Analysis 3/16

Political Analysis
SDGs IN BIH
REFORM PROCESSES: LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND
Sarajevo, December 2016

Igor Kosi
Preparation and print: Best Solution Company Quantity: 150 pcs

Supported by:

This independent analysis was done by Foreign Policy Initiative BH

(FPI BH) nancially supported by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES).
Attitudes expressed in this publication are therefore attitudes of FPI
BH and do not express attitudes of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

Contact: info@vpi.ba www.vpi.ba

 Table of Contents
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 2
Bosnia And Herzegovina from Rio (1992) to New York (2015) ............................................................ 3
Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Millennium Development Goals ........................................................ 5
Development policies in BiH .................................................................................................................. 9
SDGs and the Reform Agenda: Synergies or Frictions? ....................................................................... 13
Are there obvious priority SDGs for Bosnia and Herzegovina? ........................................................... 19
Which practical steps have been taken to implement the SDGs in BiH so far? .................................... 25
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 28
Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 31
References ......................................................................................................................................... 31
List of Tables and Charts................................................................................................................... 35
APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................................... 36

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 Introduction

The United Nations Sustainable Development Summit was held in 2015 in New York. The
meeting was labelled as the largest gathering of the World leaders up to date and a big step
forward for humanity. The product of the summit was a new 2015-2030 Agenda for
sustainable development containing 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The agenda
was adopted unanimously by all 193 member states of the United Nations and like all of the
other member states of the UN, Bosnia and Herzegovina has endorsed and committed to the
implementation of this agenda. The new global policy framework follows the long path of
sustainable development policies of the UN which have started from the Earth Summit in
1992. As an universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all
people enjoy peace and prosperity, the SDGs are built upon their predecessors, the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were recognized as a success and a useful
tool in focusing achievement of specific development targets. During the period of the
implementation of MDG policies, Bosnia and Herzegovina has signed the Stabilization and
Association agreement with the European Union (2008). Following a seven year period
marked by political, social and economic turmoil, the agreement has finally entered into force
in 2015. New challenges for BiH lay ahead on the path towards EU integration, and the
Reform Agenda stands out among the policy frameworks to deal with these challenges.
This particular agenda, created by the IMF, World Bank, European Union and together with
local political elites in 2014, sets out the main plans for socio-economic and related reforms
of all levels of government. While the short-term Reform Agenda (2015-2018) is the most
prominent policy-framework for progress and development as of now, the implementation of
a far wider-ranging Reform Agenda, The Sustainable Development Goals, has started.

The Policy Analysis shall shed some light on this important long-term policy framework in a
political environment that is mostly preoccupied with day-to-day politics. The first part of the
analysis will focus on the review of the past trends regarding BiH and its development
policies. An overview of BiHs role in negotiations from Rio (1992) to New York (2015) will
be given, followed by the evaluation of progress that BiH had with the realization of the
MDGs. Advantages and disadvantages of previous Development Policies as well as the
obstacles and challenges BiH had to overcome with the implementation of MDGs will be
identified. The second part of the Analysis will focus on the evaluation of the SDGs trough
the policy framework of Reform Agenda, determining to which degree the SDGs are in

2
harmonization with current Development Policy in BiH. Such comparison will easily identify
the priority SDGs for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The overall goal of the analysis is to develop
suggestions and Policy Recommendations for BiH decision makers, international partners and
the UN-System regarding the successful implementation and fulfilment of the Sustainable
Development Goals.

Bosnia And Herzegovina from Rio (1992) to New York (2015)

In 1992 the UN Conference on Development and Humanity stands at a defining

Environment known as the Earth Summit was held moment in history. We are
in Rio de Janeiro. One of the results of the conference confronted with a perpetuation of
disparities between and within
was a non-binding voluntarily implemented action plan nations, a worsening of poverty,
titled Agenda 21. The tittle of the action plan, hunger, ill health and illiteracy, and
Agenda 21, had a specific meaning, with number the continuing deterioration of the
ecosystems on which we depend for
21 referring to the 21st century. The Agenda 21 our well-being. However,
would become one of the most significant UN integration of environment and
documents marking the beginning of UN policies development concerns and greater
attention to them will lead to the
towards sustainable development in 21st century. fulfilment of basic needs, improved
It would take time for Bosnia and Herzegovina to start living standards for all, better
protected and managed ecosystems
implementing the Agenda 21. Bosnia and
and a safer, more prosperous
Herzegovina became a member of United Nations on future. No nation can achieve this
22.05.1992. As a former republic of the Socialist on its own; but together we can - in
a global partnership for sustainable
Federal Republic of Jugoslavija (SFRJ), BiH also
development (United Nations,
became a contracting party for the conventions and 1992).
treaties ratified by SFRJ (MFA BiH, 2016). As the
Conference in Rio was held in June the same year, BiH was entering the third month of the
armed conflict, which would last until 1995. Consequently, during the Rio +5 Convention in
1997, the focus from the improvement of the sustainable development policies was shifted to
the rebuilding of the destroyed infrastructure and to the improvement of all aspects of state
governance (UNPAN, 2002). Numerous UN offices were established in BiH in the years
following the war; most notably the United Nations Development Programme in BiH,
established in 1996 with a goal of moving BiH from post-conflict recovery towards
sustainable development. In the year 2000, the UN Millennium Summit was held in New

3
York. The aim of the summit was to shape a broad vision of how to fight poverty in its many
dimensions and with regards to sustainable development in the 21st century.
The delegation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was present at the summit. At that time, BiH
ranked as a lower middle income country with a GDP of around 5.5 billion dollars (World
Bank, 2016). The integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina from within, the integration of
Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole into EuroAtlantic institutions and further socio-economic
development on the regional level were identified as the three factors of the highest
importantance for the future of BiH (A/55/PV.4, 2000). The result of the Summit was the
Millennium Declaration with 8 development goals in the centre, known as Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). All member states of the United Nations at that time, including
Bosnia and Herzegovina have committed to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals,
and therefore the MDGs became the most unversal development framework in the world for
the past 15 years.

At the Rio+20 Conference in Rio de Janeiro, BiH expressed its readiness to take and share
responsibilities regarding environmental issues, recognizing that no country can solve these
issues alone. As such, solving environmental issues require regional cooperation and green
infrastructure for BiH. It is important to note that cooperation with the EU was recognized as
integral for BiH in regards to environmental issues and that BiH supported the stance of the
EU in the negotiations (Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations BiH, 2012).
Therefore it can be concluded that BiH harmonized its position in regards to the drafting of a
document tittled The future we want (A/66/L.56) and in the creation of Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) with the European Union. Following Rio+20, the new 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development containing 17 SDGs was adopted unanimously by all
193 member states of the United Nations at the United Nations Sustainable Development
Summit in 2015 in New York. The BiH delegation recognized the importance of the Agenda
stating that previous agendas provided sufficiently solid foundation to transform the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) into a reality, rather than a utopia.
Again, the position of BiH was in the compliance with the position of the EU (A/70/PV.22).

