City Lungs as a Reminder That We All Must Contribute to Improving Air Quality

(Patria) - Air pollution, as one of the biggest environmental problems in Sarajevo Canton, as well as the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina, leaves numerous economic consequences, reduces productivity in various economic sectors and life expectancy, and increases the costs of healthcare services.

In order to draw public attention to the harmful effects of air pollution on human health and the economy, and to encourage every individual to act towards improving air quality, within the Green Economic Development (GED) project, primarily financed by Sweden and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in BiH, installations of City Lungs have been placed at several locations in Sarajevo Canton.

 Although they do not represent a credible depiction of events in human lungs, City Lungs are a visual indicator and reminder for individuals and the public about the quality of the air they breathe, said partners of the GED project at an event held for media representatives on March 2, in front of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering building in Sarajevo, where one of the mentioned installations was placed.

“During winter, large urban centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Sarajevo, have dangerous levels of air pollution. There are solutions, and in that context, we want to recommend not only solutions that lead to a reduction in air pollution, but also those that bring savings in the use of public funds, and enable better and more quality economic progress to attract as many tourists as possible to this beautiful country,” said Eva Gibson Smedberg, Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden in BiH.

Although it possesses significant potential for energy conservation, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country with very high energy inefficiency within the residential, public, industrial, and service sectors, which directly and negatively affects air quality.

“Thanks to the support of our partner, the Government of Sweden, and the continuous attention that the Government of Sarajevo Canton devotes to this issue, after many years we have effective and efficient processes that address this challenge. A strategic approach, the installation of certified highly efficient stoves and boilers, together with energy efficiency measures in both the public and private sectors, and control of individual heating sources along with raising public awareness, will yield expected results in the coming decade,” stated Steliana Nedera, UNDP Resident Representative in BiH.

 BiH is one of the countries with the most pronounced energy poverty in Europe. We allocate huge amounts of money for energy, and a large number of households cannot afford to heat their homes and switch to more acceptable energy sources, which greatly affects air quality, explained Edin Forto, Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton.

 
“In order to minimize these consequences, we have taken concrete steps such as replacing stoves, transforming public transport, and investing in energy efficiency projects worth tens of millions of marks, which are very cost-effective,” emphasized Forto.

Replacement of dilapidated and energy-inefficient external joinery and boilers, thermal insulation of facade walls and roofs, installation of solar panels, installation of highly efficient certified boilers are just some of the measures that need to be implemented to increase energy efficiency.

“Thanks to the GED project, which we are implementing with the support of Sweden and UNDP, we have so far improved energy efficiency in 72 public buildings. In addition, we have replaced approximately 70 solid fuel heating sources with new, certified stoves. The strategy for limiting the use of coal has also been completed, which will be the foundation of our future work on this problem. Also, the Government of Sarajevo Canton will continue the practice of subsidizing the switch to gas, in order to reduce the use of air-polluting energy sources,” said at the end Enver Hadžiahmetović, Minister of Communal Economy, Infrastructure, Spatial Planning, Construction and Environmental Protection of Sarajevo Canton.