The Board of Directors of the World Bank approved 37 million euros for flood protection for 300,000 inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The approved funds will enable the expansion of the first phase of the Program for the Integrated Development of the Sava and Drina Corridor to additional geographical areas, including the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Brčko District, while funding for the Republika Srpska was approved in August 2020.
The head of the World Bank Office for BiH and Montenegro, Christopher Sheldon, said that this project represents an excellent example of strengthening the climate resilience of BiH in times when threats to the environment are greater than ever before.
“The project’s focus on strengthening regional cooperation, both within Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the Western Balkans, fits perfectly into our vision of a greener and more prosperous future for the region,” said Sheldon.
BiH has been facing the risk of hydrometeorological hazards and natural disasters such as seasonal floods and droughts, which affect agriculture and people’s health, according to the Bank.
The World Bank states that, according to projections of the impact of climate change, BiH will be further threatened by intense rainfall and direct flooding in the areas of the Drina and Sava rivers, the largest tributaries of the Danube, the second longest river in Europe.
Additional financing from the World Bank will help in the implementation of the necessary investments in infrastructure, such as embankments, dams and reservoirs, thus supporting flood protection and improving environmental management in BiH.
This initiative is part of a wider program that includes three countries in the Sava and Drina basins – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. The integrated approach of this program enables a combination of financing flood protection, environmental management and modernization of port activities with the aim of better connectivity along the corridor of the two rivers.
As stated in its strategy for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the World Bank is committed to providing support to the country in mitigating the impact of floods, strengthening regional cooperation and promoting sustainable development.
This project represents a significant step in the direction of achieving these goals and building a more resilient future and better connectivity of the region, the World Bank points out.
