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A river ran through it: post-conflict peacebuilding on the Sava River in former Yugoslavia

2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 36; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/02508060.2011.558886

1941-1707

Stephen Stec, Jana Kovandžić, M. Filipovic, Amar Čolakhodžić,

Balkans: History, Politics, Society

Abstract The Sava River flows through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia on its way to join the Danube at Belgrade. This formerly national river became an international one as a result of the break-up of Yugoslavia due to the 1991–95 Yugoslav Wars. Following an overview of the conflict and a description of the Sava River Basin, this article describes the post-conflict challenges to joint management in the basin and the negotiations that led to a Framework Agreement and the eventual establishment of the International Sava River Basin Commission. The institutions and mechanisms that were established in this process are placed within the context of broader European and global processes. Factors affecting the success of peacebuilding efforts in this arena are reviewed, along with lessons learned. Finally, the article assesses the future prospects for the International Sava River Basin Committee's work and recommends some important next steps. Keywords: Sava River Basintransboundary water managementpost-conflictpeacebuilding Notes 1. This article is based upon Čolakhodžić, A., et al. (2011 Čolakhodžić, A. 2011. "The Sava River: transitioning to peace in Former Yugoslavia". In Water and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding, Edited by: Weinthal, E., Troell, J. and Nakayama, M. London: Earthscan. forthcoming [Google Scholar]). The authors would like to thank Jelena Stanić and Miloš Milićević for research assistance. 2. In 1985 Yugoslavia had a UN Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.913. (The HDI is a composite index that measures development by combining indicators of life expectancy, educational attainment and income, expressed as a value between 0 and 1.) Conflict caused the HDIs in the region to drop significantly. In 1995, Croatia's HDI was 0.759; in 1999, the HDI for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (then consisting of Serbia and Montenegro) was still only 0.729. In 1985, Yugoslavia's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was $2,480, and Hungary's was $2,240. By 2007, Hungary's per capita GDP had risen to $13,766, while Croatia's was $11,559 and Serbia's was $5,435 (UNDP 1990 UNDP. 1990. Human development report 1990: concept and measurement of human development, New York: United Nations Development Programme. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 1991 UNDP. 1991. Human development report 1991: financing human development, New York: UNDP. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 1998 UNDP. 1998. Human development report 1998: consumption and human development, New York: UNDP. [Google Scholar], 2000 UNDP. 2000. Human development report 2000: human rights and human development, New York: United Nations Development Programme. Oxford: Oxford University Press [Google Scholar], 2009 UNDP. 2009. Human development report 2009: overcoming barriers: human mobility and development, New York: United Nations Development Programme. [Google Scholar]; amounts shown are in US dollars). 3. For a detailed overview of the environmental damage and its public health impact along the Sava River Basin during the Yugoslav Wars, see Čolakhodžić et al. (2011 Čolakhodžić, A. 2011. "The Sava River: transitioning to peace in Former Yugoslavia". In Water and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding, Edited by: Weinthal, E., Troell, J. and Nakayama, M. London: Earthscan. forthcoming [Google Scholar]). 4. According to the Croatian government, more than 1 million land mines and 1 billion small arms rounds remained scattered across Croatia after the conflict ended (Government of Croatia 1998 Government of Croatia. Danger of land mines, unexploded ordnance, and environmental consequences of the recent war on Croatia. Proceedings of the Chemical and Biological Medical Treatment Symposium. Dubrovnik, Croatia. Government of Croatia. [Google Scholar]). 5. Support from a number of international bodies included: the Office of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, the European Commission, and the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC). The REC received funding from the US government to serve as an interim secretariat. The Netherlands and Hungary also provided support through the Stability Pact. 6. See n. 1 above. 7. For a broad overview of the historical efforts at river-basin management in the Sava along with details on the scope of the FASRB, see Čolakhodžić, A. et al. (2011 Čolakhodžić, A. 2011. "The Sava River: transitioning to peace in Former Yugoslavia". In Water and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding, Edited by: Weinthal, E., Troell, J. and Nakayama, M. London: Earthscan. forthcoming [Google Scholar]). 8. UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus 1998 Aarhus, 1998. Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters (Aarhus Convention) [online]. http://www.unece.org/env/pp/treatytext.htm (http://www.unece.org/env/pp/treatytext.htm) (Accessed: 11 March 2011). [Google Scholar]). 9. Pan-European Transport Corridors involve rail, road and river traffic and have been designated by European countries as major transport routes for further development.