By Mona Dobrescu

The World Bank has approved a US$3.4 million Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant for the Forest and Mountain Protected Areas Project for Bosnia and
Herzegovina (BiH). The Project will assist the Government in conserving its globally significant biodiversity in critical forests and mountain ecosystems.

The Project will also help BiH on its path towards European Union integration through support to the Government in meeting the EU nature and biodiversity policy (Natura 2000) requirements.

The Forest and Mountain Protected Areas Project will help address threats to biodiversity in BiH by promoting ecosystem management and by expanding the Protected Area (PA) system to a level reflecting local needs and regional averages, according to the World Bank and the GEF. This is especially critical for BiH, which has the highest proportion of threatened plant species in any European country, yet less than one percent of its land is currently set aside as protected areas -- a striking contrast to a regional average of 7 percent.