By: Medina Malagić
‘Sarajevo Times’ had the opportunity to speak with Amina Omićević, National Technical Officer of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) in BiH a few days prior to the official start of activities in Sarajevo to mark World Environment Day. Amina touched upon a wide range of pertinent environmental issues that BiH currently faces and what has been achieved so far regarding cooperation with government institutions. She highlighted the importance of activities that are planned for World Environment Day from 3-5 June in Sarajevo, whose goal is to raise citizen awareness on environmental issues in our country, with a particular focus on this year’s theme for World Environment Day.
Can you tell us about some of the projects that UNEP is currently implementing in BiH, and planned projects for the near future?
UNEP within the UN system has the mandate to deal with environmental policies and issues. Our office in BiH has been active since 2010. . Until now, we have worked in cooperation with other UN agencies on the MDG-F program for Environment and Climate Change, and as part of this we have published a report on the state of the environment in BiH. For the first time in BiH, a comprehensive review of the state of the environment in BiH was conducted (land, water, forests, etc.). We are also currently working on projects for two conventions. One deals with biodiversity and the other is protection of the land in BiH.
One of the primary problems within local communities in BiH is the reform of water management. What are the main problems that arise when dealing with this issue, and what has been achieved so far?
We still do not directly deal with issues regarding the protection of water. However, UNDP has done a lot regarding the problem of water management through its many projects. I think that particular attention needs to be focused on the issue of raising small hydropower plants along rivers in BiH for the future.
What is UNEP doing to raise citizen awareness of environmental protection and to involve people from local communities to take a more active role in this area?
Even though until now we have been working with state institutions, through activities that have been planned to mark World Environmental Day in Sarajevo from 3 June-5 June our goal is to attract citizens in Sarajevo to pay more attention on the environmental problems, especially the problem of food waste, which is the theme of this year’s World Environment Day. We hope that this is a good beginning to mark our impact on the public when it comes to the environment.
How would you assess the level of cooperation with ministries/organizations in BiH that are engaged in environmental protection?
Our cooperation with BiH institutions is excellent, and in particular through the process of the state of the environment reporting in BiH. We have managed to include more than 60 institutions in this process. Our cooperation improves every month, and the fact that the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the host of the central ceremony to mark World Environment Day in Sarajevo shows the readiness and willingness of our government to take a serious approach to the environment in BIH.
What potential do you see in BiH Eco-Tourism?
The potential of eco-tourism in BiH is huge. Before the start of the development of tourism potential in BiH, it is necessary to do a lot more to raise the awareness of citizens to leave nature untouched. An example is the Prokoško Lake, which is something very unique and which unfortunately changed its function when tourist activities began on the mountain Vranica (Prokoško Lake is located here). This is one negative example of how eco-tourism should not develop in this direction.
