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Bosnia and Herzegovina faces a significant investment gap of 3.5 billion euros to meet EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) requirements, with only 20 operational treatment plants currently in place. The report suggests that BiH can leverage Sweden's experience in sectoral knowledge sharing, inter-municipal cooperation, and the use of both centralized and decentralized systems to improve sustainability. Key recommendations include adopting the 2024 Master Plan for Agglomerations, developing entity-level sludge management plans, and bypassing traditional linear models in favor of circular resource recovery for water, nutrients, and energy.

Bosnia and Herzegovina faces a significant investment gap of EUR 3.5 billion to meet EU wastewater standards, with only 20 operating treatment plants. The report compares the fragmented institutional landscape of Bosnia and Herzegovina with Sweden's more integrated approach, highlighting the role of trade organizations like Svenskt Vatten and inter-municipal collaborations like NSVA. It suggests that Bosnia and Herzegovina can 'leapfrog' traditional centralized systems by adopting circular resource recovery principles for water, nutrients, and energy, and by tailoring solutions to the specific scale of urban and rural agglomerations.

The report evaluates the alignment of national laws in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia with EU environmental standards. While some progress in transposition is noted, the analysis identifies systemic failures in enforcement, inadequate institutional capacity, and significant gaps in the implementation of the Water Framework, Nature, and Environmental Liability Directives, which hinder the protection of rivers from hydropower development.

The report evaluates the alignment of national laws in six Western Balkan countries with EU environmental directives (EIA, SEA, ELD, WFD, Habitats, and Birds). While some progress in transposition is noted, systemic failures persist, including a lack of secondary legislation, inadequate institutional capacity, and poor data quality in environmental reports. Key issues include the exclusion of small hydropower plants from screening in some countries, restricted access to justice for strategic assessments, and the failure to designate Natura 2000 sites. Montenegro is the only country with functioning environmental liability regulations.

The report details a project (2019-2023) to integrate GESEP considerations into Bosnia and Herzegovina's environmental strategy. It outlines a three-level approach targeting the project team, activities, and outputs, resulting in a 'socially aware' strategy. Key outcomes include increased stakeholder awareness and the incorporation of GESEP principles into national development planning laws, though the report notes challenges such as COVID-19 limitations and a lack of redistributive measures.

The interim evaluation of the LCPB project in Bosnia and Herzegovina indicates that the project is generally on track, having retrofitted 161 public buildings and reduced 462,412 tCO2eq. Key achievements include the adoption of 34 Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs) and the registration of 3,944 buildings in the Energy Management Information System (EMIS). However, the evaluation warns that the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic have introduced risks, including rising material costs and skilled labor shortages, which may jeopardize the final greenhouse gas emission targets.

The author contends that Bosnia-Herzegovina is facing a severe crisis of state stability, not due to dormant ethnic conflict, but because of a political elite that uses ethnic nationalism to maintain power and protect clientelist networks. The document highlights the destabilising actions of leaders like Milorad Dodik and Dragan Čović, who use blocking tactics and threats of secession to extort the national government. It criticises the international community, specifically the EU and US, for a passive 'carrot and stick' approach and superficial negotiations that fail to deter unconstitutional politics, warning that the current trajectory could lead to the de facto secession of the Republika Srpska and the dissolution of the state.

The report analyzes how multidimensional inequality and poverty in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) intersect with environmental risks and policy. It finds that marginalized groups—including Roma communities, women, the elderly, and persons with disabilities—face disproportionate exposure to pollution and hazards, while social norms limit their access to natural resources. The document argues that environmental policies can either exacerbate these inequalities (e.g., through energy taxes) or mitigate them (e.g., through energy efficiency in social housing). It recommends collecting disaggregated data, increasing the representation of disadvantaged groups in decision-making, and implementing gender-responsive budgeting to ensure a more inclusive and effective environmental strategy.

The document analyzes how socio-economic disadvantages drive air pollution and increase vulnerability to its health impacts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, highlighting the specific risks faced by women, the elderly, and Roma communities.

The BiH ESAP 2030+ is a strategic initiative supported by the Stockholm Environment Institute and funded by the Embassy of Sweden to align Bosnia and Herzegovina's environmental frameworks with European Union policies. The plan, developed between September 2019 and spring 2022, covers seven EU environmental policy areas and consists of four jurisdiction-specific strategies for the BiH level, the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska, and Brčko District. The process employs a participatory approach involving 28 thematic working groups and two rounds of public consultations to define goals, targets, and measures to improve the environment and public health by 2032.

The strategy outlines a comprehensive plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina to transition to a green economy by 2030 and achieve significant emission reductions by 2050. It identifies high vulnerability in agriculture, water management, and forestry due to increasing temperature extremes and erratic precipitation. The document proposes a low-carbon development path focusing on replacing inefficient coal-fired power plants with renewables, improving building energy efficiency, and modernising transport. A total investment of approximately BAM 16.7 billion is estimated for mitigation and BAM 170 million for adaptation by 2030.