World Bank Approves a USD 2.63 million Grant to Serbia for Projects on the Drina River

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved grants to Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina totaling USD 8.7 million for projects aimed at solving the problems caused by climate change along the River Drina. Of this sum, USD 2.63 million has been earmarked for Serbia.

Under two projects, Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Special Climate Change, the World Bank approved USD 3.37 million to Bosnia and USD 2.72 million to Montenegro, said this institution today.

The project aims to ensure a rational and equitable management of the Drina River basin as well as to strengthen the mechanisms for cooperation among Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia regarding this shared resource.

The project is also expected to help deal with climate change-related disasters, notably floods and droughts.

“This is a regional project that fosters cooperation among three countries on transboundary water management. This project will support the countries in optimizing management of the shared river basin. It will also support their preparedness related to extreme weather events, given that in recent years, disastrous floods and seasonal droughts have become more frequent and have caused severe damage,” explains World Bank Specialist and Task Team Leader for this project Anna Cestari.

The project, approved by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors on May 9, will complement ongoing activities financed by the World Bank, the European Union and other international institutions which aim at improving integrated planning and cooperation for water in the region.

The GEF program was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, to help tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems. Since then, the GEF has provided USD14.5 billion in grants and mobilized USD75.4 billion in additional financing for almost 4,000 projects in 183 countries.

The SCCF program was established in 2001 to support adaptation and technology transfer in all developing country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It is designed to finance activities, programs and measures related to climate change that are complementary to those funded through the climate change focal area of the GEF.

Svetska Banka-WB Beograd

World Bank

World Bank assistance to Serbia

World Bank grants

climate change

the Drina River

Global Environment Facility

GEF

Special Climate Change Fund

SCCF

Drina River basin management

cooperation with the World Bank

droughts

floods

natural disasters

Anna Cestari

United Nations

UN

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNFCCC