Šabani: Investing in ecology and air protection should be our priority

Interview by Delvin Kovač

The Government of Zenica-Doboj Canton (ZDK) has invested millions of funds this year in insulating school buildings and replacing heat sources, and we will continue this next year with pilot projects for replacing hearths and insulating residential buildings.

The goal is to make investments in sustainable heating and energy efficiency more accessible for households, in order to reduce particle emissions from heating, stated the Minister for Spatial Planning, Traffic and Communications, and Environmental Protection of ZDK, Adnan Šabani, in an interview for the Patria News Agency.

Minister Šabani, you recently spoke with the Minister of Spatial Planning and Environmental Protection of Tuzla Canton (TK), Anela Ajšić, about the positive practices of the two cantons in the area of air quality. Were there any conclusions from that meeting?

Šabani: The meeting was organized at my initiative, given that Tuzla Canton, according to our information, has made a breakthrough in installing solar panels on agricultural land. In Zenica-Doboj Canton, investors who wanted to install panels faced problems with land conversion due to unresolved legal regulations.

Our colleagues in TK have overcome this problem, and thanks to innovative solutions, the incompatibility of agriculture and energy from solar power plants has been resolved to the satisfaction of both sectors. I believe that based on this solution, we will soon unblock the process of installing solar panels in the ZDK region.

Also, ZDK and TK have the biggest problems with air pollution, and we discussed that as well, with a special focus on installing a larger number of air quality monitoring stations, in which these two cantons are participating in a project financed by the Government of FBiH through the World Bank.

You recently started the implementation of the Household Hearth Register, for which 300,000 KM has been allocated from the ZDK budget. When can this Register be expected to be completed, and how much will it actually contribute to reducing air pollution in the ZDK region, which, you will agree, is very important for all citizens?

Šabani: Since the establishment of the Ironworks, Zenica has had a problem with air quality. For over a hundred years, lignite coal has been mined in Zenica, Kakanj, and Breza, and it is still the most common fuel for heating residential and commercial buildings. Until two years ago, even the city heating in Zenica operated by burning coal.

A year ago, the Government of Zenica-Doboj Canton allocated funds for the creation of the Household Hearth Register, and the project is led by the ZDK Environmental Center at the "Kemal Kapetanović" Institute. I expect that we will have the Register by the beginning of next autumn, and thus, an answer on how to solve the problem of air pollution.

Air quality categorization maps will be important data for spatial planning, i.e., for issuing building permits, considering air pollutant emissions. Where the air is excessively polluted, the installation of new sources of pollution must not be allowed.

Solving the problem related to emissions from household hearths is a complex, long-term, and financially demanding process. However, we are determined, with the support of other levels of government, as well as European funds, for which the Household Hearth Register is a prerequisite, to dedicate ourselves to solving it to the maximum.

ZDK and TK are participating in the latest program to strengthen air quality monitoring and management, within which you will secure millions of funds for these purposes through the Government of FBiH from the World Bank. Can you tell us more about this?

Šabani: The Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism will secure multi-million funds from the World Bank to improve air quality management, reduce pollution from individual hearths, and reduce toxic gas emissions from urban transport.

Through quality projects and the work of the Institute and the Ministry, we have managed to secure eight million euros for Zenica-Doboj Canton from this credit arrangement, which will be implemented by the Government of FBiH, as well as over 300,000 euros in grant funds for the Environmental Protection Center.

In the first phase, we are exclusively focused on strengthening air quality monitoring and management. The funds secured through this project will further improve the practice of monitoring and managing air quality in Zenica and the entire canton.

It is evident that our oncology departments are increasingly full of sick citizens, and the air is becoming more polluted. Investing in ecology and air protection, in accordance with the latest Air Quality Act, should be our priority.

I am happy that we will acquire state-of-the-art equipment that will serve our experts for monitoring and managing air quality, as well as for creating new material value.

The Federal Hydrometeorological Institute is the holder of all activities aimed at establishing sustainable and functional monitoring in accordance with valid standards, regulations, and QA/QC procedures, with the expansion and completion of the station work program.

Zenica-Doboj Canton will have a unique Information System for Air Quality Monitoring.

The ZDK Government recently announced that, together with the Ministry you head, it has made a significant breakthrough in environmental protection over the past year. What specific projects are involved?

Šabani: In addition to the aforementioned support projects for the ZDK Environmental Center, in 2024, we allocated over 1.1 million KM solely for programs in the field of environmental protection. Funds were distributed to all 12 cities and municipalities, and we financed entities involved in the collection, transport, and disposal of municipal waste, and assisted in the procurement of waste transport trucks, loaders, and waste stations.

We supported the non-governmental sector with over 100,000 KM for projects, in which we wanted to involve as many citizens as possible to raise their awareness about the importance of environmental protection.

For the first time since the canton's establishment, in 2024, we specifically invested in road infrastructure leading to tourist destinations and oases of clean air, such as Ponijeri, Pepelari, Smetovi, Kamenica, Zvijezda, and others.

We have made a breakthrough in regulating the management of protected nature areas in ZDK, and we are making significant progress in establishing a cantonal company that will deal with the disposal of animal and municipal waste, and which will have its own landfills in the northern and southern parts of the canton. Animal waste poses a significant problem for the population and the economy, and we are working towards resolving that as well.

Which municipalities/cities in ZDK are most exposed to air pollution problems? Can you list the biggest air polluters in those municipalities and what specifically is the ZDK Government, or your Ministry, doing to improve the situation in those areas?

Šabani: Air pollution is particularly pronounced in the industrial centers of Zenica, Kakanj, Maglaj, and Visoko. Given that the largest funds are allocated to the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism under the "polluter pays" program by the companies ArcelorMittal Zenica, Natron Hayat, and the Kakanj Thermal Power Plant, I assume they are emitting the most harmful particles.

The Government of ZDK has invested millions of funds this year in insulating school buildings and replacing heat sources, and we will continue this next year with pilot projects for replacing hearths and insulating residential buildings.

The goal is to make investments in sustainable heating and energy efficiency more accessible for households, all in order to reduce particle emissions from heating.

The project funded by the World Bank will co-finance investment costs in the form of non-refundable grants for households selected through public calls.

The focus will be on houses that use solid fuels for heating due to their significant contribution to heating-related emissions. Multi-apartment buildings without access to district heating or natural gas, and which rely on coal or wood for heating, will also be included in the project.