BiH has not learned the lesson from 2012, we still have no fire defence strategy

The authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina have learned nothing from 2012, when catastrophic fires hit the country, writes the Patria news agency.

Instead of, after the firestorm caused multi-million euro damage to Bosnia and Herzegovina - if not earlier - immediately starting to develop projects that would prevent new catastrophic fires in the country, domestic authorities have done almost nothing to create fire protection systems.

During August 2012, fire consumed tens of thousands of hectares of forest in the areas of Tomislavgrad, Posušje, Grude, the municipality of Konjic and the city of Mostar, with damage estimated by the Ministry of Security of BiH at around 50 million euros. 

In the Konjic area alone, so much forest burned that the Mayor of Konjic Municipality, Emir Bubalo, said that its monetary value could have purchased at least five firefighting aircraft.

Unfortunately, even three years later, BiH does not have such aircraft, and the forests continue to burn. In the first days of August this year, forests burned near Trebinje, Mostar, Rudo...

The Government of the Federation of BiH had already requested in 2011 that the Council of Ministers of BiH prepare a study on aerial firefighting, but officials from Republika Srpska oppose the joint procurement of aircraft. The Assistant Director of the Republika Srpska Civil Protection Administration, Predrag Slijepčević, said that the RS Government is "for the procurement of aircraft with its own funds," or would rather enter into cooperation with Montenegro than with the Federation.

Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Forestry in Sarajevo, Ahmet Lojo, told the Patria news agency that local authorities in BiH count on taxes from forestry companies, but do nothing to improve the fire protection system.

- Every metre of nature that burns causes incalculable damage – says Lojo. The damage, he further explains, is not only if tall forest burns - low vegetation must also be protected from the flames! Specifically, he adds, Prenj is a sight for sore eyes, and the damage caused by the fire that broke out on this Herzegovinian mountain a few days ago can now be compensated by nothing, writes Patria.