Climate change, human activities such as illegal deforestation, and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources are becoming increasingly evident factors contributing to these disasters, and we have been witnessing the consequences of one such disaster for days. The Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNC) has opened a case following the floods that struck the canton, investigating whether human factors played a role. Has the system failed? What is the role of the quarry in the tragedy in Jablanica? And does a similar scenario threaten the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Nusret Dreskovic was asked in an interview, the dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Sarajevo.
Interview question: “Was the human factor involved in the tragedy in Donja Jablanica?”
“The system failed as soon as we have this many casualties. It failed the moment someone began construction without conducting all the necessary analyses. This isn’t the first time part, half, or even an entire hill has slipped, but there is always a reason. In a natural environment that hasn’t been destroyed or anthropogenically pressured, this rarely happens. In this case, we see that in the quarry area, a torrent or landslide occurred, and unfortunately, the substrate became waterlogged, increased in volume, and carried everything in its path,” Dreskovic said.
Interview question: “Will anyone be held accountable?”
“That is a matter of civilization. Anyone who digs or excavates in a mountainous area should have a feasibility study, an environmental impact study, conducted by a credible institution, which would now be held accountable if such a study exists. If no one is held accountable, in my opinion, it would be devastating because it would send the message that everyone can dig as much as they want. Those in power and those who plan are primarily responsible,” he explained.
Interview question: “The mayor of Sarajevo’s Stari Grad municipality, Cengic, warned today about the danger of landslides in this area and that waste from Trebevic is being dumped into the Bistricki stream.”
“Now, these politicians or those in a rush to become mayors or ministers are seeing the other side of the coin. In this context, such reactions emerge. We are dealing with a dynamic area, and we can see intense construction on Trebevic. Building permits are easily obtained without considering the consequences of such actions. It’s no longer a question of whether a hill will slide; it’s just a matter of how much mass will determine a scenario similar to what happened. That catastrophe would be incomparably worse than what happened (in Jablanica, Fojnica, and Konjic),” Dreskovic stated.
Interview question: “Has construction on Bjelasnica led to a lack of drinking water?”
“That’s right, and it puts the area at risk of a large landslide, which would be catastrophic considering that it’s a highly populated part of Sarajevo. Something similar happened in 1986, after the Olympic Games, during an incident when a certain amount of material and construction debris slid into the area. Fortunately, there wasn’t as much construction back then. Now, it’s an alarm bell. The mayor has recognized the problem, and everyone needs to get involved. Local communities cannot handle this challenge alone; they are merely “surviving.” We cannot view this problem only through the lens of local communities,” he stated.
“It’s not a matter of if it will happen again, but “when it will.” We must be ready to respond to such scenarios. Floods and landslides do not recognize entity borders. It deeply saddens me that the two entities collaborate very little on this matter. You have to view the entire watershed as a whole, not through entity lines. Then, one side may be doing something while the other does nothing, and damage ensues. Unfortunately, I see this episode is slowly being forgotten. The actions of politicians are non-existent and catastrophic. Climate change must be prioritized,” Dreskovic concluded, N1 writes.
E.Dz.
