Today in Jablanica, the Ambassador of Switzerland to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Daniel Hunn, and the Mayor of Jablanica, Damir Šabanović, showed their commitment to the “GoGreen Initiative” by symbolically planting black pine seedlings.
The Municipality of Jablanica, as part of the UNDP’s “Initiative for a Greener and Sustainable Future”, has committed to planting at least 1,000 seedlings this year. Switzerland will co-finance 300 seedlings through the Integrated Local Development Project (ILDP), a joint project of the Swiss Government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“The Swiss Embassy has joined the “Initiative for a Greener and Sustainable Future” because we are strongly committed to protecting the environment through various projects and initiatives that Switzerland supports in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We also integrate disaster risk reduction measures and environmental protection measures whenever possible in our interventions. Switzerland is a long-term partner of the Municipality of Jablanica in the field of local government, improving strategic development planning and democratic participation of citizens in defining development priorities and improving the quality of life in Jablanica. I am looking forward to continuing our cooperation in the future“, said the Ambassador of Switzerland to BiH, Daniel Hunn, on the occasion of his first official visit to the Municipality of Jablanica.
The goal of the Initiative for a Greener and Sustainable Future in 2021 is to plant 40,000 seedlings by engaging up to 40 local governments throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina to participate in this endeavor.
“In the post-war years in the area of the municipality of Jablanica and the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, illegal logging was very active, which resulted in the creation of bare land, soil erosion, air, soil and water pollution. In addition to uncontrolled deforestation, forests were also destroyed in fires. In this sense, it is completely logical for the Municipality of Jablanica to join the “Initiative for a greener and sustainable future”. I would like to express gratitude to the partners, the Government of Switzerland and ILDP, and especially the Swiss Ambassador Daniel Hunn for recognizing our efforts to restore forests and thus help preserve sustainable future,” said Damir Šabanović, Mayor of Jablanica.
This initiative seeks to address the problem of air, soil and water pollution. Activities such as planting trees can have a significant impact if undertaken regularly and on a larger scale. Trees prevent landslides and soil erosion, reduce the risk of floods, enrich the air, and help fight climate change. The seedlings will be planted in city parks, children’s playgrounds, picnic areas, schoolyards, kindergartens, hospitals and public institutions, river banks, industrial zones and other locations.
