VRBAS RIVER BASIN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME “CLEAN VRBAS”
FINAL PROGRAMME REPORT 1 JUNE 2012 - 31 DECEMBER 2014
BANJA LUKA, MAY 2015
Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
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Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
Programme Title:
River Vrbas Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme - Clean Vrbas
Programme Details:
Date of Programme Document Signature: 04.06.2012 Implementation period: June 2012 – December 2014 Total Budget: USD 1,223,830.21 Total Contribution of the USD 788,954.21 Government of Japan: Programme Reference No.: 00077621 Organization: UNDP UNDP Representative: Yuri Afanasiev Responsible Programme Manager: Goran Vukmir
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Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
Contents MAP OF RIVER VRBAS BASIN AREA, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA ...... 5 GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS ...... 6 REPORT SUMMARY ...... 7 BACKGROUND...... 10 SUMMARY AND CONTEXT OF THE PROGRAMME ...... 11 I. INTRODUCTION - PROGRAMME AND OBJECTIVES ...... 11 II. PROGRAMME FUNDS AND PARTNERS ...... 12 III. PROGRAMME CONTEXT IN 2012-2014 ...... 13 PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES, ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVED RESULTS ...... 14 Objective 1. IMPROVED ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE ...... 14 1.1. ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP ACTIONS ...... 14 1.2. SUSTAINABLE SOLID WASTE REMOVAL SOLUTIONS ...... 16 1.3. AWARNESS RAISING AND EDUCATION ...... 19 Objective 2. INCREASED UTILIZATION OF TOURISTIC AND DEVELOPMENT POTENTIALS ...... 21 2.1. FOSTERING THE ADVENTURE TOURISM POTENTIAL ...... 21 2.2. PROTECTING CULTURAL HERITAGE...... 24 2.3. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT ...... 24 Objective 3. STRENGTHENED LOCAL GOVERNANCE, POLICY FRAMEWORKS AND CAPACITIES ...... 25 3.1. STRENGTHENED LOCAL GOVERNANCE CAPACITIES ...... 25 3.2. STRENGHTENING CAPACITIES OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS ...... 27 PROGRAMME BENEFICIARIES ...... 29 COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION ...... 30 VISIBILITY AND COMMUNICATION ...... 30 LESSONS LEARNED ...... 31 OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMME EXPENDITURES ...... 32
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Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
MAP OF RIVER VRBAS BASIN AREA, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA
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Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS
ATA Adventure Tourism Association of BiH
CSO Civil Society Organization
EU European Union
FB FacebookGIS Geographic information system
ICPDR International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River
ILDP Integrated Local Development Programme
LCs Local communities
LOD Local Democracy Project
MTS Municipal Training System Project
NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations
REC Regional Ecological Centre
RfC Rafting Club
RS Republic of Srpska
RTV Radio Television
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
VRB Vrbas River Basin
WWF World Wide Fund for Nature
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Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
REPORT SUMMARY
Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme - Clean Vrbas, has taken upon itself an ambitious task to contribute to protection of Vrbas River and to enhance utilization of the natural and cultural heritage of the Vrbas River Basin in that way fostering sustainable local development. Understanding from the very beginning that no individual programme can achieve such a complex goal of its own, the Clean Vrbas programme was designed with the intention to contribute to achievement of the overall goal through a number of pragmatic outputs, which would seek to introduce innovative solutions for the key problems and hold high potential for replication. Another significant aspect of the programme was that it was initiated in response to the local initiative of the Mayors of the VRB municipalities and as such it has been focused on building and expanding the partnership of the different key actors in the area, starting from the local authorities and the traditional donors, and expanding to include all the relevant levels of government, private sector and individual citizens. Unfavorably for the programme, one of the key external factors of crucial importance for the success of the programme - active role and leadership of the Coordination of the Mayors of Vrbas River Basin was largely lacking throughout most of the programme implementation period due to the numerous personal changes in the municipal leaderships after the 2012 local elections. Although, the Mayors have bilaterally continued to express their support for the initiative and willingness to take it forward, there was not enough initiative on their side to enable its effective functioning. The programme management has identified the critical importance of this issue early on and has worked closely with all the stakeholders on strengthening the coordination mechanisms within the programme. Apart from the active involvement of the stakeholders in the Programme Management Board (PMB), the programme managed to develop and broker a rather unique agreement of 26 key stakeholders from all levels of authorities and from different spheres of life in the river basin committing themselves to continued political and operational support for the Clean Vrbas initiative and this programme. The commitment was formalized through signing of a “Clean Vrbas Charter”. The charter is a public declaration of their good will and a pledge to continue jointly working on environmental protection and development of the Vrbas River Basin. In that sense it presents a platform for continuation of the cooperation and coordination of the local actors after the end of this individual programme. The priority focus of the programme as of its conception was on contributing to improvement of the environmental protection of the river. More specifically the core issue identified by the local communities to be addressed within the Clean Vrbas initiative was the problem of solid waste pollution of Vrbas River and its tributaries. Programme has in consultation with stakeholders adopted a twofold strategy. On one side it has supported a number of massive cleanup actions, eco volunteering camps and activities, eco rafting regattas and other promotional and other environmental improvement activities. The primary aim of these activities was to raise awareness and to mobilize citizens, youth, sport clubs and even municipal administration employees to get actively involved in protection of the river. The turn out and involvement achieved was in deed impressive with more than 6.350 individuals that got directly involved in these activities. Furthermore, environmental awareness of the VRB population, especially the young people was raised through supporting creation of “educational video school“ – video material tailor-made to be used as in schools as part of regular curricula. Also, programme has successfully partnered with the International Sava Commission in facilitating participation of high school students from B&H in the annual regional exchange programme named “Youth Parliament”. On another side, the programme has tried to contribute to strengthening of municipal level waste management systems in VRB, in particular focused on improvement of capacities of the municipal communal companies to efficiently and sustainably collect waste and dispose it in an environmentally acceptable manner. Simply, no matter how important the ad-hoc cleanup actions and activism are for mobilizing population and communities around the environmental issues, they are not likely to produce lasting results without parallel investments into systematic, long-term solutions for the solid waste disposal problem in the area. Page | 7
Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
Through this component, the programme has first commissioned a study to identify the most feasible options for a municipal level solid waste recycling scheme, using Kotor Varoš municipality as an example. Based on the findings of the study programme team, in cooperation with municipalities of Kotor Varoš and Donji Vakuf and their respective communal companies, developed and piloted in the two municipalities an innovative approach to solid waste management based on establishment of Municipal Recycling Yards. The yards are operated and managed by the communal companies and they are integrated with the wider waste management system in Federation of B&H and RS, through cooperation with the Eko Pak d.o.o. and the RS Environment Protection Fund. The model is proven to be economically, environmentally and socially feasible. It has a significant potential for replication and it will result in continuous reduction of the amounts of solid waste in Vrbas area being disposed illegally in the riverbed and its banks, with over 560 tons of waste being recovered and recycled in the two yards every year. Apart from environmental awareness, promotion and action, the development aspect of the Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme was also prioritized by the programme stakeholders as equally important. The aim was to show case how the exquisite natural and touristic values of the VRB can not only be protected and preserved, but also economically valuated as a resource which can be utilized to improve the lives of the people in the area though environmentally friendly economic activities. Particular attention in this segment of the programme was given to promotion and improvement of the adventure tourism offer in Vrbas valley, as this segment of tourism is already well established in the area and has good potential for expansion. Key promotional activity supported by the programme were the annual “Adventure Fairs”, first of which has taken place in 2013 in Banja Luka. Beside the one day fair as the central event with more than 30 commercial participants, it also included a number of activities aimed at improvement of sustainable tourism capacities through education, organization of thematic workshops and offering free internationally certified “Guide and Trip Leader” trainings for young professionals. Programme has also supported promotion of Vrbas River Basin as part of the Via Dinarica regional adventure brand, through a joint initiative of UNDP offices in BiH, Croatia and Monte Negro, USAID and the Adventure Tourism Association of BiH (ATA). These promotional activities included walking of the Via Dinarica trials, GPS mapping of trail sections, promotional activities for bloggers and journalist, and exhibitions of Via Dinarica photos organized in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Bihac and Mostar. Expansion of the touristic infrastructure in the VRB has also been identified as a big need and programme has supported activities such as cleaning and marking hiking trails, construction of mountaineering houses, playgrounds and camping grounds, etc in several municipalities. The single biggest tourist infrastructure investment of the programme was construction of the Tourist Info Center at the entrance of the Jajce Old Town. Jajce as the municipality with close to 100,000 of touristic visit annually so was not able to offer even the very basic informational and sanitary services to its visitors. With construction for the modern Tourist Information Center, which has been constructed up to the highest EU standards of energy efficiency and accessibility for persons with disabilities, Jajce will finally be able to offer adequate touristic services and increase the income generated from the tourism. Programme has also tried to promote economic development and employment, building on the comparative advantages of the region. In Jajce programme supported a group of 40 rural woman in their efforts to preserve cultural and historical heritage while generating income for their families through production of handmade souvenirs specific for this region, busting their skills with development of a web page and educating them on how to use an e-sale system. The largest scale economic activity in rural communities supported by the programme was the raspberry production scheme developed in cooperation with the municipalities of Gornji and Donji Vakuf. The raspberry production was identified by experts as the economically most viable activity suitable for the region. In total 48 rural families have been trained in modern raspberry production, including use of irrigation systems to make it climate change resilient, quality certification which enables the produce to be exported to the EU market and all of them have been linked with the best buyers in the market. Page | 8
Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
In 2014 programme supported planting of 28,000 raspberry seedlings on a surface of 64,000 m2. The resulting total first year produce was worth around 250,000 KM, resulting in an average monthly income stream per the rural household of 487 KM. This amount represents over 65% of an average net salary in agriculture in Federation of BiH and it is expected that in the following years the produce and consequently the income will be at least double. The activity has been very welcome by the beneficiaries and most of the municipalities in the region have already included in their plans for support of agricultural production in 2015 allocations of funds for expansion of raspberry production. So far municipalities of Jajce, Mrkonjic Grad, Sipovo, Celinac and Kotor Varos have initiated such schemes in cooperation with the other UNDP projects active in the area, benefiting even more of the most vulnerable rural families. Furthermore, all of the programme partners have agreed that in order to sustain and advance the progress made by the programme in fields of environmental protection and economic development due attention must be given also to strengthening the local governance systems and capacities. With intention to best utilize the limited programme funds programme team has conducted a surveyed of the needs of the partner municipalities for trainings in topics of relevance for better protections and utilization of the areas environmental, touristic and cultural potential. Based on findings of the survey and in agreement with the local partners, Programme Board has agreed that the activities related to technical assistance, legislation reviews and strengthening of municipal administration services, are better addressed through the other ongoing projects of UNDP (i.e. Integrated Local Development Project-ILDP, Municipal Training System - MTS, Local Democracy Project – LOD) and other donors active in the VRB municipalities. As an alternative approach, programme has focused its resources on strengthening the local level capacities for environmental advocacy and policy making by providing the municipal authorities and civil society with the evidence based information on the status of the environment in the Vrbas valley. In that context, the key activity was the detailed mapping of polluters in Vrbas River Basin conducted by a team of University of Banja Luka experts, in cooperation with the local environmental and sport associations. The team has walked the Vrbas River in its entire length (235 km) and mapped in details its environmental condition, solid waste dump sites and untreated waste water discharges. In total 455 sites of special interest were identified out of which 307 were sources of pollution (192 wastewater collection and 115 illegal landfills) and 148 other locations (important wildlife, typical locations, etc.). The data collected was presented in form of detailed GIS maps of the geographical area of the Vrbas River Basin, clearly displaying all the sources of pollution identified through this exercise. The information is presented in a user friendly format, shared with all of the stakeholders, decision makers, authorities, publicized in media, and publically accessible on a dedicated web site. The information serves as a basis for planning actions on removal of the illegal solid waste dump sites and untreated waste water discharges. Considering that for any databases or maps continuous updating is key for its validity, Clean Vrbas project supported also an innovative follow up activity which supported development of a mobile phone application enabling citizens, tourists, sportsman and any other visitors to easily report any pollution of the Vrbas river to the local authorities with their smart mobile phones, and in this way to automatically update the GIS information management system in real time. The application and the system are currently piloted in municipality of Kotor Varos, and later can be replicated in other municipalities. As final piece of the mosaic of the programme outputs focused on creation of conditions for the long-term improvement of the environmental protection capacities in the VRB area, programme has supported establishment of an independent laboratory for monitoring of water quality within the Regional Ecological Centre in Bugojno. The center is to serve as the focal point for information and education of citizens and youth, capacity strengthening of NGOs and local authorities through education, seminars and provision of support, while the laboratory secures existence of an independent referent point for control of water quality for the entire VRB area. Overall, with realization of these outputs the programme has contributed measurably to achievement of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF, Outcome 3.3) and the key aim of the programme to contribute to environmental and economic sustainability of the area.
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Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
BACKGROUND
Rivers do not stop at administrative or political boundaries. Therefore the only way to protect and use rivers is through joint work of all the stakeholders within the natural geographical river basins – bringing together all living upstream or downstream. That is why in European Union (EU) waters are managed using a river basin approach since the year 2000, when the EU Water Framework Directive was adopted, creating a new tool for the effective management of water resources. Although Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is not a member of the EU, and has yet no formal obligations to implement the EU regulations, the country, including its both entities, has chosen to implement the EU Water Framework Directive, and introduce its principles into the new Laws on Waters in both entities. These laws have for a goal reduction of water pollution, achievement of good status and prevention of water degradation, achievement of sustainable use, ensuring of rightful access to water, stimulation of social and economic development, protection of ecosystem, reduction of risk from flooding and other harmful impacts of water, as well as the inclusion of public into making decisions related to water. In order to implement laws and to fulfill its international obligations related to water Convention on Co-operation for Protection and Sustainable Use of the Danube River, Frame Agreement on Sava River Basin.), BiH has been expected to implement number of activities. In this process it is necessary to involve all stakeholders including local communities, civil society, public utilities, private companies and international organizations (ICPDR, WWF, etc.). The Vrbas River, with its length of 234 km, is a major river in western BiH. It is a right tributary of the river Sava and together with other water basins in BiH belongs to Black Sea watershed area. The Vrbas River appears at the southern slope of the Vranica Mountain, at around 1530 meters above the sea level and it drains central part of the northern slopes of the Dinaric mountain massif. Basin covers territory of both Entities (Republic of Srpska with 63%, and Federation of BiH with 37% with total area of about 6,380 km2), and can be used as a model which can be replicated to other river basins in BIH. Around 464,000 people live in the Vrbas river basin, while the river itself is of great economic importance for the whole region, in terms of its potential as a source of potable water, agriculture, tourism, biodiversity and other uses. The area is well known for its natural beauties which among others includes Bardača wetland, one of the three Ramsar sites in the country and the only one in Danube basin within the BiH borders. At the same time, the uncontrolled human activities in its basin created a lot of pressures on the river. As illustration of just one of major problems affecting the river - the untreated waste waters, the Vrbas River basin catchment area spreads over 6.386 km2, and none of the communities in the area had a functional waste water treatment facility of any kind. This, coupled with the still unsolved problems of a sustainable solid waste collection and disposal system in the area, is the reason why in the post war period Vrbas was in its entire length polluted as any other river in BiH. Nevertheless, since 2003 the City of Banja Luka and administration, CSOs and citizens have successfully implemented a focused and continuous program of action on cleaning the river. The actions included youth volunteering camps, river cleaning actions which completely cleaned 21 km of river bad and removed tones of solid waste. Since 2003 the City and the water sport clubs were regularly organizing an Eco Regatta which in the beginning was focused on cleaning, safe disposal of solid waste and even removal of unexploded ordnance from the river bed and banks. Since 2007 the regatta has grown into a unique promotional and touristic event, which raised awareness on environmental and touristic importance and potentials of the river. Culmination of these efforts was the organization of both the European Rafting Championship and the World Rafting Championship, in 2005 and 2009, respectively. The World Championship alone brought to Banja Luka 600 participants from 35 countries, and around 50,000 visitors over a 7 day period which was a major demonstration of touristic potential that the river and outdoor sports present. In brief, the City of Banja Luka has set an example of how a focused action can bring results.
