EcoKos Women is a member organization of the Gender Responsive Budgeting Watchdog Network (GRBWN), a significant regional initiative aimed at promoting more equitable gender budgeting in the Western Balkans and Moldova.

As part of GRBWN, EcoKos developed the initiative “Placing Women at the Center of Climate Solutions.” According to Nita Ferizi-Sadiku from EcoKos Women, “The project aimed to raise awareness about gender-responsive budgeting in the climate change sector, which directly affects women.”

A key component of this initiative was the research study titled “Gender Perspective in the Development of the Circular Economy in Kosovo.” This study analyzed data from existing laws, strategies, and policies in Kosovo, with a particular focus on the strategies and regulations of the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture to assess the integration of a gender perspective in these fields.

EcoKos chose to focus on agriculture due to its significance in Kosovo’s economy. As Ferizi-Sadiku explains:

“In Kosovo, the agricultural sector is the third largest contributor to the country’s GDP. With the World Bank investing around €53 million in this sector, we were interested in understanding whether bio-economy development was taking place, or if there were initiatives related to decomposition. Unfortunately, we found that there were none.”

As part of the research, the Rural Development Strategy 2022-2028 was examined. The strategy mentioned that a visibility plan was to be developed by the end of 2023. However, according to EcoKos’ findings, such a plan has yet to be implemented.

At the Ministry of Environment, all environmental laws are currently under review due to the shift towards a circular economy. For instance, the Integrated Waste Management Strategy was revised after two years, as the initial version did not include circular economy principles. These principles have now been integrated into the updated strategy

According to Ferizi-Sadiku, this initiative marks the first time that research in Kosovo has incorporated a gender perspective in the development of the circular economy.

“This study is the first of its kind. It represents a new approach—we consulted various experts, and even the idea of integrating a gender perspective was a groundbreaking step,” she explains.

Beyond research, EcoKos has actively engaged in the municipalities of Pristina, Fushë Kosova, and Obiliq through another initiative advocating for the provision of sanitary pads in schools and public institutions at the municipal level. Initially launched in Obiliq in 2023, the initiative is set to continue into 2024, with plans secured through GRBWN to ensure the supply of sanitary pads for 2025. As part of this initiative, all schools and other municipal institutions are now equipped with sanitary products, addressing a critical need for the health and well-being of women and girls in the community.

Challenges: Implementing gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) in practice has proven to be challenging.

“Even for those of us working in gender-related fields, it was difficult to clearly define what we aimed to achieve with GRB,” says Ferizi-Sadiku.

One positive outcome was the initial support received from the deputy mayor of Obiliq, which helped drive the initiative forward in other municipalities. When asked why such an initiative had not been introduced earlier in Obiliq, the deputy mayor responded:

“I simply didn’t realize how essential this was for women.”

Obiliq has shown strong support for gender-responsive budgeting initiatives, receiving backing from the offices of the mayor, deputy mayor, and the municipal assembly leadership.

In 2020, a study conducted by EcoKos Women found that 15% of girls in Kosovo miss school during their menstrual cycles due to a lack of access to sanitary pads. One of the most significant successes of the project has been integrating the gender perspective into circular economy development and advocating for the provision of sanitary products in schools. In Obiliq, this initiative has led to the full supply of sanitary products for 2024, with confirmed continuation in 2025.

Local officials have welcomed this achievement, acknowledging that the issue had previously been overlooked. Additionally, EcoKos’ engagement in Pristina and neighboring municipalities is seen as a way to scale these best practices to a national level.

To illustrate the importance of gender-responsive budgeting, Ferizi-Sadiku highlights a practical case of supporting women beekeepers.

Through the project “Women and Environmental Protection through Agricultural Activities in the Municipality of Podujevë,” EcoKos Women supported several women beekeepers by helping them expand green pasture areas for their bees. The organization provided these women with honey-producing plants such as sainfoin and phacelia. This initiative raised awareness among municipal officials in Podujevë, who later incorporated these provisions into the Regulation on Grants and Subsidies in the Beekeeping Sector.

The initiative “Placing Women at the Center of Climate Solutions” is supported by the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) under the GRBWN framework and is funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).