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Welcome to the online map of Sweden’s development cooperation

Here you can find information about Sweden’s development cooperation in Bosnia and Hercegovina, search for specific projects and see where they are located.

Instructions for Use

The map shows the geographical locations where the Swedish projects are implemented. By clicking on a circle on the map, you can see projects implemented in a certain geographical area. By clicking on the icon with the “+” on the map, a factsheet on the project in concern is shown. In the left hand column, filters can be used to narrow down the search where projects matching the selected filters will show up on the map.

To return to the start, press Reset Filter at the bottom of the column. The column between the filters and the map show the list of projects. This column can be hidden through the blue arrow. By clicking on a project name, you will also see the factsheet of the project.

Sweden’s development cooperation in Bosnia and Hercegovina

The main goal for Sweden’s support is to improve the living conditions for people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a way to achieve this, the main focus is to bring the country closer to the European Union (EU). We support the country through various partners and types of support such as public institutions, civil society, the private sector and international actors. Sweden’s perspective is long-term and anchored in European and global norms and values, such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law, gender equality and sustainable development (environmentally, socially and economically). We always try to integrate these perspectives into our development cooperation. We strive for a trusting relationship with a breadth of different partners, where we openly discuss different issues, such as transparency and the fight against corruption. Sweden seeks an inclusive approach and looks for changes that include vulnerable and marginalized groups in the society. We believe that changes are more sustainable if ideas and solutions are defined and driven locally, and we therefore emphasize the importance of local ownership. We also believe it is important to support initiatives over geographic lines and we strive to support changes in the whole country.

Looking back, Sweden’s support to Bosnia and Herzegovina started in 1994. During the initial years, the focus was on humanitarian aid for the reconstruction of houses and helping people to return to their villages after the 1992-1995 war. In the early 2000s, the development cooperation turned into more long-term support. Since 2014, Sweden's focus has been on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s accession to the EU, in line with the country's formal application for EU membership. The total Swedish grant assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina since its inception in 1994 now exceeds SEK 5 billion (or approximately 0,5 billion EURO). In recent years, Sweden has provided around 150-200 million SEK annually (around 15-20 million EURO) as financial support for development cooperation. Bosnia and Herzegovina also benefits from Sweden’s support to regional cooperation in the Western Balkans.

Today, Swedish support to Bosnia and Herzegovina – through the projects visible on the map – is focused on four areas: Human rights, democracy, the rule of law and gender equality, Environment and climate, Economic development, and Peaceful and inclusive societies.

Openaid.se provides more information about Swedish development cooperation.

Support areas

Human rights, democracy, the rule of law and gender equality

Within this broad area Sweden supports good governance, increased respect for human rights and the rule of law, as well as increased transparency and accountability and reduced corruption, and better prospects for a gender equal society. This is done through balancing the support to institutions and reforms on the one hand, and support to civil society and independent media in their role as watchdogs on the other hand. The support focuses gender equality, anti-corruption, the rights of vulnerable groups and minorities. In addition, there is extensive support for reforms of public administration where Swedish authorities share Swedish working methods and experiences of EU adaptation in twinning relations with their counterparts in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sweden also supports the implementation of EU regulations on municipality level and local governments.

Peaceful and inclusive
societies

Sweden work in an integrative way to contribute to better conditions for inclusive reconciliation processes and conflict and violence prevention. The support is directed towards actors and processes that focus on peacebuilding and prevention of violent conflict. Examples are the women’s rights movement and environmental civil society movement that come together in solving joint challenges, or support to initiatives that brings youth together regardless of geographical and ethnical background.

Environment
and Climate

Sweden supports Bosnia and Herzegovina to reduce environmental and climate impact as well as manage and use natural resources in a sustainable way. The support is also about increasing the resilience to climate change and strengthen conditions for the protection, conservation and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems. Sweden supports the country to find a way out of coal dependency and a just transition to carbon neutrality, low greenhouse gas emissions and an environmentally sustainable future. Part of the support is focused on implementing reforms and improving governance and management in the field of environment and climate change. It includes initiatives to increase Bosnia and Herzegovina’s investments in environmental infrastructure and to make them sustainable in the long term, complying with EU directives within the field of environment and climate. Sweden also support the strengthening of the role of civil society in holding the governments accountable, as well as in building environmental awareness and commitment among the country's citizens.

Economic
development

The focus is on creating productive employment with decent working conditions, economic integration with the EU, and development of an open market economy. Swedish support covers the spectrum from direct support to small and medium-sized enterprises to make them competitive, over support for innovation and young entrepreneurs, to influencing policy and creating a business-friendly environment. We also provide support to marginalized groups and people far from the labour market to have better economic opportunities. The support also includes efforts to increase access to affordable credit to enable a graduation away from development assistance dependence to commercial finance. In the long run, the support is intended to create opportunities for people to stay and contribute to the country's development. The support is also expected to help create new opportunities for people and actors to contribute to a more resilient and sustainable future, as the support is focused on a just transition, green growth and circular economy.