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Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
However, in order to maintain the outstanding results achieved by only one municipality in the river basin, a net had to be and was installed across the river, upstream from Banja Luka City, to capture the solid waste floating from the upstream municipalities and in such way to prevent new pollution of the river bed. The net collects over 15.000 m3 or 5.000 tons of floating waste every year and still it is very heavy burden on budgets of Banja Luka and all the downstream municipalities. Obviously, this solution is a temporary one, while the only long-term sustainable solution is joint work on preventing pollution of the Vrbas River upstream and downstream by mobilizing all the riverside municipalities to take decisive action on cleaning and protecting the river. Mayors of the municipalities on the river banks have recognized this need, accepted the responsibility to support the environment and sustainable development. As the first step forward in 2010 the Coordination of Mayors of Vrbas Municipalities was formed to better coordinate activities geared towards protecting the river. At the core of the mandate of this body is the idea and the need to replicate the successes achieved in cleaning and protecting the river in Banja Luka area alongside the whole length of the river.
SUMMARY AND CONTEXT OF THE PROGRAMME
I. INTRODUCTION - PROGRAMME AND OBJECTIVES The Clean Vrbas Programme was a partnership of UNDP BiH, Government of Japan, The Coca Cola Company, Ekopak d.o.o., Municipalities, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and local communities aimed at cleaning up the Vrbas River and the utilizing the river more efficiently as a natural resource valuable for local development. The programme piloted new approaches in the Vrbas River basin which can serve as models for preservation and validation of the economic potential of all other river basins in the country and the region. A unique feature of this initiative is that it was a genuine grass–root action kicked-started by the Mayors of the nine biggest municipalities in the basin. They identified pollution of the Vrbas River as the common problem, and formed a voluntary forum - Coordination Team for Protection of Vrbas - with the aim to tackle the issue in a coordinated and sustainable manner. The programme tried to address a number of key developmental challenges of the local communities through an integrated approach focused on strengthening environmental protection, development of touristic potentials and enhancing local governance. Key aim of the programme was to contribute to the environmental sustainability of the area and facilitate development of adventure tourism activities to become drivers of local and economic development and employment of rural population of the area. Considering the experience of the pilot phase, priorities of stakeholders, reality on ground, the findings and recommendations of the “Action Plan for Protection of the Vrbas River Basin”, as endorsed by the Coordination Team for Protection of Vrbas, the Clean Vrbas Programme was focused on achievement of the following key objectives: Objective 1. Improved environmental protection, awareness and knowledge Objective 2. Increased utilization of touristic and development potentials of the river basin Objective 3. Strengthened local governance, policy frameworks and capacities Geographic Scope and Beneficiaries The programme included all 13 municipalities in the Vrbas River Basin (VRB), local communities and the population, as well as all the other key partners active in the area, such as the relevant ministries, agencies, businesses, CSO’s, regional organizations and associations and similar.
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Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
II. PROGRAMME FUNDS AND PARTNERS At the time of its conceptualization it was envisaged that the programme could raise up to USD 1,250,000 from donors and local partners. However, the final raised amount fell a little short of this target. The Table 1 shows the amounts raised from the individual donors during the programme’s lifetime: Amount Source of Funds Purpose (USD) Government of Japan $788,954 All programme activities The Coca Cola Co. $73,652 Water protection and adventure tourism Eko Pak d.o.o. $27,777 Municipal recycling yard in D. Vakuf RS Environment Protection and EE Fund $33,000 Municipal recycling yard project Municipal recycling yard project and Donji Vakuf Municipality $55,983 strawberries production Gornji Vakuf Municipality $20,994 Strawberries production project Kotor Varos Municipality $7,000 Municipal recycling yard project Jajce Municipality $49,000 Tourist Info Center project UNDP contribution $167,470 Project Management TOTAL FUNDS RAISED: $1,223,831
Table 1. Funds raised by the Clean Vrbas programme
Although the total amount raised was slightly below the target, given the worsening economic situation in the country in the last two years it can be considered a success. In that sense, due to circumstances beyond the programme’s control the amount received from the Government of Japan, namely $788,927 was $60,000 lower than the one originally pledged ($848,927). This gap was compensated with the funds provided by the other programme donors and in-kind contributions of the local partners. Hence, the programme activities were fully funded. Additionally, the local partners (municipalities, CSOs, sport clubs and associations) have also provided in- kind and parallel funding for the programme activities in the total value of over $235.000. The fact that the programme managed to raise funds from such a diverse group of partners, despite the economic crisis, as well as to expand the partnership basis including municipalities and private sector, deserves to be highlighted as a key achievement. It also serves as the best indicator of how much the programme’ objectives and activities targeted the issues which are perceived as priority by the population of the VRB. The experience in the implementation of the programme clearly proved that even the full amount of the programme budget was not nearly sufficient to address all the needs of the VRB area, but that this kind of programme can be instrumental in assessing the problem, mapping the key issues, identifying priority needs, piloting approaches and demonstrating the best solutions. In this way the programme provided a platform to scale up the most effective solutions, to replicate and extend the best approaches throughout the VRB area and beyond. For that the Clean Vrbas initiative and all of its partners must continue to seek new opportunities to attract funding and further expand the partnership.
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Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
III. PROGRAMME CONTEXT IN 2012-2014 As the programme was inextricably linked to the support of the river basin municipalities and the leadership of their Mayors, the 2012 local elections and the resulting personal and political changes in the partner municipalities had negative consequences on implementation of the programme activities. The time needed for the new Mayors and their administrations to get familiar with the Clean Vrbas initiative and its significance for their municipality has in general slowed down the programme, but the programme team managed to address this issue by treating it as an opportunity to, once again, review the programme focus and check it against the realities on the ground. To that effect, the programme staff had numerous meetings with the local authorities, public utility companies, tourism and culture workers, the most active civil society organizations and others. In the meetings, the both objectives and activities of the programme have been repeatedly presented, with the aim to collect and incorporate feedback of the key stakeholders and potential partners, as well as valuable information on current situation in each municipality, on their key needs and development priorities. Coordination of Mayors of Vrbas Basin The personal changes in municipal administrations following the local elections led to a much less active functioning of the Coordination of Mayors of Vrbas Basin than originally expected. In fact, in 2013 the body had only one meeting on 24th May 2013 in Donji Vakuf, facilitated by the Clean Vrbas programme. In the meeting all the Mayors have reiterated their support to the initiative, as well as their willingness to take it forward. Signing of the “Clean Vrbas Charter” In spite of the above setbacks, the Mayors, as well as the other stakeholders of the programme, continued to extend their political and operational support for the Clean Vrbas initiative and this programme. The commitment and support for the joint work on this initiative were reconfirmed by signing of the Clean Vrbas Charter.
The Charter is a declaration of good will and commitment that has been signed by the representatives of 26 different institutions and organizations from all levels of authorities, and from different spheres of life in the river basin. It is a joint pledge for all the signatories to work on environmental protection and development of the VRB. The event created very positive visibility and promotion for the Clean Vrbas initiative.
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Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES, ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVED RESULTS
OBJECTIVE 1. IMPROVED ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE
1.1. ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP ACTIONS As a basic measure to initiate work on environmental protection and raising awareness of the general population on the key environmental concerns, the programme had in spring of 2013 supported a number of cleanup activities in all of the municipalities of the area.
