In order to raise awareness on air pollution in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to involve citizens, civil society, politicians and the international community in a dialogue on possible sustainable solutions, the Embassy of Sweden to BiH will organize an event “Let's talk about air”.

The Swedish Embassy has recently intensified its cooperation with government institutions and organizations in BiH in order to provide a more significant environmental protection, including the issue of air pollution.

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) is launching a long-term project that will strengthen capacities and investments in improving air quality assessment, as well as monitoring and management, in cooperation with relevant ministries and institutions, including hydrometeorological institutes in BiH.

The project will start with a conference that will be held tomorrow morning. Also, the Embassy, in partnership with the Regional Environmental Center in BiH (REC), helps civil society organizations dealing with the environment in order to increase their participation in the promotion of this topic, as well as the decision-making process in the field of environmental protection, including air pollution.

BiH faces numerous challenges because of air pollution. Citizens are exposed to some of the biggest polluters in Europe, causing a wide range of harmful effects on health. Heart and lung diseases, strokes, lung cancer and various effects on the immune system are much more common in the areas exposed to these emissions. Children, the elderly and those living in poverty are particularly vulnerable categories of the population.

Apart from a negative impact on health, pollution also has devastating effects on the economy. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that BiH loses annually 21,5 percent of gross domestic product ($7,228 million) due to pollution.

Swedish Ambassador to BiH Anders Hagelberg believes that it is possible to do much more in order to protect the citizens of BiH and in order to inform them more about pollution and its harmfulness in accordance with European standards.

“Joint, united efforts are necessary, therefore, we want to bring together citizens, civil society, politicians, decision-makers and the international community, in order to discuss possible solutions to ensure a society with sustainable environmental protection,” said the Ambassador.

He concluded that providing clean air for citizens is a matter of human dignity and that this needs to be one of the main priorities for those who make all the decisions, the Embassy of Sweden to BiH stated.