On Tuesday, May 11, 2021, an online workshop was held so as to present the project and Analysis of the current situation in the field of flood protection, accidental pollution and emergency situation management in Bosnia and Herzegovina, based on completed annexes.

The online workshop in Bosnia and Herzegovina was organized on the initiative of the Association for Risk Management AZUR and the Republic Administration of Civil Protection of the Republic of Srpska.

"Since we are all working on the realization of an important common goal, we need cooperation, networking and coordination of various services and institutions, both within each country where the project is implemented and at the international level," said Milan Novitović, Director of the Republic Administration of Civil Protection of the Republic of Srpska.

Haris Delić, the President of the Association for Risk Management, pointed out: “This project represents a very significant contribution to the system of coordinated response in case of accidental pollution and floods on the Sava River. Bosnia and Herzegovina, as one of the four countries in the region, has been actively participating in its implementation since 2020 through the activities of partners in the WACOM project - the Republic Administration of Civil Protection of Republic of Srpska, the Association for Risk Management AZUR and the Federal Civil Protection Administration. On this occasion, Bosnia and Herzegovina sent an important message that it is ready to actively participate in such and similar projects, and showed the ability to successfully organize this kind of workshops. "

"Considering that this is the first workshop of this kind, I believe that it will give good input to other project partners and organizers of national and regional workshops that are planned to be held in the coming period. In addition, this workshop showed that one of the better ways to more effectively promote our work and engagement in such projects, and to make it visible and available to the interested public is through organized workshops that, among other things, improve cross-sectoral cooperation at all levels.", said Tanja Milešević, coordinator of the Republic Administration of Civil Protection of the Republic of Srpska.

The workshop was attended by 30 different institutions coming from the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with more than 50 participants who made a significant contribution and participated in the preparation of the annex - the basis for the preparation of the above mentioned Analysis. The workshop was extremely successful thanks to a dynamic discussion between WACOM project representatives and workshop participants. Topics related to the current situation of civil protection as well as water management and river navigation from the aspect of floods and accidental pollution were discussed.

In the discussion, experiences were exchanged, different views and constructive proposals were presented with the aim of improving the final document Analysis of the Current Situation in the Field of Flood Protection, Accidental Pollution and Emergency Management in Bosnia and Herzegovina and also improving the overall situation related to a more effective system of prevention and response to floods and accidental pollution in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The presentation form the workshop are avaialble here.

The press-releases in national languages are available on the folowing links: (bosnian, bosnian serbian).