Bosnia and Herzegovina - Air pollution project gave tangible results
The IMPAQ project, Improvement of Air Quality and Air Quality Management, is aimed at creating better understanding of air pollution in urban areas and providing systems for enabling EU approximation.
Initiated by the Swedish EPA in 2019, the IMPAQ project was developed, coordinated, and implemented in collaboration with the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, SMHI. With a total budget of 3.8 million euros, the goals of the IMPAQ project were to:
- Provide scientific evidence of the sources of air pollution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH
- Enhance BiH’s ability to manage air quality data
- Build capacity to improve systems for environmental inspections
- Improve awareness about air pollution among the Bosnian population and increase access to information
- Support the development of sustainable urban mobility options in major cities
- Lay the foundations for new strategies and measures to improve air quality
- Provide and improve systems needed for air quality management enabling EU approximation
Within the project, significant efforts were made to raise awareness of air quality and health issues through national information campaigns. Representatives of federal and local government and authorities, hydrometeorological institutes, city administrations, as well as academia and civil society organisations all participated in the project sharing the same interest – to improve BiH’s current situation of severe air pollution.
Step-by-step implementation
One important and sought-after milestone delivered by the project was a two-year study on the sources and distribution of air pollution in six cities in BiH – Sarajevo, Zenica, Tuzla, Banja Luka, Brod, and Bijeljina. Using the results of detailed air quality measurements and existing emissions inventory data, the study examined which pollutant particles are present in the air, where they come from, and how they spread.
Research results indicated that air quality is most affected by traffic, individual heating of households, large heating plants, and industry. The results have been further investigated using local meteorological data, which in some cases have increased the understanding of where different pollution sources originate from and when they occur.
The project also made several contributions to complement and improve BiH’s systems for collecting, storing, and reporting air quality data. This included the donation of modern air quality monitoring equipment to the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute of Republika Srpska and the Federal Hydrometeorological Institute of BiH. The donation enabled an improvement of the system through which institutions and citizens are offered valid and comprehensive data on air quality in near real time.
Main parts of the project:
- Air quality data hosting infrastructure and capacity
- Reference laboratory infrastructure and capacity
- Emissions inventories and source apportionment study in six major cities
- Cost-effective and scalable air quality improvement activities
- Communication raising awareness regarding air quality and public health
- Legislation implementation through strengthened environmental inspection.
Contact and more information
Would you like to know more about the cooperation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the IMPAQ project? Send an email to Andreas Lindström at the Swedish EPA, andreas.lindstrom@naturvardsverket.se.