4
 Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Millennium Development Goals

Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals represented an important development

policy for Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the country was recovering from the war. The MDGs
as such were created universally, the same
for each country, but targets to meet the
targets within the goals, were tailored for
each country specifically. The eight areas
which are covered by the MDGs are broad in
scope, with the main focus on the situation in
low-income countries. It is arguable to which
extent specific targets for broad goals are
actually useful for middle income countries
(European Commission, 2016). Even as BiH
was in the beginning phase of the policies of implementation regarding the fulfillment of
MDGs, the importance of certain targets within the areas was argued, due the fact that these
areas were already well developed, stating that the UN has defined these goals too general
(UNDP, 2003). Nevertheless, when it comes to these areas, keeping the present state and
achieving slight improvements was the main focus for BiH. In 2003, BiH has included MDG
indicators into the first Medium-Development Strategy for the period 2004-2007. As such,
achievement of the MDG targets was at the core of the strategy, becoming an integral part.
Despite the initially promising efforts, the 20082013 Development and Social Inclusion
Strategy never received the political endorsement of the Council of Ministers. (UNECE,
2015). The UN agencies in BiH were awarded with Joint UN Programmes valued at 25
million US$ funded by the Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund (MDG-F) for
the areas of Environment, Economic governance of water management, Culture and
development and Youth-employment-migration (UNDP, 2015).

It can be identified that BiH has not achieved any of the goals until 2013. All in all, around 30
percent of the targets within the goals were already achieved by 2014. 17 percent were likely,
while 17 percent present were potentially to be achieved. 36 percent of the targets were
unlikely to be achieved (see MDG progress in BiH table in the APENDIX).

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Goal by goal review

Goal 1: Eliminate extreme poverty and hunger - BiH has shown the worst performance in
regards to this goal. None of the targets have been met, and on the contrary, the situation is
worsening for 2/3 of the targets compared to the base year (see Appendix). According to the
World Bank, the poverty headcount ratio in BiH decreased from 18.2 percent to 17.9 percent
in 2011 with regards to national poverty lines1. Youth unemployment is a burning issue, with
the rates increasing by 23 percent from the year 2000 to overall 57,5 percent in 2014 (World
Bank, 2015). For the same year, the World average was 13,9 percent. Regular unemployment
rates are extremely high and combined with the fact that 57,5 percent of total unemployed
people are people from 15 to 24 this is deeply worrying. Since the GDP growth slowed and
eventually stopped, the number of people living below the absolute poverty line increased. All
of the indicators are alarming and unanimously point to systematic and deep problems in the
economy of BiH, which are not easily solvable.

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education - Some of the targets within the goals were
met with more ease, due to policies and practices which were inherited from the SFRJ (a
higher education enrollment rate). However, a lot of efforts were invested too. The
percentages of GDP allocated for education have been increasing throughout the 15 year
period resulting in visible improvement. Challenges lay ahead regarding pre-school
enrollment rates, minority groups, children with special needs and displaced persons. Goal 1
and Goal 2 are very closely interconnected. There is still a big gap between education and
employment, meaning that the demands of the labor market are presently not met with the
educational system. According to the European Delegation in BiH a strong link between
labor market and education is a central requirement for knowledge based economic growth in
BiH. This remains a big problem.

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women A law on gender equality exists
since 2003. The adoption of such law was a first step in combating gender inequality. The
Gender Equality Agency and numerous centers were opened throughout the years. A lot of
efforts have been made since then, but a lot of hard work is still ahead for BiH. The targets
have not been reached, but compared to the baseline, a positive change is evident. Although
the numbers of female students are higher than male students, the proportion is still
completely different on the labor market and when it comes to participation in public and

1
According to the UNDP MDGs Progress Report (2013), national poverty line was set at 235 BAM.

6
political life. None the less numbers have improved with the share of female representatives
in the Parliament of BiH and the share of women in wage employment increasing from 2000
onwards, but not evenly. The situation for Roma woman and girls is still very difficult.

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality - The targets have been met, but the data is particularly
misleading. From the statistics, it is evident that continuous improvement had been made,
with rates dropping annually. Unfortunately, although the goals have been met, there is still a
lot of work in this area. For example, child mortality among vulnerable groups, especially
Roma children is around 26.02, which is significantly higher than the average of 7.0.

Goal 5 and 6: Improve maternal health and Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
diseases - Most of the targets regarding these two goals have been met or kept under control.
In order to improve in regards to MDG 5 it is necessary to further educate the BiH population
and improve existing healthcare and social protection services. With regards to combating
HIV/AIDS, Voluntary Confidential Counseling and Testing Centers (VCCT) have been
formed, which was an important step in such process. Regarding tuberculosis prevalence, a
fairly developed network of health infrastructure exsists. BiH has a coordinating institution
for the monitoring and implementation of the global fund programme for the combat against
HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. On the other hand there are several potential risks
related to tuberculosis and the implementation of the National Tuberculosis Programme
(NTP). A relevant policy/strategic and regulatory framework needs to be further developed,
updated and aligned with NTP. Therefore, the statistics have varied over the past 15 years, but
in average kept under control and steady.

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability - Environmental policies are not mentioned

explicitly in the Constitution of BiH. Under Act III, Article (3) of the Constitution it stated
that all of the matters not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution are under the jurisdiction of
Entities and District Brcko. As such, the law on environment and all the other laws and
directives regarding environmental policies are under the jurisdiction of the entities.
Consequently, laws regarding environmental policies are not unified and mostly, inter-entity
bodies are created for the cooperation of the entities. The exception is in the fulfillment of
international obligations in the context of the environment, which are under the jurisdiction of
the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2003,
the National Environmental Action Plan was created, in which the adoption of legislative

2
UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2011. - 2012. on Roma in BiH

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provisions, management practices, and financial and institutional frameworks to the policies
and practices of the EU is defined as one of the overall goals. And indeed, efforts have been
made to harmonize the legislation with the EU in regards to environment. In the past years a
considerable amount of strategies for various segments of environment have been created in
order to improve environmental practices. Implementation of these plans remains the biggest
challenge. The waste management system, for example, still is underdeveloped and does not
meet the goals presented in the law. While the Waste Management Plan of FBiH for the
period 2012-2017 identifies regional waste management centers with recycling yards as a
necessity in order to improve waste management system, no recycling yard has been built
until today. Improvements have been made in meeting basic targets such as access to the
sewage system. On the other hand, forest areas in the country are decreasing annually. In the
RS a new forest law has been adopted in 2008, replacing the old law from 2003. In FBiH, the
old law on the forests from 2002 is still in force, often labeled as ineffective due to the large
amount of complicated procedures and unclear definitions of forests and forestry. As of 2016,
a preliminary draft of the new forest law has been established and put in the procedure at the
Parliament of FBiH.

