Strengthening Capacities in BiH to Address Environmental Problems through Remediation of High Priority Hot Spots
Background
Environmental issues have not been amongst the top national priorities in the Western Balkans. Understandably, priorities to date have focused on the reforms needed to strengthen security, to rebuild the economy and to improve general living conditions. As a result, much-needed investment in environmental infrastructure such as wastewater treatment, air-pollution abatement and monitoring, and industrial and communal waste management are still waiting their turn.
Clearly, this is a situation that raises humanitarian, social, economic and environmental concerns. In addition, a number of industrial towns and regions face a complex challenge of past industrial development and pollution legacy. The environmental situation in these hot spots is a direct cause of poor health and related poverty and presents a major barrier to future investments and related economic opportunities for the local population. On one hand they face the requirements for environmental clean up and on the other they are struggling with problems of poverty, lack of infrastructure and services and lack of prospects for the young generations.
All activities of this project are part of a regional demonstration programme developed jointly by the UNDP Country Offices in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia FYR, Montenegro, Serbia and UN Administered Province of Kosovo, around demand driven projects in locations in the Western Balkans suffering from the legacy of polluting industries and requiring industrial renewal, environmental cleanup and new economic initiative.
The approach of the 30 months, approximately 15 million USD programme is to achieve improvement of environmental situation and quality of life for citizens living in and around polluted areas through least cost measures, improved local and national policy dialogue and supply of domestic professional services in the environmental management sector. While the main focus will be the physical works needed to mitigate the ecological problems, institutional strengthening and capacity building will be an important subject running throughout the programme.
Objectives
- Remediation of two environmental hot spots in BiH;
- Reconstruction of Facilities for de-mineralization and de-carbonization of Water at the Ugljevik Thermo Power Plant;
- Reduction of Air pollution though Connecting Clinical Medical Center Tuzla on District Heating Network;
- Raising awareness and strengthen local capacity;
- Mobilizing and enhancing professional capacity at all levels;
Achievements and Expected Results
- Decreased pollution;
- Raised awareness;
- Increased capacity of the national and local governments to implement sustainable environmental policies in accordance with EU standards;
- Strengthened regional co-operation in the Western Balkan to solve problems of cross border contamination due to industrial and mining activities;
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