In the framework of the PlanCoast project, the Ministry of Civil Engineering and Physical Planning of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNC) organised a conference on June 9-10, 2008. The first part was divoted to the presentation of and discussion on new projects that this coastal region of Bosnia and Herzegovina could propose to various calls of proposals and/or to participate with other Adriatic countries/partners in EU projects, such as IPA. Two priorities have been identified by the HNC representatives, i.e. establishment of the monitoring system for the quality of the sea water and the other for the initiation of the ICZM process in the coastal areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Various projects/partners were identified and will be further elaborated in the weeks to come.
The second part of the conference focused on ICZM experience and on the activities the HNC could undertake in this field. PAP/RAC had a presentation on the activities related to ICZM and on PAP/RAC and MAP activities, stressing particularly the Protocol on ICZM. Experiences from Montenegro, Slovenia and Italy were persented in the continuation of the conference. The initial steps in the preparation of spatial planning documents for the Neum municipality were presented by the host.
From the discussion that followed it was evident that there was a great interest on the Bosnia and Herzegovina side to initiate the activities that would contribute to the ICZM Protocol and related documents implementation. However, it was also evident that the information on the previous and current MAP and PAP/RAC activities reaching this Canton (the only coastal one of Bosnia and Herzegovina) are rather poor and that the communication between the 'central' Ministry in Sarajevo and the 'regional' (Cantonal) Ministry in Mostar should improve. The experiences from other Adriatic countries were very positive for the Cantonal participants as they clearly showed that with the assistance and involvement of MAP-PAP/RAC crucial and important achievements in the field could be accomplished.