BiH, furthermore, has a big potential when it comes to renewable energy. The FBiH has
committed to the International community to increase the share of energy production from
renewable resources from 34,5 to at least 40 percent in the total energy production by 2020,
while RS is planning to invest around 11 billion KM into the energy sector by 2030 (FMERI,
2015). According to Assistant Prof. Dr. Sanela Klari, Head of Department of Architecture at
BURCH University and Director of the NGO Green Council, complicated legislative structure
related to sustainable environmental development does not have to be a limiting factor.
Political willingness, higher involvment of experts and civil society, good overall vision and
adequate environmental strategies can create sustainable environmental development for BiH.
Sustainable environmental development is not about protection of the environment by any
means, it is about opportunites, creating jobs and general socioeconomic development while
ensuring environmental care and protection (personal communication, 2016).

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development - If MDG 8 targets from the table
are evaluated alone, it can be concluded that a significant improvement was made. All of the
targets have been met and major improvements have been made. A new coordination system
for development aid was established and the dependence of the country on Official
Development Assistance (ODA) packages has been significantly reduced (In 2000 12

8
percent of GDP; in 2011- 2.3 percent) (UNDP, 2014). In 2014 the amount increased again,
but mostly due to the devastating floods which occurred in the same year (Council of
Ministers, 2016). Availability of information and communication technology increased
significantly as three strategic documents were created and adopted by the Council of
Ministers in 2004 (Policy, Strategy and Action plan for the development of the information
society in BiH). Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a member of the World Trade Organization
(WTO); it has the status of an observer to the organization since 1999. In the period from
2000-2015, nine negotiation sessions with the WTO have been held and it is expected that the
negotiations are in the final stages (MFA, 2016). Despite the efforts, the inflow of FDI in the
economy of BiH has been decreasing since the world economic crisis. According to S&P
credit rating for BiH is B and according to Moody's it is B3 (Central Bank of BiH, 2016). This
falls into the category of highly speculative. FDI investments in BiH in 2015 were only 19
percent of the FDI value in 2007 in BiH (before World economic crisis) and the GDP value in
2015 showed a negative growth rate compared to 2014 (FIPA, 2016). Goal 8 can be identified
as fulfilled if the targets are evaluated, but regarding the FDI in BiH, no improvement is
evident.

Development policies in BiH

It is evident from the previous chapter, that Bosnia The goal of Development
and Herzegovina has had partial success in fulfillment Strategy is to lead Bosnia and
Herzegovina towards countries
of the MDGs targets. With regards to the availability
with high income, dynamic and
of education and the promotion of gender equality, competitive economy of the
significant improvements have been made. When it European Union, with sustainable
comes to the MDGs, which were designed mostly for economic growth, with more jobs,
greater social inclusion for all,
low income countries, BiH did not have major better infrastructure and better
problems in keeping the present state and no quality of environment
impairment has occurred. On the other hand, the (Directorate for Economic
Planning BiH, 2015).
country showed a weak performance with regard to
sustainable economic development. This is no coincidence and it reveals serious general
problems with post-war development policies in BiH, especially in regards to the economy,
which would culminate in social unrests in February, 2014. The roots for such
underperformance go much deeper and beyond basic data indicator trends.

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The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina marked the end of
the war and the beginning of a long period of recovery and transition for the country. The new
constitution was adopted as Annex IV of the agreement and the new era for the country was
set to begin. One of the biggest changes was the switch to the free market economy3. This
would prove to be one of the biggest challenges as well. Naturally BiH turned its development
policies towards the EU and the EUs common market. Also looking at the period from 1995
(through Millennium Summit, Rio +5, +10, +15 and +20) until today, it is evident that BiH
follows the path of EU integration. This includes all of the aspects of state governing,
consequently supporting the positions of the EU during all of the negotiations in regards to the
MDGs and SDGs. On the other side, public healthcare, social protection, pension and many
more systems were inherited from the SFR Yugoslavia, thus creating a mixture of leftovers
integrated into a free market system and run by free market mechanisms. Combined with an
infrastructure that had been heavily destroyed during the war, numerous political crisis over
the past years and the overall complicated legislative framework, the progress on the path
towards EU accession has been slow. In order to demonstrate the problematic, as an example,
a short summary of the economic development of BiH follows.

In the period from the end of the war until today, according to the World Bank, the
classification of the economy of BiH changed from lower middle income country to upper
middle income country. From 1997 to 2000, Bosnia and Herzegovina was recovering from
the war with large help of donations and loans from abroad, which had created a solid base for
the full recovery and advancement toward EU. The institutions and policies were built parallel
with GDP growth. In 1996 the unemployment fell from 90 percent to around 50 percent and
continued to decline (World Bank, 1997). This was mostly due to the above mentioned
reconstruction of the infrastructure. There was a high demand for jobs in order to implement
large projects of rebuilding infrastructure. The growth rate in 1997 and 1998 was 29,9 percent
and 28,9 percent falling to 9,5 percent in 1999 and 5,2 percent in 2000 (IMF 2013). Such
strong growth could be interpreted as misleading, due to the very low base, since Bosnia and
Herzegovina was recovering from the war. In such circumstances, GDP, GNI, unemployment
rates and other indicators annually improved at a very high rate, slowing down later and
showing the real state of the economy (Kreimer et al. 2000). In 1998 the law on Foreign direct
investment was adopted (FIPA, 2016). After the period of rapid GDP growth, the growth

3
For more information on the economy of SFR Yugoslavia see Estrin, S. (1983): Self-Management: Economic
Theory and Yugoslav Practice, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

10
settled down to the real terms and from 2000 to 2004 it was around 5, 5 percent. In 2003 and
2004, the unemployment rate had been still been extremely high at 40 percent (Central Bank
2004). But the real number of unemployed was around 20 percent according to some experts
if the black market was calculated. This showed glimpses of the problems in the economy and
from the year 2000 to the year 2004 the budget deficit was increasing with a high rate and in
2004 it was 23.3 per cent of the GDP (OENB 2010). This was the result of a trade deficit
where the exports were around 1/3 of the imports. The countrys production sector was weak.
This was an alarming indicator pointing to the potential vulnerabilities in the economy of
BiH. Nevertheless, the GDP continued to grow and the alarming data was not taken seriously
by both domestic and foreign policy makers until 2008 when the global financial crisis was
spreading from Western Europe to Bosnia, finally spilling over in the last quarter of 2008. All
of the vulnerabilities became evident and up until today, the economy has still not fully
bounced back.

