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SARAJEVO, November 27 (FENA) - Government officials, representatives of local communities and international organizations today discussed the current state of the solid waste sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the future development opportunities.
The recently completed reviews of the Municipal Solid Waste Management in the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska and Brčko District served as the basis for discussion.
These reviews were part of the technical assistance program provided by the World Bank over the last two years with a US$2.0 million contribution from the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida).
The program was the first-ever large-scale technical assistance and capacity building activity provided in the waste management sector in BiH. The overall goal of this activity was to strengthen the country’s institutional capacities to plan, manage and operate the solid waste management sector in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner. It included a combination of sector assessment, knowledge transfer and capacity building.
Under the technical assistance, special attention was given on improving the operations, environmental sustainability and health and safety at landfills. A comprehensive technical guideline for design and operation of landfills were developed and landfill managers and operators were trained in areas of leachate management, landfill gas management, as well as landfill operation, maintenance and monitoring.
“Improvement of waste management should be highly prioritized in any country. Besides the improvement of public health and cleaner environment, sustainable waste management also offers great economic opportunities. As part of Sweden’s firm commitment to support better environment and sustainable development in BiH, waste management is one of the important areas for cooperation” says Torgny Svenungsson, Head of Development Cooperation at Embassy of Sweden to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In recent years, there has been tangible progress on solid waste management in BiH. The country has developed and implementing the regional landfilling concept and capacities to plan and deliver waste services is steadily improving. These are important achievements, which have to be recognized as very positive steps.
“Despite the progress made by Bosnia and Herzegovina in managing solid waste, we remain concerned that significant effort is still required in order to develop well managed and economically sustainable landfills”, said Emanuel Salinas, World Bank Country Manager for BiH and Montenegro. “We urge the authorities to take the leading role in ensuring proper treatment of solid waste and enhancing the performance of the sector.”
This activity was aligned with the Swedish Cooperation Strategy with BiH for 2014-2020, specifically, its third pillar focused on better environment, reduced climate impact and enhanced resilience to environmental impact and climate change. It was also aligned with the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Framework for BiH for 2016-2020, which identifies greater efficiency in the delivery of public services, including solid waste management, as one of the key priorities, stated the World Bank Office in BiH.
(FENA) S. R.
