At the main event, Chairman of BIH Council of Ministers Vjekoslav Bevanda, Minister of Foreign Commerce and Economic Relations Mirko Šarović and RS Minister of Spatial Planing, Civil Engineering and Ecology Srebrenka Golić and FBiH Minister of Environment and Tourisme Branka Đurić, as well as the director of the UNEP Program Jan Dusik held introductory speeches.
There was also a presentation of the Report on Status of Environment in BiH, and the award was given for the journalist competition of reporting on environment which was organised by OSCE Mission to BIH.
Director of the UNEP for Europe Jan Dusik noted that the theme of yesterday’s marking of the World Environment Day was ‘Think.Eat.Save’ and added that is dedicated to reduction of food waste.
He warned that one third of produced food in the world is being thrown away, which has a huge impact on energy consumption and global food availability.
‘It is our pleasure that we’ve managed to make an agreement with BiH Government, our partners from UNED and other organisations in Sarajevo to mark the World Environment Day for the region of Europe’, said Dusik at the press conference, held after the official ceremony.
He expressed satisfaction because of the fact that the Report on Status of Environment in BiH was presented today, and noted that it is the result of a hard three-year work and it is a very important booklet on environment protection.
Resident Coordinator of the UN for BiH Yuri Afanasiev said that the protection of environment is the most complex and the most intensive issue, that BiH will have to tackle in times to come, especially during the EU accession negotiations.
‘BiH will have to invest a lot of money in waters, pollution control, forestation, and all that is happening in times of financial limitations. A compromise is need at the state level between these and other priorities, which are also important as well as the issue of environment’, said Afanasiev.
He added that the UN will give full support to BiH and it will continue to cooperate with civil society and governments at all levels.
Chief of OSCE Mission, ambassador Fletcher Burton said that OSCE has several reasons to participate at the marking of World Environment Day.
‘The environment is a global issue, and OSCE Mission deals with that issue, as well with issues of economy, safety and stability. The other reason is Aarhus Convention, which was ratified by BiH in 2008 and which is the basis of Aarhus Centres network. OSCE Mission in cooperation with City of Sarajevo, has opened last year the first Aarhus Centre in BiH capital’, said Burton and he announced that in the period to come two more Aarhus centres will be opened, one in Banja Luka and the other in Tuzla.
As the third reason he noted the award ceremony to journalists who won at the competition of reporting on environment.
Representative of BiH Ministry of Foreign Commerce and Economic Relations Senad Oprašić said that the attention to environment protection should not be given just on 5 June, but every day, and we all must act to save our environment.
Golić and Đurić said that their ministries try to enact legislation to protect the environment, respecting European standards.
They also noted that the Law on Protection of Environment must be passed at the level of BiH.
Every year on 5 June, people throughout the world mark World Environment Day. Hundreds of thousands of activities aimed to improve the environment and provide a better future for the planet take place in almost every country throughout the world.
The main message of the marking the World Environment Day in Sarajevo is ‘‘Because we care: Let’s Share”. The components are contained in three aspects of ideas about sharing around which all activities are concentrated: Share food, share information, share knowledge.
The message reflects the concept of sharing as a universal answer to the global challenges of today and reflects the tradition of BiH and Sarajevo that includes helping fellow citizens, family and neighbours, as well as foreigners, with the greatest care and sharing their meals with those who need it.