As parent banks in Western Europe were affected by the financial crisis, the foreign liabilities
of the domestic commercial banks in Bosnia decreased by around 35 percent4. This meant that
money was pulled back, creating a domino effect (Central Bank, 2016). In addition, the
European bank for reconstruction and development (EBRD) also significantly lowered the
amount of projects and investments since 2008. The period from 2008 to 2011 did not see any
rise in the fiscal revenue of the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the combination
with fiscal expenditures growth this lead to an increase of the total public debt to 43,0 percent
of the GDP (in 2006 it was only 21,4 percent). As a measure to tackle the crises, the deposit
run was made to the commercial banks to improve the liquidity. This meant that the Central
Bank of BiH had lowered the amount of mandatory reserves held for the commercial banks.
This was done in order to balance the lost deposits of commercial banks, due to the pull back
from the parent banks. The negotiations with the IMF for the assistance package had also
returned trust to some point for the deposit holders (commercial banks), and the signs of
recovery were visible, but due to the problematic and complex political situation the package
had been postponed resulting with the total amount of SDR5 340 million being withdrawn
(IMF, 2012). These problems, combined with the rise of food prices on the international level,

4
Parent banks in Western Europe deposited the money to their daughter banks in BiH for crediting, because of
the higher interest rate which their daughter banks in BiH could obtain. During the period of economic crisis,
parent banks were losing money in their own countries and therefore needed to pull back the deposits made
for the daughter banks in the foreign countries
5
Special Drawn Rights - The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its
member countries official reserves (IMF, 2016)

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had pushed back the country into recession again in 2012 (World Bank, 2014). The new
standby arrangement with the IMF in 2012 pulled the country out of the recession again but
the structural problems still remained. The FDI values shrank substantially. The high costs of
the public sector became more and more of a burden for the state; increase in the rates of
unemployment, especially youth unemployment, corruption and many other factors fuelled
social unrest and protests in February, 2014. Following February of 2014, the EU has changed
its policy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina. The focus on the implementation of the Sejdic-
Finci ruling has been put on hold while a new approach is primarily aimed towards
strengthening the economy, administration and rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In
2015, the leaders of the 14 main political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina have signed a
commitment to the EU that they will support reform processes and work on implementation
of plans set out in the Reform Agenda. Therefore, implementation of the Reform Agenda
became the leading development policy in BiH for the period 2015-2018.

From the short summary above it is evident why BiH had partial success with the MDGs.
Development policies, especially in regards to economic policies were mostly based on short
term planning, ignoring substantial flaws in the overall system. In the areas where BiH did not
have to substantially alter legislation or change the present economic and social system,
success was achieved. But when it comes to bigger issues, which require long term
development policies, planning and systematic changes, no improvement was made with
regards to the MDGs.

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 SDGs and the Reform Agenda: Synergies or Frictions?

The Sustainable Development Goals represent a policy framework built upon the former eight
Millennium Development Goals. In general terms, the SDGs do not deviate from the broader
policy areas for which the MDGs were formulated, but differentiate the goal framework
significantly and focus it more on the root causes of development. The fact is that the success
of the MDGs was uneven and around 700 million people still lived below the poverty line6 in
2015 (UN, 2015). Consequently, the SDGs (also known as Global Goals) are set to be more
detailed and there are 17 SDGs identified.

Table 1: Sustainable Development Goals

To say the very least, this is an ambitious agenda. The wide range of goals consists of 169
targets. As such, the SDGs are subject to a lot of criticism. The MDGs had quantifiable and
easily identifiable targets. This is not the case with the SDGs, where targets mostly start with
end and eliminate. With 169 targets in 17 areas, appropriate quantifying and measuring of
each target will not be an easy task. Some would even go as far to say that the SDGs are a
high school wish list (FP, 2015). Not to mention that the biggest success of the MDGs -
cutting in half the number of people living under the absolute poverty line is mostly due to the
rapid growth and development of China. It is estimated that for the fulfilment of the SDGs
around 2-3 trillion US dollars annually will be required. This would constitute approximately
4 percent of world GDP per annum (The Economist, 2015). Others argue that all of the goals
and targets are interconnected and that such vast number is needed in order for the SDGs to
6
According to WB, living below the poverty line is defined as living below $1,90 a day, since October, 2015.
More Information: http://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/international-poverty-line-has-just-been-
raised-190-day-global-poverty-basically-unchanged-how-even

13
succeed. An integrated approach is the key to future success of the SDGs. Both proponents
and critiques of SDG policy hold certain valid concerns and points. According to the
sustainable development expert and the former UNDP project manager in Croatia, Ivana
Laginja, the ambitiousness of SDG policy shouldnt be a discouraging factor, but a motivation
and a good ground for the improvement of the quality of life for the people all over the World
(personal communication, 2016).

But what do the SDGs mean for Bosnia and Herzegovina? Fifteen years for the
implementation of the SGDs requires a long term development policy and a comprehensive
plan. Compared to 15 years for the SDGs, the Reform Agenda is only a four year policy.

Nevertheless the SDGs and the Reform Agenda do hold certain things in common. According
to the Head of the EU Delegation and EU Special Representative, Ambassador Lars-Gunnar
Wigemark, the Reform Agenda is a great opportunity for Bosnia and Herzegovina to catch
up with the rest of Europe and join the EU family. A seven page document created by the
European Union together with the IMF, World Bank and local political elites consists of a set
of guidelines and measures which have to be implemented by governments in Bosnia and
Herzegovina in order for the country to improve its socioeconomic status on the EU
integration path. The document defines 6 main areas of importance to which reform plans are
set out and which are to be implemented7. Like the SDGs, the plans set out in the Reform
Agenda put astrong emphasis on sustainable development. The aim of the agenda is to
stimulate sustainable and steady growth of the economy, to achieve reduction in social
inequalities and better quality of life for people in BiH in general. All of the areas are closely
interconnected and in order to contemplate the agenda, all of the 6 areas should be viewed in
one causal relation system. The core idea is very simple: increase the public revenues, while
reducing public costs and strengthening and improving the labour market. In order to
achieve the overall goal, new laws will need to be passed and implemented. Concretely, the
country will have to practice tighter budget control and reform the pension-, healthcare- and
tax system as well as the public administration, while in parallel attracting new FDI. One
could say that the first similarity between SDGs and the Reform Agenda is that both policies
are very ambitious. According to Dr. Aziz unje, professor at the Faculty of Economics of the
University of Sarajevo, the biggest challenges for BiH in the implementation of the RA are in

7
The six areas in the Reform Agenda are:
Public Finance, Taxation and Fiscal Sustainability, The Business Climate and Competitiveness, The Labour
Market, Social Welfare and Pension Reform, Rule of Law and Good Governance, Public Administration Reform

14
the field of social, pension and public administration reforms as well as in the strengthening
of the rule of law and public finance (personal communication, 2016). For a better
understanding of the impact that the RA will have on sustainable development of BiH, a
simplified perspective can be outlined with regard to the ambivalence within the RA on
sustainability and development.

