The authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina have so far done almost nothing to protect the country’s natural resources. They don’t pay attention to people either. They let them go away with hopes for a better tomorrow, at the age when they could contribute the most to the development and economic improvement of society.
In the last few days, we have been bombarded with news about who was at which birthday party, who sang, who came by helicopter, how the wedding of the dearest daughter went and how much her mother’s dress cost.
You must have remembered that it was announced that Sebija Izetbegović’s dress cost around 4000 BAM.
And did you accidentally read somewhere and remember that about 8000 BIH citizens die every year as a result of air pollution?
Do you know that about 70 percent of electricity in the Balkans is produced in thermal power plants?
Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the top ten countries of the European continent in terms of air pollution.
Green agenda for Western Balkans
As Europe and the world switch to alternative energy sources (mainly wind and solar energy), our authorities are planning to build more thermal power plants.
And not only is our air polluted, our rivers are as well. Next to each of our rivers, there are at least one legal and several illegal landfills. In the world, waste has long been anything but garbage instead it is a raw estern that is further processed and used. Only in our country, everything is thrown in one pile and occasionally buried, when an inspection should come.
Climate change is already affecting the whole world, and increasingly frequent extreme weather conditions such as droughts, heat shocks, heavy rains, floods and landslides are also affecting Europe. This change is also affecting sea level, ocean acidification and biodiversity loss.
This year, in Croatia alone, there were 25% more fires, and 30% more area was burned compared to last year. We do not have statistics for BiH, due to the fragmentation of the Civil Protection and Fire Protection system, but we can assume that the situation is even worse.
For days, we all watched huge fires in Jablanica, Stolac, Čapljina and many other Herzegovinian municipalities and bare-handed firefighters trying to save at least houses, vineyards and orchards.
A member of the presidency at the time, out of pure whim, refused to authorize the use of military helicopters to help curb the fire.
The six Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro and Northern Macedonia) that intend to join the European Union will have to address nature protection and sustainable development in the EU accession process.
Europe has long since adopted a Green Agenda for Climate Neutrality in the European Union by 2050.
It will be achieved with the help of a European climate regulation that puts climate neutrality in binding EU legislation. An integral part of this is the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans.
In the European Green Plan, the Commission stated, among other issues, that an ecological transition for Europe would only be fully effective if the surrounding countries took effective measures for the energy transition.
Accompanying part of this plan are guidelines for the implementation of the Green Agenda, and they define activities in five key areas, which are the same as in the European Green Plan:
- Climate protection activities, including decarbonization, energy and mobility;
- Circular economy, with special emphasis on waste, recycling, sustainable production and efficient use of resources;
- Biodiversity aimed at protecting and restoring the region’s natural resources;
- Fight against air, water and soil pollution;
- Sustainable rural areas and food production chains.
Our path to the European Union should be green, digital and sustainable.
Green, in terms of preserving and protecting the natural resources we have.
Digital in terms of smart use of available resources.
Sustainable development is economic development that fully takes into account the impact of economic activity on the environment and is based on renewable sources of goods.
Who (doesn’t) want Europe?
Here, an increase in well-being is measured by an increase in the quality of life of the individual and the population as a whole, and not by an increase in the amount of material goods or energy produced or consumed.
While we are worried about whether Dodik will meet with Erdogan, what he looks like and what the coat of arms of the first Croat means, what was drunk and sung at the wedding of the daughter, serious things are going under our radar.
So the next time you see someone “entertained” by the news about the parties of the rulers, I would beg you to remember that only they have fun and good in this backwards system.
Ordinary people barely make ends meet and die from the consequences of their inaction.
They do not want to go to Europe, we must be loud and clear enough in their demands.
So loud that they can hear us even under the tents where they have fun and sing songs to each other.
The next time you see some people picking up trash by the roadside or from riverbeds, join them.
It is a better and more conscious part of our society that will surely bring about the necessary changes soon.
It seems to me that the smarter ones are getting louder and less lenient.
