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.
Grant amount: US$199,070
Implementation period: March 21, 2023 - June 30, 2025
Disbursement: US$199,070 (as of December 31, 2025)
Bank Lending Operation: Solid Waste Management and Environmental Excellence Project (P500526)
o Loan amount: US$65.6 million o Board approval: April 22, 2025
The grant supported the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina in its preparatory work to develop an integrated solid waste management (SWM) system to be implemented under the Solid Waste Management and Environmental Excellence Project (SWEEP).
SWEEP contributes to the development of sustainable and climate-resilient SWM systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina by addressing infrastructure, institutional, and operational challenges across the sector. The project invests in improved waste collection, recycling, composting, and environmentally sound disposal facilities while strengthening policies, financial sustainability, public awareness, and local capacity to advance circular economy practices. By helping municipalities improve waste management services and environmental performance, SWEEP aims to create cleaner and more livable urban environments, support economic development, and contribute to the country's climate and European integration goals.
This ECA C&CC grant consisted of two components. Component 1 focused on conducting a solid waste behavior change analysis. Based on the recognition of the fundamental role of citizen engagement in successfully transforming waste management systems and reducing emissions, the aim was to understand how to successfully change behavior and how to align incentives to build low-carbon resilient waste management systems. Component 2 activities, as defined in the grant proposal, were initially intended to focus on piloting a behavior change plan. However, these activities were subsequently dropped, as the pilot interventions were incorporated into the SWEEP project itself.
The grant closed on June 30, 2025, having successfully achieved the grant objectives. A household survey and multiple focus group sessions covering eight cities have been designed and conducted. The findings of the behavioral analysis fed into the recommendations, which successfully informed the SWEEP preparation dialogue with the Federation Ministry of Environment and Tourism. A SWEEP sub-component was created to pilot behavioral change initiatives. The pilots aim at enhancing source-separation and recycling, aligning incentives to develop low-carbon, resilient waste management systems. The grant thereby directly contributed to the sustainability of SWM investments under SWEEP.
Grant amount: US$200,000
Implementation period: April 15, 2024 - August 31, 2026
Disbursement: US$28,414 (as of December 31, 2025)
Bank Lending Operation: Geospatial Infrastructure and Valuation Enhancement Project
The grant supports urban development and climate change initiatives with geospatial data for building formalization efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina carried out under the Geospatial Infrastructure and Valuation Enhancement Project (GIVE).
GIVE promotes land sector reforms by strengthening geospatial information systems, property registration, and real estate valuation capacities across both the Federation of and Republika Srpska. The project enhances the availability, interoperability, and accessibility of land and spatial data through improved digital services, key registers, modern valuation methodologies, and investments in geospatial infrastructure. It also strengthens institutional capacity and public service delivery, including the creation of a centralized archive and digital records system that will improve land administration, support investment decisions, and contribute to sustainable economic development.
This ECA C&CC grant consists of three components. 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 should 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. Based on the review and these insights, Component 3 will then provide technical support to the Federal Administration for Geodetic and Real Property Affairs to improve its existing and future services.
A review of the existing legal and regulatory framework for building informality in all ten cantons was completed. The review’s findings are integrated into the technical specifications for the building register currently being drafted. The review was further presented at the Build Back Better Self-Made Cities Conference in Athens in June 2025, that aimed to identify actions for formalizing informal constructions and improving geospatial ecosystems, land tools, and land policies, all of which directly align with the grant objectives.