Increase in public revenues will mostly be based on the inflow of FDIs, tax consolidation and
the privatization of public enterprises. This should lead to growth of the economy, but as seen
in the previous chapter, plain economic growth does not by itself guarantee for sustainable
economic growth. On the other hand, social, pension and public administration reforms,
combined with the strengthening of the rule of law, should ensure sustainability of growth and
tackle the systematic faults which were present in the economy of BiH in the last 20 years.
Even under the assumption that that all of the plans from the RA will be fully implemented,
possible deviations could occur compared to the SDGs. Kuznets curves graphically depict this
risk.

.
Graph 1: The Kuznets Curve and Environmental Kuznets Curve (PERC, 2002)

Pumping money into the economy will increase the GDP, but the distribution of the income
might not affect the most vulnerable groups. As we can see from the curve, the rise in GDP
could lead to the rise in income distribution inequality. According to the UNDP Human
Development Report, Bosnia and Herzegovina already has one of the highest GINI8 indexes
in the area of Western Balkans. Further inequalities in income distribution are a big challenge
for most of the developing countries and special attention should be brought upon this issue.
Only 0,06 percent of the population of BiH lives under the absolute poverty line (World Bank,

8
The Gini index is a measurement of the income distribution of a country's residents. It helps to define the gap
between the rich and the poor. According to the UNDP Human Development Report, the GINI index for BiH in
2013 was 36.2 .

15
2016). However, these numbers are significantly higher if the relative, national poverty line
calculation is included9. 17,9 percent of the population live under the national poverty line,
which is a high number, considering the low national poverty line. Poverty is
multidimensional and economic growth is the best tool in combating absolute poverty, but a
sustainable economic growth is needed to reduce inequalities and the percentage of people
living below the national poverty line. Income distribution inequalities may not be the only
impact that the development could have with regards to Kuznets curve.

The same goes for the sustainable environmental practices. Rapid economic development
often leads to rapid environmental degradation, and it is questionable to which degree the
institutions are in harmonization with EU and whether the country will be ready to handle the
economic growth in terms of environmental protection. Unlike the SDGs, we believe that the
RA does not emphasize sustainable environmental practices, but merely socioeconomic
prosperity, and therefore, special attention should be brought upon these issues.

Under this scenario, the RA will contribute to the overall framework policy of the SDGs
especially with regards to the goals: Goal 1: No Poverty - End poverty in all its forms
everywhere; Goal 2: Zero Hunger - End hunger, achieve food security and improved
nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture; Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment and decent work for all; Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions -
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to
justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels; Goal 17:
Partnerships for the Goals - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the
global partnership for sustainable development (United Nations, 2015).

Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure This goal is partially in line with the
RA. Build resilient infrastructure and fostering innovation should be achieved, while the
promotion of inclusive and sustainable industrialization is not in line, due to the absence of
the environmental dimension from the RA, an inadequate present legal framework and the
potential environmental risks possibly associated with economic development.

But a much more troublesome scenario would be, if the RA ends up partially implemented
and the coordination of implementation is not done well. The causal relationships between

9
Acccording to UNDP MDGs Progress report (2013) the national poverty line is at around 235 BAM.

16
numerous implementation measures from the agenda are very delicate and failure to
implement only one of the measures properly could, figuratively speaking, lead to the
breakdown of the house of cards. For better illustration we present a chart depicting only one
aspect of the RA.

Graph 2: Simplified view on the RA policies

As we can see, in order to achieve the overall goal of an increase in the employment rates and
the FDIs, a number of steps have to be taken before the rate of employment increases in a
sustainable, long term manner. As the cost of labour will be lowered in order to stimulate
employers to hire and attract FDIs, social contributions will be lowered. In order to lower the
social contributions, the reforms of pension, welfare and healthcare systems will be done,
together with public administration reform and all in the improved legislative framework and
stronger rule of law to enforce and monitor these changes. If only one of the aspects required
is not adequately reformed while the social contributions are being lowered, this could lead to
the collapse of that system. As an example from October 2016, in the FBiH the maximum tx-
free amount for meal allowances was decreased from 2 percent to percent, while the social
benefit contributions remained unchanged. A possible consequence of such action is that the
employees will receive less money at the end of the month, because the employers have no
incentives to increase the net salary. This will be the biggest problem for those employees
with the lowest wages, therefore potentially creating more inequalities. On the other hand, if
the healthcare system is not reformed and social contributions are lowered, less money will go
to the present system and this could lead to its collapse. Also, if the rule of law is not
strengthened, lowering social contributions will only lead to further underreporting of the

17
wages. At the time of the signing of the RA, more than 15 percent of the labour force was
employed in the public sector. Accordingly the reform of the public administration, which
holds the biggest potential to reduce to public expenditures, will have to be pursued with a lot
of sensibility, monitoring other indicators. Such problematic scenarios are very limited and
simplified for the purpose of this policy analysis and the outcomes and socioeconomic effects
could be much broader.

Up to October 2016, BiH has focused on the revisions and amendments of the existing laws
and adoption of new laws in order to create a legislative framework for the implementation of
the reforms. In the Third Consolidated Report on the Progress in the Implementation of the
Action Plan for the RA from September, 2016, it is stated that the Council of Ministers has
implemented around 53 percent, the Government of the Federation of BiH 31 percent and the
Government of the RS around 54 percent of the total measures from the RA. Measures were
mostly focused on the labour market, business competitiveness, strengthening of public
finance and the rule of law. Different experts and civil servants agree that the biggest
accomplishment in the implementation of the RA so far is the creation and adoption of the
new labour laws in the Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH (personal communication,
2016). It is important to note that the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of BiH
questioned the sustainability and effectiveness of the new labour laws. In 2015, the FITU
created a list of 26 contentious points in the new labour laws, which are believed to cause
negative effects for the employees.

According to the action plans for the implementation of the RA and with regards to healthcare
reform, not a lot has been done. The analyses of the healthcare sector debt have not been
made. Strategies for the reform of social welfare and pension system are planned for
December of 2016. The reform of the healthcare sector will be one of the biggest challenges
and it will be done together with the World Bank, projected to last for 5-7 years. The reform
of public administration is in the early stages and likewise, the strategy for the Public
Administration reform is planned to be done by 2017 (personal communication, 2016).
According to the representatives of the EU delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the year
2017 will be crucial for the implementation of the Reform Agenda. All experts agree that the
real effects of the RA are not going to be realized during the implementation phase, but
probably in the following 2-3 years (personal communication, 2016).

18
The degree to which the RA implementation will be effectively coordinated will largely
determine the performance of BiH with regards to the SDGs. In case of the failure in
implementation of the policies, almost all of the SDGs are in jeopardy. On the other hand a
fundamental reform will be necessary for BiH to achieve socio-economically sustainable
development and the Reform Agenda is currently the only such fundamental reform agenda
on offer in BiH. It should be noted that the RA as such is only relevant for economic
sustainability and we believe that the SDG policies will be very important and useful for BiH,
especially in the corrective aspect of the sustainability issues of RA (in the fields labelled as
the biggest challenges) and in those areas which are not of operational concern for the RA.
Therefore to conclude, that the Reform Agenda as the main current development policy is an
adequate policy in the overall SDG framework, setting the grounds for the later period until
2030 and the success of the SDGs policy in BiH, in large depends on the success of the
Reform Agenda. However, in order for the RA to be successful, well timed, coordinated and
carefully planned implementation is required.

