Bosnia and Herzegovina faces major challenges in meeting EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive requirements, with estimated investment needs of EUR 3.5 billion, about 15% of its GDP as of 2024, and only 20 wastewater treatment plants currently operating, many below design load and with limited maintenance and sludge management.
Building wastewater infrastructure alone will not ensure compliance: long-term sustainability depends on effective organization, financing and operation of services across entities and municipalities.
Sweden’s experience offers relevant insights for Bosnia and Herzegovina on how to make wastewater management more effective and sustainable, including pooling knowledge and technical support, fostering inter-municipal cooperation and aligning services with the scale and needs of different agglomerations.
Our Melina Džajić-Valjevac and Salwa Cherni co-authored this probing look into wastewater management within the BiH SuTra project, a project funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) in Bosnia and Herzegovina and implemented by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).