Let’s Do It From 17th-19th May 2013, as part of global action Let’s Do It, and as part of global UNDP support, Clean Vrbas Programme supported this initiative in all 13 municipalities of VRB. Results of the Let’s Do It action in VRB in 2013 were as following:
# Municipality No. of Amount of garbage Truckloads of garbage participants collected (120 lt. bags) collected 1 Banja Luka 90 100 10 2 Kneževo 30 140 0 3 Kotor Varoš 50 52 0 4 Laktaši 270 350 0 5 Šipovo 50 0 2 6 Jezero 100 100 0 7 Mrkonjić Grad 800 650 0 8 Čelinac 40 160 0 9 Srbac 200 200 0 10 Bugojno 790 110 20 11 Donji Vakuf 1,105 1.100 0 12 Gornji Vakuf/Uskoplje 350 100 4 13 Jajce 2,500 700 0 Total 6,375 3,762 36 Table 2. Results of the “Let’s Do It” action in VRB area in 2013 In order to enable efficiency and effectiveness of this initiative, cleaning materials such as gloves, thrash bags, shovels, rakes, etc. were provided.
Municipality of Kotor Varoš – Cleaning Action 2013 In Kotor Varoš Municipality UNDP supported action initiated by the employees of the municipal administration who took personal lead and together with sport clubs, youth and other activists organized cleaning and decorating action on Sunday, 14th April 2013.
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Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
UNDP provided gloves, trash bags, shovels and rakes for all participants on many locations throughout the town. Beside the main street in Kotor Varoš, the region of Bjelina, town square, area around the Municipality building, Centre for Social Work and monument, as well as sport fields and school gardens were cleaned by more than 100 participants of this action (employees of municipality, Public Utility Company, Non-Governmental Organizations - NGOs and citizens of Kotor Varos). More than 100 trash bags (120 lt.) of garbage were collected and properly disposed at the local landfill.
Support to youth volunteerism and activism – cleanup of youth playground Dubocaj in Kotor Varos Group of young volunteers (approx. 30 volunteers) and activists from Kotor Varos approached municipality of Kotor Varos, foundation Mozaik, and UNDP with the request to support their small project proposal - establishment of playground Dubocaj. Having in mind the needs of the young people to have a place for gathering and quality use of their free time, Clean Vrbas programme decided to support this activity through the provision of construction material that was used in the volunteer’s action of decoration of this playground. As primary beneficiaries, youth had great benefit from the implementation of this project as well as other citizens of Kotor Varos. Project was complete in November 2014.
Assistance to protection of delta Vrbas in the Municipality of Srbac The project was implemented by the NGO “Milenijum” Srbac in the period May - October 2014. Its main goal was the creation of pre-conditions for sustainable environmental protection, and better use of the natural and cultural heritage, and the traditional local resources in river Vrbas basin. Specific project goals were promotion of daily and weekend tourism (green tourism) on the right Vrbas bank at the delta of Vrbas into Sava River. Implementation of this project: • Promoted environmental protection of Vrbas river basin and increased tourist potential of the area • Addressed wider population (Citizens of Srbac, NGOs, tourism organizations and workers) • Strengthened partnership and cooperation between general population, public and private sector including citizens, local authorities, NGOs, youth and • Provided activities that enabled best efficient use of money and resources and VRB. Project was completed with direct participation in project activities of over 347 pupils and youth. Youth eco volunteering camp in Gornja Lepenica, Srbac Municipality NGO “Milenijum” Srbac traditionally organizes annual youth summer Eco Camp in Gornja Lepenica which gathers over 300 volunteers (education, work on decoration of camp, different competitions). In 2013, the Eco Camp site was affected by floods and needed emergency repairs. The Clean Vrbas programme supported the NGO with provision of construction materials to be used by youth volunteers to repair the Eco Camp, in order to be able to continue tradition of organization of this camp next years. The repair and cleaning action was completed in March 2015.
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Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
Eco rafting regatta “Clean Vrbas” 2013 in Donji Vakuf This activity was implemented during the two month period from 10th May 2013 to 10th July 2013. Main project objective was to attract interest of local and international organizations working in BiH in active participation, promotion and support of water sports as well as to environmental protection and tourism development. Rafting club “Dabar” Donji Vakuf organized “Vrbas Eco Regatta” Donji Vakuf-Torlakovac on Vrbas river on 25th May 2013 with 7 rafting clubs participating (58 participants). Fifth BiH league rafting race was also organized as part of this project on 26th May 2013 with total of 66 participants. The winner was Dajak klub Banja Luka. During the implementation of this project garbage collection was organized in the river Vrbas basin, at the following locations: Bugojno, Donji Vakuf and Jajce (cleaned approximately 5 kilometers of river banks) with over 200 citizens involved. The project was completed in July 2013.
1.2. SUSTAINABLE SOLID WASTE REMOVAL SOLUTIONS Core issue addressed within the Activity 1 of the “Clean Vrbas” project was the problem of solid waste pollution of the Vrbas River and its tributaries. Understanding that it was obvious that no matter how important the ad-hoc cleanup actions and activism were for mobilizing population and communities around the environmental issues, they were not likely to produce lasting results on their own programme has focused on finding and piloting the more sustainable, long-term solutions for the problem. The key component of such a solution were the efforts on strengthening the municipal level waste management systems, in particular improvement of capacities of the municipal communal companies to efficiently and sustainably collect waste and dispose it in environmentally acceptable manner. Combined with raising awareness and empowering of the local population and CSOs, through targeted educational and community based solid waste collection schemes, this approach should provide a strong guarantee for a long-term reduction of the solid waste pollution of the Vrbas River and its tributaries. This technical solution should be implemented on the local community level, aimed at reducing the existing waste transport costs and separation or primary selection of commercial waste categories, and all this for the purpose of reducing overall negative effects on the environment.
Municipal Recycling Yard Feasibility Study In order to perform in depth research of the municipal waste management problems and analyze the different options for improving the situation, the Clean Vrbas programme commissioned a feasibility study for establishment of municipal recycling yard in Kotor Varos Municipality, as a rather typical municipality in terms of size and waste problems for the wider area and even the whole BiH. The resulting “Feasibility study for establishment of a recycling yard in the Municipality of Kotor Varos” confirmed the assumptions that municipal level waste separation and recycling operation can be: i) Organized as a sustainable activity and contribute positively to the economic viability of municipal communal companies ii) Can have very positive effects on environmental protection, and iii) Can create income generation and employment opportunities for the most vulnerable population. Specifically, the Feasibility Study estimated that a realistic target for separation of commercial waste in Kotor Varos municipality has been estimated to approximately 284.7 t/year or around 27.2 % of the total waste generated annually in that municipality.
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Based on that data, the annual monetary savings and income generation of the municipal solid waste management system in Kotor Varos municipality was estimated to 47,179 BAM/year, as follows: Type of Savings/Incomes Reductions Compared with the Estimated Total Current Situation Savings/Income Annually (BAM) Savings in transport of waste to the 27.2% less waste transported, equal 9,996 BAM regional landfill to 8 trips/mth to B. Luka less Reduced payment of fees for 27.2% in the amount of waste 7,119 BAM depositing waste at the reg. landfill deposited Income from sales of recovered 211.49 tons/yr. of paper recovered 19,071 BAM paper Income from sales of recovered 73.29 tons/yr. of recovered plastic 10,993 BAM plastic and packaging waste and packaging waste recovered TOTAL SAVINGS AND INCOME GENERATED ANNUALLY: 47,179 BAM Table 3. Feasibility study for the establishment of recycling yard in the Municipality of Kotor Varos,
In conclusion, investment in such project offered the opportunity to improve financial viability and efficiency of communal companies, while reducing solid pollution of the VRB area and an opportunity to pilot a new model to municipal waste management in Bosnia and Hercegovina.
