OHR’s Statement at the International Agency’s Joint Press Conference in Banja Luka

PDHR Hays to Host Environmental Roundtable in Bihac

The Principal Deputy High Representative, Donald Hays, will visit Bihac on Monday. He will meet municipal leaders and members of the Federation parliament for a working breakfast, during which the principal topic will be how to make municipalities more effective in delivering services to citizens. Media are welcome to cover the whole of this breakfast.

From 10.00 until 12.00 at the Hotel Ada in Bihac, Ambassador Hays will chair a roundtable on ways of combating BiH’s severe environmental pollution problem – particularly water pollution. The overwhelming majority of municipalities in BiH are not served by any water sanitation whatsoever. Major rivers and lakes are polluted with human waste. If nothing is done, this situation will deteriorate further with the resurgence of industrial activity. Next Monday’s roundtable in Bihac will analyse the problem and examine the ways in which local authorities can raise funds for infrastructure investments that will ensure that residents have clean and safe water supplies.

Media are invited to cover the whole of this meeting. In the final half hour of the roundtable journalists will be welcome to ask questions.

On his way back to Sarajevo, Ambassador Hays will visit the Greenwater bottling factory in Kulen Vakuf, at 13.00. The factory, opened with Croatian and Austrian investment backing, is capable of producing 100 bottles of water per minute but is unable to export because of the failure of the BiH Parliament to enact a Law on Bottled Water.

Media are welcome to accompany Ambassador Hays during his tour of the factory. At the conclusion of his visit he will make a short statement.