Signed agreement with the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism

More than 1.1 million KM for the green transition

July 23, 2024
FMOIT

Federal Minister of Environment and Tourism Nasiha Pozder and UNDP Resident Representative in BiH Renaud Meyer

The Federal Minister of Environment and Tourism Nasiha Pozder and the resident representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Renaud Meyer, signed in Sarajevo the Financial Agreement for the implementation of the projects "Environmentally acceptable management of persistent organic pollutants in the industrial and waste management sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina ( POPS)" and "Sustainability of Protected Areas in BiH (SPA)".

It is an agreement for financial cooperation worth more than 1,100,000 KM, of which the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism will allocate 550,000 KM. This Agreement marks an important step in the implementation of a five-year initiative led by the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the support of UNDP, intending to establish a systemic approach and strengthen cooperation for the implementation of the green transition in our country, aligned with the EU's Green Agenda for the Western Balkans.

- UNDP is our important partner. Someone who gives us momentum on the way to the necessary reforms, especially when it comes to the green transition, and our adaptation both to the modern way of waste management and environmental protection, as well as to the very important segment of the sustainability of protected areas, which will certainly further boost our important tourist potentials and their sustainable development. According to the Federal Environmental Protection Strategy 2022-2032. years, the total area of ​​protected areas in FBiH is insufficient concerning the extremely high values ​​of nature.  According to the Nature Protection Information System of the FBiH, four percent of the territory of the FBiH is currently protected, while the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 plans that at least 30 percent of terrestrial and 30 percent of aquatic ecosystems should be protected, so these projects pave the way for the necessary improvement in this area - said Minister Pozder.

FMOIT

 

Resident Representative of UNDP in BiH emphasized that solid waste management and the establishment of new protected areas are key to improving nature conservation and encouraging tourism activities throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.

UNDP looks forward to intensifying collaboration through this new agreement with the Federation Ministry of Environment and Tourism, headed by Minister Pozder; thereby contributing to the green transition and fulfilling BiH commitments as a party to the Biodiversity Convention and the Sustainable Development Goals- - said Meyer.

The goal of the environmental protection project, funded by Sweden, is to reduce the risk to human health and the environment, through the prevention of unintentionally released persistent organic pollutants, as well as the transition to chemicals that do not contain these substances in industry, and the environmentally acceptable destruction of at least 50 tons of waste containing them. In this connection, a Study on the identification of locations contaminated with hazardous waste in the Federation will be prepared, and the preparation of the Federal Waste Management Plan for the period 2025-2029 will be supported. year.

As part of the signed Financial Agreement, there is also the project "Sustainability of Protected Areas in BiH (SPA)", with which UNDP in BiH and partners want to improve the management of protected areas in our country, which implies a better state of biological diversity achieved through strengthening the resilience of key elements of biological diversity on the impact of climate change and increasing the income of protected areas. Through the project, activities related to the process of declaring a protected area of ​​the Prenj Mountains on the territory of the City of Konjic will be implemented, and they concern the preparation of an expert explanation for the declaration of a protected area and a proposal for an act on the declaration of a protected area of ​​the Prenj Mountains on the territory of the City of Konjic.