Are there obvious priority SDGs for Bosnia and Herzegovina?

According to the United Nations Development Group,

the prioritization among the SDGs is the first key
element in SDG implementation for any country. The
prioritization is defined as identification of the SDGs
which are of the most importance for the countries
particular context, mapping their linkages and creating
correlation with overall national goals (UNDG, 2015).
A small graph from the UNDG report titled Country-
level needs for SDG implementation in Europe and
Central Asia gives an insight how to approach the
first stage of SDG implementation.

In order to identify priority SDGs for Bosnia and Herzegovina, several factors have to be
taken into consideration, which have been analysed in the previous chapters. These include
development strategies and policies, as well as consultations and interviews with the
government representatives in BiH.

19
The overall goal of the Reform Agenda is to stimulate sustainable and steady growth of the
economy, reduction in social inequalities and better quality of life for people in BiH on the
path of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards EU accession. The Council of Ministers has
identified accession to the European Union as a strategic priority of Bosnia and
Herzegovina10. The Directorate of Economic Planning of BiH in the strategy for the period
2010-2020 identified that the main development strategy for Bosnia and Herzegovina is to
progress towards the countries with high income and the European Union, with emphasis on
the sustainable economic growth. Numerous strategies regarding environment in the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the Republika Srpska emphasize the
environmental sector as one of the high priorities in the EU and that as such, strategies in BiH
regarding environmental policies should aim at the concept and philosophy of sustainable
development11. The relative success of the Millennium Development Goals in Bosnia and
Herzegovina was due to the socioeconomic practices which, however, were mostly based on
a growth-trajectory that was not sustainable. BiH performed well in regards to the MDGs for
which the fulfilment of the targets did not require major structural changes. In the areas of
environment and economic sustainability BiH did not perform well.

Having all of this in mind, it is evident that the current national, subnational and sectorial
strategies for BiH are aimed at the sustainable development of BiH in order to achieve the
overall goal of EU-accession. As the plans set out in the Reform Agenda represent the new
approach towards EU for BiH and are created by the EU, IMF, World Bank and together with
local political elites, it is clear that the priority development policies are in the areas of
socioeconomically sustainable development. On the other hand, the MDGs as a tool for
sustainable development in BiH proved incapable to tackle the more serious issues and
challenges with regards to sustainable economic development.

With so many development policies aimed at economic development, the focus of domestic
implementation of SDGs policies should be primarily aimed at ensuring sustainability; and
sustainability not only in an economic sense, but with further outreach and equal distribution
among all the pillars of sustainability with an overall goal of improving the quality of life for
all of the people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to the higher complexity of SDG- compared
to MDG-policies and the necessity for a carefully planned and integrated approach, it is very

10
Strategija Integriranja Bosne I Hercegovine U Evropsku Uniju (2006)
11
Federalna Strategija Zatite Okolia, Federalna Strategija za Upravljanje Otpadom, Nacrt Strategije
Upravljanja Otpadom u Republici Srpskoj, Strategija Zastite Prirode Republike Srpska itd.

20
important to take into account the cross-sector effects that pursuing of different targets within
different SDGs, will have on each other. As an example presented in the paper, economic
development can come with a high cost: environment and income equality can suffer due to
reckless economic growth. This does not have to be the case with BiH. The importance of
other goals and their pursuit will have other beneficiary effects on many other areas. Targets
related to the goal of building sustainable cities and communities will help in disaster risk
reduction. Also, better road infrastructure does not only improve economic accessibility and
transport, but enhances social cohesion and integration by giving all citizens access to the
same opportunities. Promotion of peace and culture within the goal of quality education will
contribute to almost all of the other SDGs. Strong, peaceful and just institutions can best
ensure same opportunities for all the people in BiH; they are a key factor in prevention and
tackling of discrimination and create a base for healthy growth of the society etc. To
summarize, the cross-sector effects that SDGs will have are potentially large and their careful
analysis is crucial for the development of national and local SDG policies and strategies.
Policy makers must take this into account when prioritising, as this is one of the most
important attributes of the SDG policy framework.

Having in mind some of the possible frictions between the plans set out in the RA and SDGs
and the cross-sector effects that various targets within the SDGs might have, we have
identified some plausible priority SDGs and targets for Bosnia and Herzegovina as following:

Decent Work and Economic Growth

Higher employment and sustainable economic growth are one of the priorities for BiH, both
for the stability of the country and its future EU integrations path. Achievement of the set out
future targets in this particular SDG will largely contribute to better quality of life for people
of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also, goals of No Poverty and Zero Hunger will be tackled
trough the policies aimed at achieving SDG of Decent Work and Economic Growth. Targets
8.4 (Improve progressively, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and
endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with
the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, with
developed countries taking the lead), 8.5 (By 2030, achieve full and productive employment
and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with
disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value) and 8.6 (By 2020, substantially reduce the

21
proportion of youth not in employment, education or training) are particularly important for
BiH.

Sustainable Cities and Communities

In order to achieve further urbanization of the country and disaster risk reduction, while
ensuring sustainable environmental economic practices and the improvement of the quality of
life for the people of BiH in overall, sustainable cities and communities are required. Targets
11.2 (access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all), 11.3
(enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and
sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries) and 11.5 ( By 2030,
significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially
decrease the direct economic losses caused by disasters, including water-related disasters,
with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations) can be identified as
the most relevant ones for the BiH. Most of these goals will be carried out through policies on
the local level, so the importance of the inclusion of local governments and adequate
strategies will be instrumental. There is a big opportunity for BiH to achieve the goals of
sustainability trough local governments, because unlike the government at national level, local
governments are often not the subject of political blockades, which provides a good base for
easier and less time costly policy creation and implementation.

Reduced Inequalities

As identified in the previous chapters, an increasing gap between the rich and the poor could
occur as a consequence of the implementation of the Reform Agenda plans. For a developing
country transitioning to become a developed country, it is a very likely outcome under the
current free market instruments. Therefore, SDGs policies should be aimed on helping BiH
overcome this issue, with a special attention on the most vulnerable groups. Targets 10.1 (By
2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the
population at a rate higher than the national average), 10.2 (By 2030, empower and promote
the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race,
ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status) and 10.4 (Adopt policies, especially
fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality)
represent the relevant areas to which SDG policies should aim in BiH in order to mitigate the
risks which economic policies can bring.

