Running water builds security. Switzerland strengthens municipalities in Bosnia.
Mile Prokopić has had no water at home in Prijedor since 1992. Today he has running water again – thanks to a project that does far more than just lay pipes. The Swiss Municipal Environmental Governance project strengthens local governance in 30 municipalities, brings people together across ethnic boundaries and demonstrates that functioning communities strengthen trust in democracy, the rule of law and human rights – priorities of Switzerland in its role as chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2026.
Mile Prokopić has lived in the Čirkin Polje neighbourhood in Prijedor, a town in north-western Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 1992. For 30 years he had no mains water supply. “Some houses managed to connect to the mains themselves, but I and a few other households had no water at all,” he says. Six people from two families obtained their water from a well that Prokopić had dug himself.
Today, construction work is under way in Čirkin Polje. New pipes are being laid to replace a dilapidated network that lost up to 80% of its water through leaks. Some 355 households will benefit from the reconstruction, with 30 families in a difficult financial situation getting access to mains water for the first time. “The water that is now being installed is a lifeline for this neighbourhood,” says Prokopić.
The project behind these changes is called Municipal Environmental Governance – or MEG. It is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and jointly financed by Switzerland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and the EU. In its second phase (2021–25), MEG is working with 30 municipalities across Bosnia and Herzegovina – in both entities of the country, the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska.
More than infrastructure: governance from the bottom up
MEG doesn't just lay pipes: the project also serves to strengthen the administrative capacities of the municipalities – in planning, budgeting and transparency. It promotes citizen engagement, including via the online platform eCitizen (www.ecitizen.ba), and harmonises local regulations with EU standards. Rajka Zdjelar, project coordinator in Prijedor, sums it up as follows: the city's strategy is to ensure that all citizens have access to drinking water around the clock. MEG provides the means and the knowledge for this to be achieved.
In the first funding cycle, eight municipalities – including Prnjavor, Žepče, Prijedor and Trebinje – received a total of USD 950,000 for environmental infrastructure projects. The awarding of funding follows a performance principle: the more consistently a municipality implements the agreed reforms, the more funding it can apply for. Mato Zovko, the mayor of Žepče, explains that the project has made his municipality more open and prepared to face new challenges on the road to European integration – and to harmonise its own administration with European standards.
The next generation: young professionals for the water sector
The youth component of the project is particularly noteworthy. Young professionals from water supply companies in 30 partner municipalities have set up their own subcommittees in the water associations of both entities. They exchange knowledge, develop innovative solutions and are working on a ‘Water Academy’ – a training programme for the next generation of engineers. “Without young skilled workers, there is no future,” says Petar Topić, one of the initiators.
The fact that these young people from both entities – and thus across the country's ethnic dividing lines – are working together on the future of the water supply is anything but a matter of course in Bosnia and Herzegovina. More than a quarter of a century after the war, ethnic division continues to characterise the political landscape. The fact that municipalities from the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska are working together within the framework of MEG is therefore a remarkable contribution to building trust.
Development as security work
What does all this have to do with security? A lot. Security is not only created through diplomacy or military means. It also arises where there are functioning communities, where citizens have confidence in their institutions and where people from different backgrounds work together to find solutions. Switzerland's engagement in Bosnia and Herzegovina shows that development cooperation is security work. It builds trust, strengthens the state from the bottom up and creates the basis for long-term stability.
For Mile Prokopić in Prijedor, this is not an abstract formula. He is waiting for the work to be completed so that he – as a citizen of Prijedor – can finally have access to the municipal water supply. “I can hardly wait,” he says. His statement contains more than just a sense of impatience: underlying it is the confidence that the state will deliver.
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