SARAJEVO - The Canton of Sarajevo in central Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday unveiled a new GIS-based emissions registry and pollutant information system, a major step towards improving air quality and achieving climate neutrality goals.
This digital tool provides a systematic and spatial overview of all emission sources in the entire canton. It establishes a fully digitised and comprehensive system for monitoring annual air emissions, bringing the region up to standards common in more advanced European cities.
The system includes dispersion maps for key pollutants such as PM10, SO2 and NOx, enabling the precise identification of pollution hotspots across the canton.
Raduska Cupac, UNDP representative, said the system offers a transparent and detailed view of pollution sources and the data will be crucial for decision-making in areas such as urban development, energy, transport and public health.
The project is supported by the Swedish government and focuses on public access to environmental information. Birgitte Jansson, Deputy Head of Development Cooperation at the Swedish Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, noted that the initiative will enable decision-makers and citizens to address air pollution.
In recent years, as temperatures have dropped and the heating season has begun, cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have faced a sharp deterioration in air quality, with Sarajevo among the most polluted cities.
A World Bank report published on 3 January revealed that many residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina are exposed to more toxic particulate matter (PM) air pollution than their neighbours in Western Europe. The main contributors to air pollution are the burning of solid fuels - often of poor quality - for domestic heating and cooking, the prevalence of inefficient stoves and boilers, industry and an ageing vehicle fleet.
Xinhua /gnews.cz-jav
Czech 
English 
Spanish 
French 
Italian 
Russian 
Chinese 
German