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WATER AND ARCHITРEУCБРTUИRКАE

eration of our relationship to water. In quay walls, rather has a character of a
this regard, one of the most important drainage channel than a river.
infrastructural ventures from the peri-
od of the post-earthquake reconstruc- Things were worsened by the many
tion is the project for regulation of the decades of excessive and negligent ex-
river Vardar. From today’s perspec- ploitation of the river for untreated
tive, the arranged quay, understood as drainage of wastewater from the in-
a system of continuous massive quay dustry and the households, accompa-
walls (which undoubtedly were proven nies by small or almost no care about
effective in the protection of the city the river ecosystem. In addition, the
against floods, on several occasions), irregular removal of the river sedi-
as a result, led to dramatic disappear- ments, the spontaneous deformations
ance of the recognizable landscape of of the riverbed as a consequence of
the river. If we overview the sequence the variable water level, the failure to
of archival records of the planning and cope with the increased vegetation,
the photographic documentation from and lately the irresponsible and dan-
the end of the 19th and the beginning gerous structural interventions in the
of the 20th century, we see that the very riverbed or in its vicinity, contrib-
landscape of the river corridor of the ute for continuous degradation of the
river Vardar was diametrically differ- river Vardar and its ecosystem.
ent than the condition along the regu-
lation. The formation of the city im- Spurred by the necessary need to re-
age from that time was a combination spond to the increasing environmen-
of the naturally variable width of the tal problems, what is important for
riverbed, the diversity of the pictur- the future development of the city of
esque geological and vegetal sediment Skopje is to open the topic about the
inside the river corridor (the famous water/the river and the city soon. The
beach beaches and shadows from Var- clearly increased interest of the citi-
dar’s willows), the different uses of the zens of Skopje to use the riverbed of
space along the shore line, ending with the river Vardar for recreational pur-
the clear relation of the architectural poses, thanks to the elementary, how-
and public space of the city towards ever also functional infrastructure of
the river’s banks. the paved trail, are a good initiation of
an entire spectrum of potentials which
Today Vardar, pressed between the can contribute for profound redefini-
tion of the relation to the riverbed.

PROJECTS OF THE UNITED NATIONS – UNDAP MACEDONIA

In the field of activities for raising the public awareness about the problems of water management,
the project “Water for Everyone” should be greeted. It is part of the Development Program of the
United Nations, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

The goal of the project is to help to protect the local population against floods, to protect the
local biodiversity, to protect the flora and the fauna against pollution, however also to provide
prosperity for the thousands of agricultural families whose lives and dwellings depend on the
waters of the basin.

I recommend the short film, full of interesting information: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=lPzlmhhpo_w

The film “After the rain” by Biljana Ilieva is within the project for sustainable development, a
first Macedonian documentary film which is dedicated to the issue of climate change. For more
information, please check the following link: http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/rbec/en/
home/ourwork/environmentandenergy/successstories/after-the-rain---new-documentary-about-
women-coping-with-climate/

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