Environmental politics in the Western Balkans: river basin management and non-governmental organisation (NGO) activity in Herzegovina

Abstract

Environmental activism across the Western Balkan successor states of the former Yugoslavia, particularly in Bosnia–Herzegovina and Serbia, remains in its infancy. Compared to the movements of central and Eastern Europe, the development of environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs) in these states appears to be much slower. From the empirical perspective of non-governmental organisation activity concerning river basin management in Herzegovina, the factors that have determined the pace and nature of environmental politics in the region are explored. The most significant constraints on ENGO activity relate specifically to the political legacy of conflict and the turbulent recent history of this region. The ethnicisation of party politics, the weak regulatory capacity of state authorities and the obfuscation of power, the specific model of political economy and the absence of green politics at the time of the collapse of socialism coalesce to inhibit the emergence of politically engaged and professionalised green advocacy networks.

Keywords:

• Western Balkans
• river management
• post-conflict
• advocacy networks

Notes

 1. Our research was undertaken as part of the EU Compliance in Bosnia–Herzegovina and Serbia (ECoBHAS) project funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (Grant no. 127796).

 2. The 2006 NGO Directory of South Eastern Europe compiled by REC can be found online at: http://archive.rec.org/REC/Programs/NGO_support/PDF/ngo_directory_5th_ed.pdf

 3. See the 2009 Progress Report for Bosnia–Herzegovina: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2009/ba_rapport_2009_en.pdf

 4. For example, see the pamphlet published by the Regional Environmental Center entitled ‘Soil Salinisation and Agriculture in the Neretva Delta’.

 5. Interview with the Local MPDL Coordinator, 31 March 2009, Trebinje; Interview with the President of Zelena Brda, 2 April 2009, Trebinje.

 6. Interview with the President of Zelena Brda.

 7. ‘CEZ Pulls Out from 1.4 Bln Eur Bosnia Project’, Balkan Insight, 29 January 2009.

 8. Interview with a staff member at REC, 5 November 2008, Banja Luka.

 9. Local NGOs in Herzegovina were interviewed in 2008 and 2009 to ascertain their role in river basin management. The interviewees were not limited to representatives of local environmental civil society organisations, since a significant portion of the non-governmental work in environmental protection is carried out by other groups, such as farming, mountaineering, or caving associations. Organisations that were interviewed for this paper were: Studio 88 – Mostar (15 February 2008), Bura (15 February 2008), Eko-Jasenica (15 February 2008), ASPEEKT (15 February 2008), WWF – Sarajevo (13 May 2008), WWF/REC – Mostar (15 May 2008), Devon Karst Society (24 October 2008), REC – Banja Luka (5 November 2008), Ekotim (6 November 2008), MPDL – Trebinje (31 March 2009), Eko-Most (1 April 2009), Zelena Brda (2 April 2009), and Vucji Zub (2 April 2009).

10. Interview with the President of ASPEEKT (Dreznica), 15 February 2008, Mostar.

11. Interview with the President of Ekotim, 6 November 2008, Sarajevo.

12. Interview with the President of Zelena Brda.

13. Nedim Dervisbegovic, ‘Bosnian rafters say paradise under threat’, Reuters, 23 November 2006.

14. Interview with the President of Zelena Brda; interview with staff from WWF, 13 May 2008, Sarajevo; interview with staff from WWF/REC, 15 May 2008, Mostar; interview with the President of Bura, 15 February 2008, Mostar.

15. Interview with the Local MPDL Coordinator.

16. Interview with the President of Zelena Brda; interview with the Honorary President of the Devon Karst Society, 24 October 2008, London.

17. Interview with the Local MPDL Coordinator.

18. Interview with the Local MPDL Coordinator.

19. Interview with a staff member from Zelena Brda, 2 April 2009, Trebinje.

20. Interview with the President of Eko-Most, 1 April 2009, Mostar.

21. Interview with the Local MPDL Coordinator.

22. Interview with the President of Eko-Jasenica, 15 February 2008, Mostar.

23. Interview with the Honorary President of the Devon Karst Society.

24. Interview with the President of Zelena Brda.

25. Interview with the President of Zelena Brda.

26. Interview with the President of Eko-Jasenica.

27. Interview with the President of ASPEEKT.

28. Interview with the Local MPDL Coordinator.

29. Interview with a staff member from Zelena Brda.

30. Interview with the President of Zelena Brda.

31. Interview with the Director of Studio 88, 15 February 2008; interview with the President of Eko-Jasenica.

32. Interview with the Local MPDL Coordinator.

33. In the 2008 local elections, the only RS municipality returning an SDP mayor was Vukosavlje, where the winning candidate was Bosniak. With the exception of Pelagicevo (where there was an independent candidate), all of the other 40 winning mayoral candidates in RS were from ethnic parties. All eight of the municipalities in FBiH that returned SDP mayors have a Bosniak majority. With the exception of the winning independent candidate in Bosanska Krupa, all of the 70 remaining municipalities in FBiH have mayors from ethnic parties.

34. Results for the 2006 general election can be found on the Bosnia–Herzegovina Electoral Commission website at: http://www.izbori.ba/rezultati/konacni/

35. Interview with the President of Ekotim.

36. Interview with the President of Zelena Brda.

37. Interview with the Honorary President of the Devon Karst Society; interview with the President of Zelena Brda.

38. Interview with the Local MPDL Coordinator.

39. Report from CEE Bankwatch, Center for Environment and Ekotim fact-finding mission on Corridor Vc motorway project, 14–15 September 2009.

40. Interview with the President of Ekotim, 8 October 2009; interview with the President of Kulturno-Umjetnicko Drustvo ‘Blagaj’, Blagaj, 18 March 2010.

41. Interview with the President of Zelena Brda.

42. Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance.

43. European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights.

44. The Green 10 is a group of large international and regional ENGOs (most of which have offices in Brussels) that are involved in directly interacting the EU regarding environmental policy. These organisations are: BirdLife Europe, Friends of the Earth (Europe), WWF (European Policy Office), Climate Action Network (Europe), Transport & Environment, Health & Environment Alliance, International Friends of Nature, CEE Bankwatch Network, Greenpeace (European Unit), and the European Environmental Bureau.