Piloting the Municipal Recycling Yard Model in VRB - in cooperation with the the local communal companies, EKOPAK BiH d.o.o. and the RS Environment Protection and EE Fund Based on findings of the Feasibility Study, information gathered on the field and expressed interest of municipalities and other partners, the Clean Vrbas programme has developed two pilot projects aimed at establishment of recycling yards with capacities for selection of waste in municipalities of Kotor Varos and Donji Vakuf. Aim of the proposed and implemented pilot-projects was to establish model recycling yards with capacities for storage and selection of commercial waste and receipt of already separated categories of waste in order to increase municipal waste management efficiency, effectiveness and economic impact enabling environment protection of rivers Vrbanja and Vrbas. As the initial step, the programme engaged an architect to provide technical assistance in preparation of technical documentation, while both municipalities and their communal companies have expressed their commitment to participate in the project by providing adequate locations for the recycling yards as well as allocating significant financial resources as co-financing for the projects. Additionally to the programme funds, municipality of Donji Vakuf provided co-financing funds in the amount of 50,000 BAM for this project, while the company Ekopak d.o.o. Sarajevo as the licensed operator of the solid waste management system in the Federation of BiH supported the pilot-project with 40,000 BAM. Similarly, the communal company of the Kotor Varos municipality “Bobas” a.d. has committed 10,000 BAM for co-financing such a project in their municipality, while the RS Environment Protection and EE Fund secured 50,000 BAM for the same purpose. Tendering procedures for the construction works and provision of necessary equipment for the establishment of recycling yard in the Municipality of Donji Vakuf were launched on 16 July 2014. Due to low response (summer, vacation period, floods), deadline for the submission of offers was extended from 31 July 2014 till 18 August 2014. Selection of suppliers and contracting has been completed in August/September 2014.
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Constructing works in Donji Vakuf started on 9 September 2014 and the reconstruction works were completed in November 2014. The recycling equipment for the yard was delivered and installed on 06 November 2014.
Recycling yard equipment
Layout of a typical recycling yard
Tendering procedure for the construction works and provision of necessary equipment for the establishment of recycling yard in the Municipality of Kotor Varos has been prepared and launched in cooperation with the municipality on 10 September 2014. The deadline for the submission of offers were 16 and 19 September 2014. Constructing works started on 15 October 2014 and the works and installation of equipment were completed in 45 days as planned. Formal opening ceremonies for both recycling yards are planned to be organizes by the mid-May 2015.
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1.3. AWARNESS RAISING AND EDUCATION
Youth Parliament 2013 – in cooperation with the International Sava Commission Clean Vrbas Programme has supported implementation of the International Sava Commission “Youth Parliament 2013” which took place in Zasavice protected area in Serbia on 24 and 25 May 2013. Programme has supported participation of representatives of 5 schools from BiH (Tehnička škola - Doboj, Srednja stručna i tehnička škola - Gradiška, Medicinska škola – Bihać and JU Gimnazija – Lukavac) in the work of the regional youth parliament. In total 20 pupils and 4 professors participated at this event from BiH, together with the pupils and professors from secondary schools from Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia (in total 60 pupils and professors). Selected representatives of Youth Parliament (pupils) presented results from the 4th meeting in regard to “General agreement on Sava River Basin”.
Youth Parliament 2014 – in cooperation with the International Sava Commission Clean Vrbas programme supported also participation of B&H youth in the “Youth Parliament 2014” which took place in Ljubljana held on 19 and 20 September 2014. Through this initiative, Programme supported participation of representatives of 3 schools from BiH (Srednja škola Ivan Goran Kovačić - Kiseljak, Srednja stručna i tehnička škola - Gradiška, Medicinska škola – Bihać) in the work of the regional youth parliament. In total 15 pupils and 3 professors participated at this event from BiH, together with the pupils and professors from secondary schools from Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia (in total 60 pupils and professors).
Educational Video School Project implemented by the NGO “Centar za prirodu, ekologiju i turizam (PET)”, Banja Luka has been implemented during the period from 30th August 2013 to 30th May 2014. Main project goal was creation of “educational video school “ – video material called “KAP PO KAP Vrbas Rijeka zivota”, has been used in schools during regular classes to address awareness in regard to environmental protection and was distributed to all secondary schools in the Vrbas basin municipalities. During project implementation, project team has completed field work and collected all necessary photo and video material for production of 2 pilot episodes of 35 minutes. They have also organized competition for the best song and the best photo with a topic “Vrbas protection” and raised awareness among local residents, school children and youth about the need to protect river Vrbas. They have also distributed and promoted video production in all high schools in Vrbas river basin region. The project was completed in September 2014. Over 100 people from the field was included in the creation of material and all students from the secondary schools from 13 municipalities in Vrbas river basin have seen two documentary movies (titles: Nature and People) during last school year. Page | 19
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Since the school year starts in September and due to floods promotion of 2 video schools have been held in October 2014 in three locations Banja Luka (3rd October 2014 with approx. 50 people) Srbac (4th October 2014 with app. 25 people) and Bugojno (10th October 2014 with approx. 35 people).
Banja Luka, Srbac and Bugojno presentations of the “educational video school“
Protection of Vrbanja River In the period from August to December 2013, association of citizens “Centar mladih” from Kotor Varos implemented project “Knights of Vrbanja”. Main goal of the project was to develop tourism and touristic offer of Kotor Varos through new services as well as increase of youth awareness on environmental protection. Through the project “Centar mladih” has established Kayak-Canoe Rafting Club, created web site and FB group, in cooperation with Public Utility Company Bobas purchased and placed 12 containers for separation of waste in front of 4 elementary schools in Siprage, Vrbanjci, Kotor Varos and Zabrde, as well as purchased a kayak and canoe boats for the newly established club.
Awareness and Cleaning Activities in Laktaši Ecological Association “Kanarinac“, Laktaši implemented a project in the period from September 2013 to June 2014. Main project goals have been preparation of main project for embankment on Vrbas, increased communal services through delivery of additional 100 garbage cans, cleaning of recreational area Staraca and river Vrbas and increased public awareness through educational workshops in local communities. Project has completed the following activities: • 100 garbage cans delivered to beneficiaries in several local communities • In agreement with UNDP and in cooperation with the Municipality, project activity of Preparation of the main construction project for the embankment at river Vrbas was changed and replaced with the concrete construction work on construction of embankment at the most critical part of river Crkvena in the Drugovici village. This embankment was successfully constructed and represented a good protection during the flood’s that have happened in May 2014. • Developed, printed and distributed promotional material • Organized round tables in local communities • Organized education trainings in primary schools • Performed works on cleaning of area Staraca and cleaning part of river Vrbas banks in the villages Susnjari and Trn and • Organized a final conference. In total, 3,920 people was affected by and included in these project activities.
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OBJECTIVE 2. INCREASED UTILIZATION OF TOURISTIC AND DEVELOPMENT POTENTIALS OF THE VRB
2.1. FOSTERING THE ADVENTURE TOURISM POTENTIAL
Vrbas Eco-Regatta 2012
Activities under the project “Vrbas Eco-Regatta 2012” were implemented in the period 11 June 2012 to 30 November 2012 in cooperation with Rafting Club (RfC)“Kanjon” Banja Luka. As part of this project RfC “Kanjon” Banja Luka organized thematic workshops and International Rafting Federation training “Guide and Trip leader” on 25 to 28 June 2012, with 30 participants from the whole BiH. Also they have procured equipment necessary for the training of guides and rescue workers (2 rafting boats, rafting equipment for children, set of full equipment and full rafting equipment for skippers). Vrbas Eco-Regatta 2012 was held with participation of nine municipalities and over 200 participants. As part of this project, RfC “Kanjon” Banja Luka also designed and implemented an “Eco-school” activity, where special attention was paid to issues of reduction and waste management, rational use of energy and water and importance of environmental protection. Eco-school was held from 28 June to 03 August 2012 with the participation of 26 children.
Adventure Fair 2013 During the 4 months period from May 2013 to September 2013, RfC “Kanjon” from Banja Luka implemented a series of activities aimed at development and improvement of sustainable tourism through education and organization of the first-ever adventure fair in Banja Luka. As part of this project RfC “Kanjon”, Banja Luka organized thematic workshops and International Rafting Federation training “Guide and Trip leader” on 25 to 28 May 2013, with 49 participants from the whole BiH, promotional night rafting for journalists, etc. As the main activity they have organized “Adventure Fair” – a high visibility event on Vrbas river-August 2013 which attracted over 30 participating organizations and generated a lot of interest on the subject.
