Water Resources in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Water resources management has century’s long tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina. More than half country’s border are rivers (Sava, Una and Drina), and the far south, Bosnia and Herzegovina have access to the Adriatic Sea, a length of 20 km. Hydrographically, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) belong to Black (75%) and Adriatic Sea (25%) basins. Due to the location in the southeast of Europe and the central part of the Balkan Peninsula, there are three climate zones. Average yearly precipitation in the territory of B&H is 1.250 l/m² which theoretically results with an average yearly potential outflow of 2.030 m³/s. However, it is estimated that only 57% of total precipitation water (1.155 m³/s) outflows from the territory of B&H (403 m³/s outflows towards the Adriatic Sea and 722 m³/s outflows towards the Sava river basin and to the Black Sea). The relative annual availability of water resources per capita rank B&H in the countries of “average water availability” between 5.000–10.000 m³/capita. Rivers in B&H are characterized by high gradients and relatively high flow rate (22 l/s/km²). Since the Dayton Agreement, there is no clear organized structure for water management at the state level. This is certainly a major challenge since the entities in B&H have their own separate constitutions and separate legislation, including water management legislation. Differences in entity’s water management structures make water resources management complex and often inefficient.