- On the 1st of June (Friday), the Government of Japan and the United Nations (UN) decided to extend assistance totaling 2,349,597.83 US dollars (approximately 272.6 million yen), through the Trust Fund for Human Security to a project entitled "Community Reconciliation through Poverty Reduction" that will be implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2. A decade after the end of the ethnic strife, Bosnia and Herzegovina is still facing difficulties of post-conflict challenges. Despite its immense income generating potentials in tourism, high unemployment rate, poverty and a large number of remaining land mines hinder economic recovery and development. This project aims at realizing long-term socio-economic development in municipalities of Stolac, Trebinje and the South-East District of the City of Mostar by assisting municipalities and CSOs in capacity building activities. The following activities will be implemented:
- Removing landmines from approximately 180,000 square meters of land to be used for income generating activities;
- Improving capacities of local government and communities in waste management to increase public health and better living conditions for residents in the region;
- Supporting local government, NGOs and citizens to start up small scale businesses in tourism through providing technical support and micro-finance allocation (This component was formulated on the basis of the 2005 JICA Study on Sustainable Development through Eco-Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina.);
- Restoring cultural and historical heritages in each municipality site as part of the local efforts for ethnic reconciliation.
3. This project is expected to facilitate sustainable socio-economic development and peace building amongst the abovementioned municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.