojević Marić; Biljana Jovković

doi:10.63356/ace.2026.006

Authors

Predrag Dragičević State Audit Institution, Belgrade https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1692-792X
Aleksandra Radojević Marić University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Economics https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8000-9248
Biljana Jovković University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Economics https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2433-0963

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63356/ace.2026.006

Keywords:

air quality, air pollution, air quality monitoring

Abstract

The paper will examine the economic impact of Local Self-Government Units (LGUs) on the improvement of air quality and environmental protection in cities and municipalities (one city and one municipality from each district, except Belgrade) in the Republic of Serbia. One of the factors affecting life in cities in the Republic of Serbia is air pollution, which can have a negative impact both on the health of residents living there, as well as on those who come for business or tourism. The subject of research in this paper is general data on air quality in LGUs (cities and municipalities) in the Republic of Serbia, as well as planning and the use of funds by competent LGU institutions for establishing and managing air quality. The aim of this paper is to examine whether the competent LGU authorities apply the planning and legislative framework as a basis for effective and efficient air quality management, implement measures and activities to improve air quality, and whether they collect and allocate funds for this purpose. A survey conducted on a sample of 49 LGUs has shown that most of them do not manage air quality adequately. The research has shown that LGUs insufficiently plan and allocate financial resources in their budgets for maintaining air quality. From the accounting perspective, financial resources that LGUs generate from environmental pollution charges and fees for environmental protection and improvement belong to the budget of the local self-government unit and are important in the planning and incurring expenses (costs) for air quality management.

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