Integrated assessment and management of ambient particulate matter: International perspective and current research in Serbia

Air pollution mitigation is a necessity in Serbia, due to its high levels of criteria pollutants in ambient environment. Successful implementation of mitigation measures requires access to sufficient information from national research, and well running and efficient local participatory processes. To support air pollution mitigation in the West Balkan region, the WeBIOPATR project started a series of bi-annual conferences in 2007. They bring together an inter-disciplinary research community and local and national administrations from Serbia and its neighborhood, to present research results from Serbia and countries all over the world, and to share knowledge and best practices of mitigation. The conferences promote research that may support integrated assessment of particulate matter, and further refinement of the “Pressures-State-Impact“ (PSI) part of the “Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response“ (DPSIR) framework. Integrated approach needs to be underpinned by solid disciplinary research covering e.g. air quality monitoring technologies, atmospheric and further ambient composition, atmospheric modeling, biological effects and human health. WeBIOPATR conferences report on recently performed studies of particulate matter in Serbia and abroad. Through the breadth of subjects and audience, they bring together a wide inter-disciplinary and cross-sectoral expertise in support of translation of research to practice. They also allow to present examples of successful mitigation achieved with the help of strong local participatory environmental governance, demonstrating the increasing recognition of the need to involve both public and private actors. This paper gives the main features of a full chain approach and elements of integrated approach to particulate matter research, summarizes the proceedings of the 3rd WeBIOPATR conference, and in addition, reviews the results of particulate matter monitoring and source identification studies in Serbia since the monitoring start ten years ago.