The ECA Cities & Climate Change Program provides targeted technical assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina to strengthen urban resilience, climate-smart infrastructure, and sustainable waste management systems, directly informing World Bank lending operations. The support is provided through two grants – one completed and one ongoing – as described below.
BiH I: Building a Low-carbon, Resilient Solid Waste Management System
At a Glance
Grant amount: US$200,000
Implementation: 03/21/2023-06/30/2025
Bank lending operation: Solid Waste Management and Environmental Excellence Project
Loan amount: US$67 million
Grant objective
The grant closed on June 30, 2025, having successfully achieved the objective of contributing to the design and sustainability of Solid Waste Management (SWM) investments to be funded under the Solid Waste Management and Environmental Excellence Project (SWEEP). A comprehensive behavioral change analysis for improved SWM solutions was completed. A dedicated component to support behavioral change initiatives was included into SWEEP.
BiH II: Strengthening Urban Resilience through Geospatial-based Building Formalization
At a Glance
Grant amount: US$200,000
Grant implementation period: April 15, 2024 – August 31, 2026
Bank lending operation: Geospatial Infrastructure and Valuation Enhancement Project (P180409)
Loan amount: US$24.9 million
Board approval: May 15, 2024
Grant objective
The grant’s objective is to support urban development and climate change initiatives with geospatial data for building formalization efforts carried out under the Geospatial Infrastructure and Valuation Enhancement Project (GIVE).
- Component 1 facilitates the execution of a comprehensive legal and regulatory review of existing procedures for building formalization in all ten cantons of Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly focusing on effective urban management in the context of persistent informality challenges. Additionally, the study will reference recent initiatives on addressing informality in Kosovo and Croatia.
- Component 2 focuses on stakeholder engagement activities to discuss the review’s findings and obtain practitioners’ feedback.
- Component 3 then provides technical support to the Federal Administration for Geodetic and Real Property Affairs (FGA) to improve its existing and future services.
Implementation progress
Under Component 1, the review of the existing legal and regulatory framework for building informality in all ten cantons was completed. The Bank team presented the results of the review at the Build Back Better Self-Made Cities Conference in Athens in June 2025.
Next steps
Based on findings from the recently conducted legal and institutional review, a proposed methodology for formalization of informal buildings in FBiH will be developed. This methodology will help provide tangible options for FBiH government stakeholders to consider for addressing informality. The methodology and subsequent stakeholder workshop will directly feed into Component 3 activities, which provide support to FGA.
Last Updated: May 15, 2026