22
Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

No country can function properly without peace, stability, just legal system and strong
institutions in law making and enforcement of the laws. The Reform Agenda plans will never
be implemented without a strong legal framework to back them. Aside from the development
policies, the outreach of Goal 16 has significant importance for the creation of a peaceful and
inclusive society. As such, achieving targets from Goal 16 will be important in order to
coordinate and bond together different goals and targets, in order to make sure that no one is
left behind. Considering that BiH has one of the most complicated legal systems in the World
and the necessity of strengthening of that system for sustainable development it is easy to
understand why this goal is identified as a priority. Achieving targets 16.3 (Promote the rule

of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all), 16.5

(Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms), 16.6 (Develop effective,
accountable and transparent institutions at all levels), 16.7 (Ensure responsive, inclusive,
participatory and representative decision-making at all levels) and 16.12 (Promote and
enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development) is necessary for
BiH in order to ensure an adequate overall legal framework in which monitoring, justice and
sustainability is ensured. Furthermore, the importance of Goal 16 is not only restricted to the
national context, but the supranational dimension of this goal is an opportunity to contribute
to the achievement of global peace. For example, through target 16.11 (Strengthen relevant
national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all
levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and
crime) a lot can be done in helping conflict-stricken countries as well as in the prevention of
future conflicts around the World.

Responsible Consumption and Production

We have decided to include this particular goal as a priority because the environmental
sustainability as an overall goal is divided into more SDGs. Prioritization of this goal serves
as a further evidence of how an integrated approach is the key for success of SDG policies.
While the reforms of the healthcare, welfare and pension systems aim at ensuring good health
and well-being of the citizens of BiH in line with the SDG 3, further sustainable
environmental policies are required for the Goal 12. Like with the inequalities, environmental
degradation can occur as a consequence of development policies in BiH. In light of the fact

23
that for the EU environmental protection and sustainability are priorities, BiH put special
focus on the achievement of the targets that will be set out in this Goal. Targets 12.2 (By

2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources), 12.5 (By
2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and
reuse) and 12.6 (Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to
adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting
cycle) are the most relevant for BiH with regards to SDG 12.

Quality Education

Finally, to ensure quality education for all of the people in BiH is a precondition for any
society to thrive forward and develop. In the context of the current policies and strategies, it
will bring young people closer to the labour market, raise awareness regarding political,
gender, environmental and many more issues12. Also, further work on MDG 2 through the
inclusion and the improvement of the education availability for the most vulnerable groups is
required. The importance of this goal is not only for the economic development of BiH, but
for every aspect of society and will contribute to all other goals, as well as development of
society of BiH as a whole. The most relevant targets for BiH regarding this goal are 4.4 (By
2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills,
including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship),
4.6 (By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and
women, achieve literacy and numeracy) and 4.7 (By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire
the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among
others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human
rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship
and appreciation of cultural diversity and of cultures contribution to sustainable
development).

12
All of the goals were prioritized trough the context of current development strategies and policies of BiH and in the
consideration that BiH is a higher middle income developing country; not diminishing the importance of any other goal.

24
 Which practical steps have been taken to implement the SDGs in BiH so far?

The implementation of the SDG policies is in an early phase for all UN member states. In July
of 2016 a team of independent experts of the SDSN Secretariat and the Bertelsmann Stiftung
has prepared a global report tittled SDG INDEX & DASHBOARDS with a purpose of
assisting the countries in the starting phase of the implementation of SDGs and calling on all
nations to pursue a holistic strategy that combines economic development, social inclusion,
and environmental sustainability. For the purpose of the report, an indicator was created; the
SDG Index, which measures the initial status of the country on 17 SDGs. According to the
index, Bosnia and Herzegovina is ranked 73rd of a total of 149 countries with an index of
59.9. This is the lowest country index not only in the region of the Western Balkans, but
in Europe. It means that BiH is on average 59.9 percent of the way to the best possible
outcome across the 17 SDGs and that the country will have to do the most work regarding the
implementation of the SDGs in the Europe.

The United Nations have defined certain practical steps and measures for the stakeholders
with a goal to successfully start the implementation of SDGs policies13. As the SDGs are
defined broadly and affect many areas, they will apply to all key stakeholders. The key
stakeholder groups relevant for the SDGs are generally identified as:

- National Governments
- Sub-national Governments
- Civil Society Organizations
- Local Authorities
- Businesses
- Academic Institutions
- Development Partners

According to the first guidelines, the first concrete step is to identify the appropriate targets
for each goal. This means limiting the targets to 2-3 targets per goal and basing them on
international standards which are applicable to a wide range of country settings. As the SDGs
are a long term policy framework, they require long term strategies and planning, beyond the

13
Additional informaton on https://sdg.guide/

25
2015-2030 SDGs framework. The UN identifies backcasting14 as the best long term planning
policy with regards to the SDGs. This requires cost planning and assessment, goal based
partnerships and preparation for monitoring of the targets. UNDP is identified as the key
partner in the implementation of the SDGs and the anchor for UNDG support for SDGs
implementation (UNDP, 2016). The key in the SDG implementation process will be the
integrated approach. According to the United Nations General report tittled Critical
milestones towards coherent, efficient and inclusive follow-up and review at the global level
(2016) all of the goals are closely interconnected and therefore can not be split. All of the
policymakers and stakeholders have a task of fulfilling all the goals (A/70/684, paragraph: 7).

UNDP is authorized with leading the preparation of the Guidelines for National SDG Reports
and up to date no reports have been published15. As of May 2016, the only government in the
area of Western Balkans that has submitted a voluntary summary of SDGs national review
was Montenegro (IISD, 2016). The UNDG report for the year 2015 reveals what has been
done regarding the SDGs in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the stand point of the UN agencies
and programs in BiH and what are the requirements for the future implementation. An UN
SDG Taskforce in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been formed and mapping exercises with a
goal of identification of the linkages between national development strategies and priorities
and SDGs have been initiated. UN agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina have requested
guidance on prioritization adaptation and mainstreaming, review of targets and indicators,
budgeting, data monitoring systems and resource mobilization. The report reveals that no
national strategy for the SDGs currently exists in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The experiences
with MDGs showed the importance of the national level strategies for such long term policy
(non-adoption of 20082013 Development and Social Inclusion), so special attention should
be brought upon this issue. The governments in BiH should prepare as soon as possible
national and subnational strategies regarding the implementation of the SDGs. The
establishment of a SDG roadmap, action plan and resource mobilization plans are being
planned in order to identify relevant national strategies and policies. As there is no overall
national SDGs strategy, regional support is needed and identified as the key in the successful
implementation of SDGs. In such situation localization will not start before the nationalization
in the SDGs context. UN offices in BiH are currently reviewing practices outlined in the

14
Backcasting - generating a desirable future, and then looking backwards from that future to the present in
order to strategize and to plan how it could be achieved (UN SDSN)
15
UNDP Bosnia and Herzegovina website

26
MAPS reference guide and plans are made for the support strengthening the national
statistical capacities as part of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework16. The
UN offices in BiH are currently supporting governments in defining national reporting
modalities, including timeline and contributions from stakeholders. The UNDP office in BiH
is working on the prioritization of the SDGs through a series of interactive workshops titled
Imagine 2030. The workshops are held in cities across Bosnia and Herzegovina and include
the representatives of the state, entity and local level institutions and members of civil and
academic society (personal communication, 2016). Also, the UNDP office in Bosnia and
Herzegovina has prepared an analysis report regarding the Reform Agenda and SDGs tittled
Analysis of BiH Reform Agenda and links with One Programme/UNDAF and SDGs. The
report concludes that weak links are established with 8 out of 17 SDGs (1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 16
and 17) and 19 out of 169 Targets.

