AECID - Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo

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Name: Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Area: 51,129 km2.

Mediterranean coastline: 20 Km.

Population (World Bank data): 3.9 million.

Annual population growth (World Bank data): 1.3%.

Population distribution (World Bank data): 43% urban, 57% rural.

Human Development Index (2001 UNDP Report): - of 162.

Distribution by productive sectors (World Bank data): primary 12.2% of GDP, secondary 26% and tertiary 61.8%.

Access to drinking water (2001 UNDP Report): Not available.

Annual per capita energy consumption (IUCN system): Not available.

Geographical description: A feature of Bosnia and Herzegovina is its mountainous nature. Extensions of the Dinaric Alps, creating a western border with Croatia, cross the west and south of the country. The highest peak is Maglic (2,387 m) on the border with Yugoslavia. Most of the country stands on the Karst, an arid limestone plateau crossed by depressions and spurs. The main rivers are the Bosna, the Sava and their tributaries. All these rivers flow north. Just a few, like the Neretva, flow into the Adriatic Sea. The northern river valleys spread on to the fertile Sava plain which runs throughout the northern third of Bosnia. The north is forested, while parts of the south are flatter, with fertile soils. These areas are mainly agricultural.

Climate: In the south, a Mediterranean climate prevails, with sunny, warm summers and mild, rainy winters. On the other hand, inland and northwards, the climate is continental, with hot summers and cold winters. More common at higher altitudes are short, fresh summers and long, hard winters. The average temperature in Sarajevo, in the continental region, is -1ºC in January and 20ºC in July.

Natural resources: This is a country rich in natural resources, which include large areas of farmland, extensive forests and valuable mineral deposits such as magnesium, iron, lead, copper, chrome and coal.

Main environmental problems: Air pollution from iron and steel plants, scarcity of water and poor drainage services are some of the problems confronting the country, although the most urgent matter is the destruction of infrastructures during the Civil War from 1991 to 1995.

Heavy metal concentrations are high in industrial zones, bringing a serious hazard for human and animal health, and for the soils. As a result of the war years, 4,000 ha of farmland has been severely damaged and another 1,200,000 ha are minefields: there are no data for the large losses caused by forestry. Bosnia and Herzegovina was the most contaminated region of former Yugoslavia because of the lack of waste industrial water treatment and drainage plants.

Most post-war activity has focused on the reconstruction of basic services rather than dealing with environmental questions. However, the leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina have not lost sight of environment-related matters, evidenced in its observer status at the World Conservation Congress in Montreal in 1996.