Cross-Border Environmental Pollution Between the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: Three Case Studies

Sa？etak The development of modern society is accompanied by a growing number and types of risks. This paper looks at cross-border environmental pollution as one such risk. Coping with pollution by limiting state’s effort on its territory alone is insufficient as pollution arises and spreads everywhere and cannot be restricted by state borders. For this reason, cooperation between states is crucial, including the definition of standards and mechanisms for pollution prevention and reduction. This article analyses three case studies of cross-border environmental pollution between the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: air pollution in Croatian city of Slavonski Brod, caused by the emissions of harmful substances into the air from the Oil Refinery Brod in Bosnia and Herzegovina; the floods that hit the entire region in May 2014; and the creation of the so-called “seventeenth lake” in Plitvice Lakes National Park as the results of unsuitable wastewater, which caused the pollution of drinking water source in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian city of Biha？. In all three cases the specific context of cross-border pollution is described, as well as key social actors involved in the problem and its resolution, and the ways in which the countries are coping with cross-border pollution. Additionally, European Union’s environmental legislation and international environmental conventions, which are relevant for environmental legislations of both states, are also analysed. By analysing these three cases, we conclude that both states need to improve their environmental policies, with a particular emphasis on the importance of intergovernmental collaboration for achieving a more effective risk management of cross-border pollution