16
The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) is a programme document between a
government and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) that describes the collective actions and strategies
of the United Nations to the achievement of national development.

27
 Conclusion

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals can be viewed as a global development
policy framework in which countries operate based on their own priorities and needs. As such
17 SDGs and the targets within create a global roadmap for the World in the period of 2015-
2030. Zooming in from the global, to the perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is evident
from the policy analysis that the main strategic priority is to become a member of the
European Union. In the SDG Index and Dashboards report, the same one in which Bosnia
and Herzegovina is ranked as the country with lowest SDG index in Europe, all of the top 10
countries with the highest SDG index are members of EEA and 9/10 countries are members of
the European Union. This points to the prevalence of good sustainable development policies
and practices in the EU. While the current development policies on the path of EU integration
for BiH are primarily focused on sustainable economic development, there is a strong need for
sustainability in other aspects of state governing and everyday life. The path of the
implementation of the RA is only in part, the path of the fulfillment of the SDG targets for
BiH. A lot of hard work, especially in those areas which are not explicitly mentioned in the
RA lay ahead for BiH on the path of the fulfillment of SDGs.

Past experiences with the MDGs have shown, that in order to achieve progress with such long
term policies, national level strategies and plans are required, where national institutions will
have capabilities for the implementation of such policies. This does not only relate to securing
financial funds from the budget, but ensuring good project management, for which domestic
resources are required. Targets from the MDGs were not met in the areas where systematic
changes were required, especially when it comes to the area of socioeconomic policies. The
RA is an ambitious and daring endeavor, aiming to tackle these issues and their core
problematic, but adequate coordination and carefully planned implementation is required. One
of the main concerns is that the most vulnerable groups of citizens might be left behind,
deepening the inequalities. There is a strong need for adequate national and subnational
strategies aimed towards the implementation of SDG policies. While the progress and the
decision making process on the national and entity levels are often slow, especially during the
years in which elections are held, local governments and cities have particular potential to be
carriers for the successful implementation of SDG policies even in those areas where the
national and entity levels fail to do so. The task of the UN agencies in BiH and primarily
UNDP should be to focus on the implementation of the integrated activities mostly on the

28
local level, especially in the spheres where the country, due to the limited capacities cannot
act alone. This is especially important for the SDG 11, where local governments will be the
carriers in the sustainable urbanization of the country.

It is important to note that the State, UN agencies and the civil society should work on higher
promotion of the SDGs policies and raise awareness among the citizens of BiH. It is vital that
the people of BiH understand and recognize the importance of the SDGs. Inclusion of society
in formal prioritization of SDGs is the most important aspect in understanding of the priority
SDGs for BiH. People of BiH need to understand and know that the country has committed
iself to the fulfillment of the SDGs and that the SDGs as a global policy framework are aimed
at improvement of their quality of life. SDGs are not a project for the elite, but the civil
society should be working on the implementation as well through the local communities and
dialogue with the governments. The targets from the SDGs are not the only indicator of the
success of the SDGs, but the people of BiH should turn the SDGs into an advocacy tool for
progress through monitoring and dialogue. Finally, it shouldnt be forgotten that the SDGs are
a global policy framework. The contribution of BiH should not only be on the national, but
also on the global level. This multinational dimension is the most identifiable with regards to
SDG 16. Partnerships such as the Global Alliance for Progress Reporting on Promoting
Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies have already been formed in order to implement the
peace dimension of the SDGs globally. Inclusion in such partnerships will be beneficiary for
data exchange, dialogues and building of partnerships and it will have positive effect on both
national and global targets.

Prioritization within the 17 goals is a crucial starting phase and it is of highest importance to
identify the adequate SDGs to which all national and international development actors should
mainly focus in their activities and support. This prioritization still has to be done in BiH
under inclusion of a variety of political and civil society stakeholders. As a starting point for
such a debate, this policy analysis paper suggests the goals of Decent Work and Economic
Growth, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Reduced Inequalities, Peace, Justice and Strong
Institutions, Responsible Consumption and Production, Quality Education as the current
priority Sustainable Development Goals for BiH.

The success of the RA and the policies to follow in the next 15 years will partially determine
the success of the SDGs. SDGs will not only serve as a good indicator to which degree the
development policies will be successful, but they will hopefully ensure sustainable

29
development and that no one is left behind. Both the short term policies and SDGs as a long
term policy framework should mutually support each other and be in cohesion. This means
that all of the UN agencies in BiH, State, Entity and Local level governments, as well as the
representatives of civil society should cooperate and coordinate the implementation of SDG
policies. Only in this way an integrated approach to the SDG policy is possible, which will be
key to its future success.

The UN recommends the backasting17 technique in creation of the SDG implementation

policies. For Bosnia and Herzegovina, the desirable future is quite straightforward and
becoming a member of the EU is part of it. The country is at the crossroads, where in the next
15 years most of the socioeconomic reforms will need to be done. As it can be seen in the
policy analysis, the development and socio-economic growth in BiH so far was not
sustainable. The Reform Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals if taken seriously
provide a decent framework for a shift of BiHs development path towards a more
sustainable trajectory. Adequate implementation of the RA is the first step, with other policies
to follow that path. Special focus should be put on the protection of the most vulnerable
groups, environmental protection and proper reforms of the public administration, healthcare
and pension systems. No transition is easy and a lot of hard work lies ahead for Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Sustainable Development Goals should serve as a good overall framework in
which the present and future short term sustainable development policies need to be
adequately implemented.

17
Ibid., p. 22

30
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List of Tables and Charts

Graph 1: The Kuznets Curve and Environmental Kuznets Curve. p.15

Graph 2: Simplified view on the RA policies. p.17

Graph 3: Preparation/Pre-Consultation Phase p.19

Table 1: Sustainable Development Goals. p.13

Appendix Table 2: Overview of the indicators for the Millenium Development Goals in
Bosnia and Herzegovina. p.36-37

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 APPENDIX

Table 2: Overview of the indicators for the Millenium Development Goals in Bosnia and Herzegovina
(UNDP, 2014)

36
37
38