Adventure Fair 2014 Clean Vrbas project has also supported the second Adventure Fair organized in 2014. During the 4 months period from 12 May 2014 to 12 August 2014, RfC “Kanjon” from Banja Luka implemented a series of activities aimed at development and improvement of sustainable tourism through education and organization of a traditional adventure fair in Banja Luka. In 2014, due to floods that have affected whole region, this fair had added value as it awarded medals to the rafting clubs and individuals for their support in saving lives and property during rescue activities. In May 2014, thematic workshops and International Rafting Federation training “Guide and Trip leader” has been held with 37 participants and 10 licensed guides and trip leaders.
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The “Adventure Fair” and the awards ceremony was held in June 2014, with over 100 participants and exhibitors. Through implementation of these activities, additional strengthening of capacities of RfC “Kanjon” and their partners has been achieved, creating preconditions for the continuation of the organization of now traditional and unique Adventure Fair in Banja Luka in the future.
Touristic Info Center Jajce Agency for the preservation and development of cultural-historical and natural heritage of city of Jajce and Municipality of Jajce have submitted project proposal to UNDP for the establishment of Touristic Info Center Jajce. Since Jajce, is one of rare municipalities in BiH that can attract tourist (80% of touristic visits are in Jajce), in their development strategy they have identified implementation of this project as one of their first priorities. UNDP recognized this opportunity and therefore two UNDP implemented projects (ILDP and Clean Vrbac programme) combined funds with the funds from the Municipality of Jajce in order to fully implement this project. Project has been developed and implemented in cooperation with the municipality, strengthened their capacities enabling them to learn how to prepare and implement such type of projects. Most importantly, the Tourist Info Center has been built up to the highest EU standards of energy efficiency and accessible for persons with disabilities. Tendering procedure has been completed and public call published. Bids opening for selection of company for the performance of reconstruction works has been organized on 17th September 2014. Contract signing with the selected construction company was organized in the Municipality of Jajce on 07th November 2014. Due to weather condition and need for some additional works deadline for the opening of this Info center has been extended. The opening ceremony is planned for the end of May 2015.
Future look of the Jajce Touristic Info Center
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Mountain Eco Center Mountaineering Association “Čičak“ from Čelinac, has implemented a project in the period from September 2013 to March 2014. Mountain Eco Center has mission to promote active eco-tourism and organization of different sports and educational activities. The mountaineers themselves constructed the center’s main building, cleaned and marked walking paths to the Center through the canyon Svrakava. The mountaineers have also cleaned the area around the mountaineering trail and river banks, cleaned drinkable water well, marked the trail and constructed its safety features, including security nets, wedges and ropes. Construction of mountain eco center has been completed and promotional walk and an opening ceremony was held on 12 July 2014, walking the cleaned and marked mountaineering trail with over 50 participants from waterfall Svrakava to Ardoline Male-Mountain Eco Center.
Promotion of Vrbas area as the part the regional Via Dinarica Adventure Brand Via Dinarica is a joint initiative of UNDP (BiH, Croatia and Monte Negro offices) and USAID. The project activities were implemented from August 2013 to April 2014. Those included walking of the Via Dinarica trial in length of approximately 400 kilometers, with 29 trial sections mapped by GPS in the total length of 386.9 km. As part of promotional activities the Adventure Tourism Association of BiH (ATA), as the implementing partner of the project, has organized trips for bloggers and journalist into the Via Dinarica area. The walking team has produced 987 photos in 53 sets and 17 hours of raw video materials. The edited photo and video materials, GPS data, blogs are available to the public through the upgraded Via Dinarica WEB site. In March 2014 exhibition of Via Dinarica photos was be organized in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Bihac and Mostar. For more details please see: http://viadinarica.com/galleries/ .
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2.2. PROTECTING CULTURAL HERITAGE Preservation of cultural and historical heritage through handcraft From the end of August 2013 till the end of February 2014, Youth club “Dijamant” from Jajce implemented project aimed at strengthening the economic capacities of approximately 40 rural families in Jajce, specifically unemployed women through training them in traditional crafts and production of hand crafts specific for this region. During the project the youth club team organized and performed over 120 workshop sessions, educating 20 women in tailoring and sewing, 20 women in knitting, 20 women in crochet and embroidery and 5 in weaving. A web page was developed and an e-sale system activated.
One of main results of this project was an MoU for cooperation signed with Agency for preservation of cultural-historical-natural heritage and tourism development of City of Jajce, which secures access to the market for the group’s produce. Final exhibition of developed handicrafts was held on 7-8 March 2014 in Cultural Centre Jajce with the participation of more than 100 people.
2.3. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT Income generation in rural communities through raspberry production Project was identified as the best option to support livelihood and increase income of farmers in the rural areas of VRB area through modern raspberry production, based on irrigation. Activity was implemented in the Municipalities of Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje and Donji Vakuf assisted 48 rural families to generate much needed income in long-term. Over 28,000 raspberry seedlings have been distributed and planted at the surface of 64,000 m2.
Raspberry fields in Gornji Vakuf/Uskoplje and Donji Vakuf
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Expert training have been held for the farmers as well as certification process which enables the produces to be exported in the EU market. First raspberries have been harvested at the end of July 2014. This was another very good example of cooperation with the local authorities, as each of the municipalities have merged their municipal agricultural subsidy funds (in total 60,000) with the Clean Vrbas programme funds, resulting in synergetic effects. In the Municipality of Donji Vakuf, out of 25 farmers, 13,480.70kg of raspberries has been collected. Guaranteed price per one kg of raspberries was 3.05 BAM. In total 41,116 BAM has been paid, average per farmer is 1,644.64 BAM. Harvesting has been completed on 07.11.2014. Total amount of collected raspberries in both municipalities was 29,451 kg, in the value of approx. 89,825 BAM, or average earning per family per one dunum (1,000 m2) was 1,911 BAM. It is expected that in the following year this amount will be double.
OBJECTIVE 3. STRENGTHENED LOCAL GOVERNANCE, POLICY FRAMEWORKS AND CAPACITIES
3.1. STRENGTHENED LOCAL GOVERNANCE CAPACITIES Although many of the concerns related to environmental protection and better utilization of the natural and cultural heritage are frequently assumed to be known and even obvious, in reality when faced with the need to develop measures and policies for these issues most of the local authorities and other stakeholders are faced with the chronicle lack of reliable data and evidence based analysis. Clean Vrbas programme has identified this problem and supported several initiatives aimed at addressing it. In the reporting period programme team has surveyed the needs of local authorities for trainings in topics of relevance for better protections and utilization of the areas environmental, touristic and cultural potential. The results have been used to provide targeted trainings for the municipal administration staff in the forthcoming period. Beyond the scope of the Clean Vrbas programme, UNDP Regional Development Office in Banja Luka has supported and facilitated involvement of the VRB area municipalities in the other local governance support programmes of UNDP, such as the Integrated Local Development Programme (ILDP), Municipal Training System (MTS), Local Democracy (LOD) and several other, who provided targeted assistance to the partner municipalities in local strategic planning and integration of environmental concerns in the strategic plans, training of their staff, energy efficiency and other relevant topics.
GIS Data Base and mapping of polluters in Vrbas river basin One of the projects aimed at providing the evidence based objective information to decision makers on the current status of the Vrbas river was the project developed and implemented by the NGO “Center for Climate Research” from Banja Luka, through which a mapping of polluters in Vrbas river basin has been completed and all the information made publically available in form of a GIS Data Base and a dedicated web site. This project was implemented in the period from June to December 2013. As the main project objective a team of experts of different profiles from the Center have walked the Vrbas River in its entire length and mapped in details its environmental condition, solid waste dump sites and untreated waste water discharges. Through the project implementation cooperation was established with the local authorities, NGOs and project activities were further promoted localy. The collected data was used to develop and update GIS maps for the geographical area of the Vrbas River Basin in BiH. In this way the information was made available to the stakeholders, decision makers, authorities and widest population, to be used as a tool for accurate mapping and planning of removal of the identified illegal solid waste dump sites and untreated waste water discharges affecting Vrbas River.
