The last research on the wealth of waters in countries throughout the world, conducted by the Institute for Water Resources (WRI) from Washington, showed that all Balkan countries, including BiH, are in the group of countries that have the biggest water potential, as well as a very small risk of water shortages in the future.
The online newspaper ‘Huffington Post’ published this research according to which 37 countries in the world already face a ‘extremely high’ risk of water shortages.
Otherwise, an extremely high risk of water shortages means that more than 80 percent of water users in one country have the need to use an amount of water that is realistically not available in the area where there is a high risk of total water shortages.
The text says that global warming and a rise in population in the world significantly endangers the existing water quality.
Balkan countries, including BiH, are found in the group where the risk for water shortages is at the lowest level.
Despite the abundant water resources in Bosnia and Herzegovina, access to safe drinking water is well below EU standards: currently around 65% of the population is connected to public/municipal water utilities (compared to the EU average of 90%). Drinking water supply in terms of quantity and quality is only satisfactory in large urban areas. In rural areas, where most of the poor and vulnerable people live, the situation is much harder.
