On 23 April 2026, representatives of key landscape fire management (LFM) institutions and organisations gathered in Sarajevo to initiate the development of policy guidelines for LFM in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina). The meeting, held within the LFM Network, brought together around 25 stakeholders to begin shaping a more coordinated and context-specific approach to addressing landscape fire risks.
The event opened with remarks from Emir Causevic (Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry) and Cvetan Nikolovski, Team Leader of the Landscape Fire Management in the Western Balkans (LFMWB) Programme. They highlighted that landscape fire risks are becoming increasingly complex due to climate change and land-use change, underscoring the need for an integrated, cross-sectoral LFM that links prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. Both underlined the role of the LFM Network as a key platform for fostering dialogue, cooperation, and long-term policy alignment across institutions.
A central part of the meeting focused on the presentation of the proposed methodology and structure for developing the policy guidelines, delivered by Milan Sitarski, local policy expert from the NGO Belgrade Open School. Through an interactive exchange, participants shared practical experiences and national perspectives, ensuring that the process is grounded in existing institutional frameworks and operational needs.
As with similar processes taking place across the Western Balkans, this meeting represents the starting point of a broader consultative approach for developing policy guidelines. The insights collected will feed into the drafting phase, followed by continued stakeholder engagement to refine and validate the guidelines.
The meeting was organised under the LFMWB Programme, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and coordinated by Farmahem – Skopje as the Regional Executive Agency, with backstopping support from Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation.