The first meeting of the Steering Board of the EU funded project “Local Integrated Development” (LID) took place in Sarajevo on 11 April. The project is part of the recently launched EU Programme for Local Development and Employment which represents follow-up of certain activities of the EU Floods Recovery Programme in economic recovery of flood affected areas and will also support the local economic development and local NGOs with social development recovery assistance.
The Board is composed of seven permanent members who represent Delegation of the European Union, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), BiH Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees, FBiH Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, RS Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government and two associations of municipalities and cities in the FBiH and RS and it will supervise implementation of the project.
The meeting presented the results of the public call for local governments to participate in the project, that includes municipalities and cities which have declared a state of disaster in May 2014, which had the most serious damage caused by floods and landslides, as well as those which will address the issue of return and internal displacement, in accordance with analysis conducted by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Out of a total 58 municipalities and cities, which applied to the public call, the Project Board has confirmed the involvement of 21 local self-governments units that are geographically and economically connected, and organized in four clusters: Banja Luka, Bijeljina, Čelinac, Doboj, Foča, Goražde, Gradiška, Konjic, Mostar, Maglaj, Modriča, Novi Grad, Odžak, Orašje, Prijedor, Srebrenik, Šamac, Tuzla, Vareš, Žepče and Živinice.
LID project is worth EUR 6.6 million and implemented by United Nations Development Programme. It seeks to improve the standard of living of more than 100,000 people in Bosnia and Herzegovina by supporting inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development, enhancing good governance practices and development of local infrastructure and services, especially in flood-affected areas, and cities and municipalities with a large number of returnees and internally displaced persons.
The EU funded “Local Integrated Development” project will be implemented by UNDP over the three-year period (2016 to 2018), in partnership with BiH Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees, FBiH Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, RS Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government and two associations of municipalities and cities in the FBiH and RS.