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Detailed GIS maps of polluters in Vrbas River basin produced and made public through this activity
Results of this project: Strengthening the capacities of local communities (LCs) and NGOs to advocate based on the scientific description and assessment of the problem; Gave clear picture of current situation as a big argument that could initiate institutionalized solution of problem; Increased public awareness of the problem within target groups and helped mobilize activists. Fieldwork was conducted in the entire course of the Vrbas River (in total length 235 km) from the source of the river (at 1,707 m above sea level on Mount Vranici) to the confluence of the river in the Sava River. Where possible the team used boats and where not possible the team walked the river banks. In the field work team relied heavily on cooperation of the local enthusiasts and activists, such as the fishing associations and rafting clubs. A total of 455 sites of special interest were identified, out of which 307 polluters (192 wastewater collection and 115 illegal landfills) and 148 other locations (important wildlife, typical locations, etc.). The GIS Data base was completed and made available to the public in form of infographics and interactive maps on the following web address: http://gis.pmfbl.org/vrbas/index.html
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In order to secure continuation and real time updating of the pollution maps developed though this activity, Clean Vrbas programme supported proposal from Center for Climate Research Banja Luka titled: “Pilot project of establishment of GIS management system of pollutes (registration and review)”. The activity was implemented from May to August 2014. Project was focused on upgrading the previously implemented GIS data base of polluters. Main project goal was to develop a mobile phone application which would enabled citizens, tourists, sportiest and any other visitor of the area to easily report to the local authorities any pollution noticed in the Vrbas riverbed and its surroundings, and to be able to follow up on the response of the local communal company to the reported environmental threat. In this way the GIS information management system is updated in real time, and becomes a sophisticated system for management of pollution enabling a real time reaction to new pollutions. This system is being piloted in one municipality (Kotor Varos) and later could be replicated in other municipalities.
3.2. STRENGHTENING CAPACITIES OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS Cooperation with civil society organizations (CSOs) was at the center of every activity of the Clean Vrbas programme. The idea behind focusing on the CSOs was not only to secure efficient implementation of programme’s activities, but more importantly to build capacities of the CSOs to perform even better their role of leaders and advocates of environmental protection in the VRB area. The key modality of cooperation with the CSOs was outsourcing implementation of most of the programme activities to the local CSOs. To that effect programme Clean Vrbas has during the reporting period launched two public Calls for Proposals for the provision of support to civil society organization projects. Based on received project proposals and performed evaluation, implementation of ten (10) projects related to environmental protection, tourism and economic sustainability of this area was trusted to the local CSOs. Establishment of independent laboratory for monitoring of water quality The Clean Vrbas programme supported the CSO “Ekoelement” from Bugojno in the implementation of a project aimed at: • Establishment of independent laboratory for monitoring of water quality • Establishment of dialog among partners across entity and municipalities and establishment of cooperation of key stakeholders in river Vrbas basin • Establishment of Regional Ecological Centre (REC) as a focal point for information and education of citizens and youth, capacity strengthening of NGOs and local authorities through education, seminars and provision of support to touristic workers in Upper Vrbas region.
With this project, the NGO “Ekoelement” has managed to establish a laboratory for monitoring of water quality as an independent referent point for control of water quality for the entire VRB area.
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The laboratory was established in April 2014 as part of a the REC which became a reference point for information and education of citizens and youth, capacity strengthening of NGOs and local authorities through education, seminars and provision of support to touristic workers in Upper Vrbas.
By the end of project, training and round tables for youth, administrative and tourism employees have been held, visibility leaflets distributed as well as water tests performed. As previously mentioned several lectures have been performed as following: Lecture for young NGO activists and high school students about the potentials of the Vrbas River and the importance of sustainable water management. - The youth education took place on May 20th 2014, at the premises of REC. Participants were, in the first part, informed of the essential characteristics typical of water, the exceptional qualities and importance of this resource for our planet. The second part of the presentation was focused on the actual water analysis and its importance in order to ascertain the condition and quality of water. After this the participants got familiar with the physic-chemical parameters of water to be tested at the Independent laboratory for physic-chemical analysis of water "Eko Element". They were informed about the proper sampling method, which is a basic prerequisite for obtaining valuable results on water quality. Lecture and the workshop for 10 year old children about the water, the importance of water and river Vrbas. – On June 9th 2014, 60 students from two schools took part in this activity. After the lecture, participants engaged in the practical part of the activity and did various exercises and experiments that demonstrated the properties and reactions of water. Lecture for all stakeholders about the basic principles and the importance of sustainable water management, primarily the Vrbas River and its economic and development potential. – On 26th of June 2014, the lecture was given by Marko Barić from the Sava River Basin District Agency. The lecture was focused largely on the relationship of people to the river Vrbas, comparing the current situation with enormous possibilities that this river has to offer. The lecturer underlined the importance of initiatives that connect all stakeholders in the river basin area, because the integrated approach to water resource management is the only valid, viable, and sustainable way when it comes to our relationship to the river that connects us all. Lectures for all stakeholders about the legal framework in the water sector, the Water Framework, and Directive of the EU, standardization and accreditation of laboratories. – Three lectures were given on 08.08.2014 by Mr. sci. Dragana Selmanagić from the Hydro-Engineering Institute Sarajevo, together with the presentation of a project that the Institute completed. The Center also conducted a successful promotional and educational media campaign about the importance of proper management and use of water resources and the benefits it brings to economic development and tourism. RTV Bugojno has followed the project from its start implementation to its end, as well as the news portal bug.ba, and many other portals on the web.
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PROGRAMME BENEFICIARIES
# ACTIVITY LOCATION F M TOTAL 1 Signing of the “Clean Vrbas Charter” ALL - - 100 Objective 1. IMPROVED ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE 2 Let’s Do It 13 municipalities - - 6.375 3 Municipality of Kotor Varoš – Cleaning Action Kotor Varos - - 100 4 Support to youth volunteerism and activism Dubocaj Kotor Varos - - 30 5 NGO Milenijum Srbac MCGA Srbac 173 174 347 6 NGO “Milenijum” Srbac-youth eco volunteering camp Srbac - - 300 7 RfK “Dabar” D. Vakuf - Eco regatta “Clean Vrbas” Donji Vakuf - - 200 8 Municipal Recycling Yard Feasibility Study Kotor Varos - - 50 9 Piloting the Municipal Recycling Yard Model in VRB Donji Vakuf - - 14,000 10 Piloting the Municipal Recycling Yard Model in VRB Kotor Varos - - 22,000 11 Youth Parliament 2013 of the Int. Sava Commission - - - 60 12 Youth Parliament of the Int. Sava Commission - - - 15 13 Educational Video School - NGO Centar za PET B. Luka Banja Luka - - 210 14 Association “Centar mladih”- “Knights of Vrbanja” Kotor Varos - - 150 15 Assoc. “Kanarinac“ Laktaši - Awareness and Cleaning Laktasi - - 3,920 Objective 2. INCREASED UTILIZATION OF TOURISTIC AND DEVELOPMENT POTENTIALS OF THE VRB 16 Vrbas Eco-Regatta 2013 - RfC Kanjon Banja Luka - - 256 17 Adventure Fair 2013 - RfC Kanjon Banja Luka - - 500 18 Adventure Fair 2014 - RfC Kanjon Banja Luka - - 137 19 Touristic Info Center – Jajce Tourism Organization Jajce - - 20,000 20 Association “Čičak“, Celinac - Mountain Eco Center Celinac - - 100 21 ATA BiH- Via Dinarica Branding BiH - - 1,000 22 NGO “Dijamant”, Jajce - Cultural and histor. heritage Jajce 40 - 40 23 Income generation through raspberry production G.Vakuf/D. Vakuf 10 38 47 Objective 3. STRENGTHENED LOCAL GOVERNANCE, POLICY FRAMEWORKS AND CAPACITIES 24 NGO “Center for Climate Research” 13 municipalities - - 1000 25 GIS Data Base and mapping of polluters in VRB 13 municipalities - - 15,000 26 NGO “Ekoelement”, Bugojno - Lab. for water quality Bugojno 112 104 216 TOTAL NUMBER OF PROGRAMME BENEFICIARIES: 86,154
Table 4. Clean Vrbas - Number of beneficiaries per activity in period 2012-2014
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COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION Coordination and collaboration with the diverse group of programme stakeholders was challenging task but essential for success of the programme activities. The Clean Vrbas programme was conceived as a wide partnership of UNDP B&H, Government of Japan, The Coca Cola Company, Ekopak d.o.o., Municipalities, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and local communities. In that partnership, the role of the Mayors and the municipal authorities was central. In that context the personal and political changes in the VRB municipalities after the 2012 local elections did slow down the cooperation with most of the river basin municipalities and their Mayors. This was mainly reflected in the inactive Coordination of Mayors of Vrbas Basin, as the most of the newly elected Mayors and their administrations needed time to get familiar with the Clean Vrbas initiative and its significance for their municipality. The Programme Management team has identified this problem early on and with a focused effort was able to overcome this set back and to secure support and active participation of all the municipalities in the programme activities. Beyond the local level, programme has been very successful in establishing relationships and cooperation with a range of stakeholders including the relevant Ministries at all levels, as well as the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund of Republika Srpska, water agencies, municipal communal companies, civil society and private sector led by the Coca Cola BiH and Ekopak, d.o.o. The commitment and wide consensus of all the stakeholders was reconfirmed with the signing of the “Clean Vrbas Charter” as a declaration of good will and commitment of 26 different institutions and organizations to jointly work on environmental protection and development of the VRB. In line with UNDP’s project management methodology, coordination of programme activities with the stakeholders was led by a Programme Board consisted of the representatives of the key stakeholder organizations, while a representative Steering Board was established to lead and supervise all the activities related to selection of civil society partners and allocation of grants to beneficiaries. A particular attention in the programme implementation was paid to strengthening of the partnership with civil society organizations (CSOs) and using the programme funds to build the CSO capacities. This approach enabled not only for a more efficient implementation at the local level but also ensures long- term continuation of the programme efforts.
