Round table: Multidisciplinary approach for prevention and response to natural disasters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, experiences from Jablanica, Konjic and Fojnica after the October 2024 floods
Author(s): Merima Sahinagic – Isovic; Marko Cecez
Date: 15.11.2024.
Long story short:
On November 12, 2024, a round table entitled “Multidisciplinary approach for prevention and response to natural disasters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, experiences from Jablanica, Konjic and Fojnica after the October floods of 2024” was held at the premises of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Federation of BiH, organized by the Chamber of Engineers of the Federation of BiH and the Association of Course Attendees of the Japan International Cooperation Agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina JICA Alumni. Representative from Dzemal Bijedic University prof.dr. Merima Sahinagic – Isovic attended the round table.
Main Content:
The aim of the gathering is to exchange ideas and experiences about damaged traffic infrastructure, destroyed communication systems, landslides and damage to other construction facilities.
The round table brought together a large number of participants, the President of the Chamber of Engineers, Dr. Sanela Klarić, welcomed the attendees and emphasized the importance of the Chamber of Engineers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the recent natural disaster that hit the areas of Jablanica, Konjic, Fojnica, Kiseljak and Kreševo.
After the opening, presentations continued in which the Vice President of the Chamber of Engineers, Mr. Dr. Edvin Škaljo, presented data on the overall engagement of the interdisciplinary teams of the Chamber of Engineers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field, the President of the main section of geological engineers, Mr. Enes Šerifović, presented the situation on the field in Konjic, a member of the Chamber of Engineers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Albin Beganović, presented the situation on the field in Fojnica, a member of the Chamber of Engineers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Vice President of the JICA Alumni in BiH, Mr. Toni Nikolić, and a member of the executive board of the main section of civil engineers, Mr. Neven Pavlinović, presented the situation on the field in Jablanica, and a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH, Mr. Dr. Samir Huseinbašić, Head of the Department for Peace and Security, who presented the topic: Effective disaster risk reduction towards greater disaster resilience in Bosnia and Herzegovina with an overview of study visits to Japan.
The participants were informed that the Chamber of Engineers of the Federation of BiH was present in the field during the state of emergency by order of the Federal Civil Protection Administration with over 400 hours of engineering engagement. There were 32 people in the field and only on the first day after the publication of the Civil Protection Order, over 100 volunteers came forward.
The engineers wrote daily reports on their work and sent them primarily to the Civil Protection Agency but also to other interested parties. A total of 25 reports with descriptions and proposals on over 100 micro locations.
The participants were able to convince themselves that our society has experts gathered around the Chamber of Engineers of the Federation of BiH from various engineering professions who know what and how to do in crisis situations. Therefore, everyone agreed on the need for a Law on the Chamber of Engineers that will regulate the status and rights of various engineering professions. Specifically, in the case of floods, the greatest burden was borne by civil engineers, namely hydraulic engineers, geotechnicians and structural engineers, but also geological, safety and occupational health engineers, traffic engineers, telecommunications engineers, electrical engineers, etc.
prof.dr. Merima Sahinagic – Isovic initiated discussion on the topic of Solidarity Fund, especially do we have enough time to prepare the documentation and relevant input data. In the discussion that developed afterwards, the participants were informed about the dynamics of the application before the Council of Ministers to the EU Solidarity Fund, and cooperation between both the Chamber of Engineers and the Federal Administration of the Czech Republic was agreed.
Impact on Industry:
The need for the procurement of rain cloud radars was also indicated, which would provide more precise forecasts of the upcoming rains, then the need for 3D simulations that would mark endangered areas depending on the volume of rain, and finally the need for an alert system based on a mobile network that sends alarms to areas (obtained from 3D simulations) when the volume of rain indicates that flooding will occur.
Conclusion:
It was stated that the Law on Forests must be urgently adopted.
It was also noted that periods of 10 years can now be seen in which major floods occur at least once, and Bosnian and Herzegovina society is called upon to conduct analyses of existing strategies and crisis plans in order to mitigate future disasters with catastrophic consequences to the greatest extent possible.