BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA

Environmental Overview
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War exacerbates problems for unique environment

Bosnia and Herzegovina's unique environment, with habitats ranging from mountainous to Mediterranean, suffers from problems caused by the war that raged from 1992-95. But many of the country's worst environmental problems pre-date the war.

Under the Dayton Peace Accord of December 1995, the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republica Sprska. In July 1998, officials from these two entities agreed to work together on environmental matters, but progress has still been slow.

Bosnia and Herzegovina's high, mountainous barrier situated against the Mediterranean has formed rather specific microclimate characterized by unusually large biodiversity.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has a small coastline along the Adriatic Sea, only about 25 kilometers long. But the catchment area – even along inland rivers that gravitate toward the Adriatic – are part of one homogenous karst region, with a similar environment. This unique region is a natural treasure of karst phenomena, including sinkholes, caves and caverns. In contrast, the high inland mountains provide alternative, unique forms of habitat.

Before the war, Bosnia and Herzegovina served as the major center of heavy industry for the former Yugoslavia. This industry caused serious water, air and soil pollution. Meanwhile, many urban areas were polluted by largely uncontrolled industrial expansion and mining activities.

Three years of conflict brought severe deterioration: Two thirds of the country's infrastructure and industry was in ruins, about 2 million land mines had to be deactivated, thousands of tons of waste had been left untreated in urban areas, millions of cubic meters of forests had been summarily denuded, and the country lacked facilities for disposing of the tons of expired pharmaceuticals that had been sent as humanitarian aid.

Because the war brought about the cessation of normal industrial activity, there were some ways in which the environment – the air quality in particular – actually improved. But overall the environmental situation had grown worse.

The following lists are illustrative, not comprehensive, of the breadth of environmental problems facing Bosnia and Herzegovina:

Some negative socio-economic impacts on the environment are:

Specific environmental problems include:

For the future, one key environmental concern is the potential for a tremendous increase in industrial pollution as the economy grows in the absence of adequate environmental protection measures.

There is no clear provision establishing the authority of the state government to provide for environmental regulation. Regulation and enforcement are the responsibility of the two separate entities, both of which have recently (1996-98) drafted their own environmental protection laws. But these draft laws do not align with each other, and the general consensus is that they attempt to be too specific on too many details without establishing an over-arching framework for environmental regulation.

In attempt to fill this gap, the Office of the High Representative, which is overseeing the Dayton agreement, has helped establish an Environmental Steering Committee for Bosnia Herzegovina on the state level. With financial support from the European Union, this Environmental Steering Committee, which involves government officials, as well as the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, is working to help both entities develop comprehensive environmental laws. These new laws are meant to be in alignment with each other and with the requirements of the EU.