What can other countries, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) learn from Sweden’s approach to wastewater management? In this interview we talked with one of the authors, SEI Research Fellow Daniel Ddiba, of the newly launched report Towards sustainable wastewater management in Bosnia and Herzegovina: insights from Sweden to hear about its key findings and recommendations.
The report explores challenges related to operation, financing and governance of wastewater treatment plants and networks in BiH. But opportunities are many. Municipalities can develop tailored local solutions, combining centralized systems in urban areas with decentralized approaches in rural regions. One of the most underexplored, Ddiba argues, is inter-municipal cooperation: by sharing technical expertise, treatment facilities or even a single utility company across two or more municipalities, BiH could capture economies of scale and improve cost-effectiveness – much as Sweden has done through its long tradition of working across municipal boundaries.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina has some of these building blocks already.”
– Daniel Ddiba, SEI Research Fellow
Drawing on lessons from Sweden, BiH can strengthen sector coordination, improve long-term management and financing, and invest in modern, resource-recovery-focused infrastructure that is sustainable from the outset.
Watch the video below and read the full report.
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Banovici
Breza
Gacko
Gradiška
Kakanj
Ugljevik
Živinice
Ministarstvo vanjske trgovine i ekonomskih odnosa BiH
Stockholm Environment Institute
Sweden