VISIBILITY AND COMMUNICATION All project activities have been followed by appropriate visibility and communication through different media. One of the activities implemented in this segment in order to increase project visibility and communication was creation of Facebook (FB) page Clean Vrbas which was used to announce and promote all project events, results and successes.
www.facebook.com/CistVrbas
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Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
Programme has also commissioned development of a dedicated logo for the Clean Vrbas inititive and ensured adequate branding of all the visibility materials produced though the programme supported activities.
Clean Vrbas logo, t-shirts, bags, caps and infographics with appropriate branding
LESSONS LEARNED The key lesson learned from the implementation of the Local River Vrbas Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme could be related to the critical importance of the local ownership and close coordination of all activities with the local stakeholders. And in deed, from the very beginning of the programme its unique feature was that it was developed in direct response to the genuine grass– root action of the Mayors of the Vrbas basin municipalities. Still, as the experience has shown many external influences can have negative influence on the commitment of the partners, but if the partnerships are funded on solid basis and genuine interests the programme and its results have a much better chance to be resilient and lasting. The investment of resources, time and efforts in establishing and nurturing a wide range of partnerships by the programme management might be demanding, but it has been proven as necessary for the programme to be in position to seriously tackle the environmental and local development issues in a coordinated and sustainable manner. Another lesson might be that in conceptualization of complex programmes which aim to address a number of complex developmental challenges at the local level, one should start from understanding that no matter how big the programme might be, it is not likely that any single intervention can solve all the different problems entailed. The programme should rater be focus on assessing the problem, mapping the key issues, identified priority needs, piloting approaches and demonstrating the some of the good practice solutions in an integrated and holistic manner. This was the strategy adopted by the Clean Vrbas programme and it enabled it to effectively contribute to the environmental sustainability of the area and to facilitate local development of the area. In a way it provided a platform for the programme partners to continue seeking new opportunities and funding to scale up the changes initiated by the programme, to replicate and extend the best approaches throughout the VRB area and beyond. Another positive experience of the programme was with the outsourcing implementation of the individual programme activities to municipalities and civil society organizations. This has not only provided for a more efficient implementation of local level activities, by those who are closest to the community and people, but it also facilitated a very effective strengthening of the partnerships with the municipal authorities, local communities and the CSOs, while at the same time building their capacities to lead and advocate for environment and development protection in the VRB area.
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Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMME EXPENDITURES
SOURCE OF FUNDS ACTIVITY SUB-ACTIVITY TOTAL Gov. of Japan Other Donors TOTAL: $788,954.21 $434,876.00 $1,223,830.21
1. Improve Focused education programmes 1.1. environmental for target audiences $126,433.10 $24,042.00 $150,475.10 protection, Mapping (GIS) and removal of all 1.2. awareness solid waste depots on river banks $55,119.09 $17,500.00 $72,619.09 and Strengthen solid waste collection knowledge 1.3. system in local communities $171,801.86 $43,500.00 $215,301.86 Mapping untreated waste water 1.4. discharges in the river $21,098.26 $23,300.00 $44,398.26 Financing installment of biological 1.5. water treatment facilities $0.00 $20,400.00 $20,400.00 Restoration and conservation of 1.6. the valuable ecosystems in Vrbas River $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 GMS (7%) $26,237.47 $9,012.00 $35,249.47 Sub-Total for Activity 1: $400,689.78 $137,754.00 $538,443.78
2. Increase Improvement and expansion of 2.1. utilization of natural res./culture based tourism $3,512.90 $1,031.00 $4,543.90 touristic and Improve touristic infrastructure development and offer, quality of services and 2.2. potentials of increase employment of rural the river basin populations in tourism $65,908.12 $63,500.00 $129,408.12 Identify value chains related to local products of importance for 2.3. rural population and support local businesses with high employment and value added potential $109,263.70 $31,500.00 $140,763.70 Technical assistance fund to support development of technical 2.4. documentation/ applications for available grant and loan schemes $653.79 $15,027.00 $15,680.79 Support for organization of the 2.5. “Vrbas Eco Regatta” $61,426.75 $2,000.00 $63,426.75 Assess impact of climate change 2.6. on local agriculture, potential and needs for adaptation measures $8,500.00 $0.00 $8,500.00 Develop capacities and increase 2.7 sustainability of the water sport clubs $3,500.00 $1,570.00 $5,070.00 Lobby private sector and establish a platform for effective delivery of 2.8. private sector contributions for river protection actions $1,637.76 $0.00 $1,637.76 GMS (7%) $17,808.41 $8,024.00 $25,832.41 Sub-Total for Activity 2: $272,211.43 $122,652.00 $394,863.43 Page | 32
Vrbas River Basin Environmental Protection and Tourism Development Programme – Final Report
3. Strengthen Provide technical assistance and local support development, adjustment governance, 3.1. and adoption of necessary changes policy in policy frameworks relevant for frameworks use of the Vrbas river resource $7,000.00 $0.00 $7,000.00 and capacities Review adequate legislation for alignment with the relevant 3.2. environmental and EU norms and support harmonization $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Support development of local 3.3. absorption capacities (EU – IPA, CBC, local dev.banks...) $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Strengthening of communal 3.4. enforcement services (“communal police”) $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Support strategic planning and 3.5. pilot projects through UNDP’s other projects (ILDP, LEAPs...) $30,806.18 $6,542.05 $37,348.23 GMS (7%) $2,645.73 $457.95 $3,103.68 Sub-Total for Activity 3: $40,451.91 $7,000.00 $47,451.91
4. Project 4.1. Project Manager (36 mths) $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Management 4.2. Project Assistant (36 mths) $26,584.70 $46,000.00 $72,584.70 4.3. Programme Assurance (30% of time of UNDP Regional Programme Manager) $27,814.65 $106,927.64 $134,742.29 4.4. Travel $7,264.05 $3,000.00 $10,264.05 4.5 Office equipment and telecommunications $5,186.90 $1,000.00 $6,186.90 4.6 Communications and Visibility $3,804.61 $1,249.43 $5,054.04 GMS (7%) $4,946.18 $9,292.93 $14,239.11 Sub-Total for Activity 4: $75,601.09 $167,470.00 $243,071.09
TOTAL: $788,954.21 $434,876.00 $1,223,830.21
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