Fund Dates

• Start Date: 26 November 2018
• End Date: 15 November 2022

Overview

The Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) for Sustainable Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Joint Programme has these participating United Nations organizations (PUNOs): UNDP, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNFPA, and FAO.

The 2017 World Risk Report ranks BiH as a country of high exposure to natural hazards (floods, landslides). According to the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, more than 20% of BiH’s territory is prone to flooding, which, on average, annually impact about 100,000 people and about US$600 million in gross domestic product.

The goal of the Programme is that local governments in BiH have improved their DRR institutional capacities, frameworks, public services and partnerships, and population in risk-exposed localities is less vulnerable socially and economically to effects of disasters and climate change. The Programme is in line with the (UNDAF), specifically with aiming to enhance human security through strengthened prevention of and responsiveness to man-made and natural disasters and sustainable management of natural, cultural and energy resources.

The PUNOs will be individually responsible for: ensuring the timely implementation of the activities and delivery of the reports and other outputs identified in this project document; contracting and supervising qualified local and international experts, financial administration, monitoring, reporting and procurement for the activities they are responsible for.  The Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the lead agency in government on disaster risk management will be the Programme partner, and as such will designate a senior government focal point for the Programme. The Programme will convene a broader consultative body – Advisory Board, comprising all other relevant institutions and stakeholders, which will contribute to the successful Programme implementation and sustainability of its achievements.

Assistance Strategy

BiH is a signatory to various global commitments and negotiations, including the Sendai Framework for DRR (SFDRR) 2015-2030, Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Global Climate Negotiations Through the Conference of Parties (CoP). This Programme fully corresponds with all four priority actions of the Sendai Framework, which resonate with the DRR challenges in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Programme will support the accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and is fully synchronized with the efforts of relevant governmental partners at state and entity levels. The Programme contributes to the FBiH Development Program of Protection and Rescue 2007-2012[1], the Programme for Reducing the Risk of Natural and Other Disaster in the RS and the RS Protection and Rescue Plan Against Natural and Other Disasters. The Programme will contribute to the Strategic Plan for Rural Development of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018-2021, and is relevant to the RS Strategy for Local Self-Government Development 2017–2021. The Programme is in full compliance with the Swiss Cooperation Strategy for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2017 – 2020 and is in line with UNDAF.

Expected Outcomes are as follows:

• Outcome 1: At least 10 local governments have adopted DRR-featuring strategies, established partnerships for effective DRR interventions, and financed actions that build community resilience thus are better equipped to prevent and respond to disasters.
• Outcome 2: Citizens in target localities, particularly the most vulnerable population groups, have become more resilient to disasters.

Governance

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee (SC) will be the main decision-making authority of the joint Programme and will be responsible for the strategic oversight of the overall implementation and interagency coordination; it reviews and endorses the annual work plans, progress reports, and approves changes in the budgets or activities. The SC will be co-chaired by the UN RC and by the Minister of Security of BiH and will comprise representatives of the Ministry of Security of BiH, Administrations of Civil Protection of FBiH and RS, Local Governments’ representatives, and the Heads of PUNOs. The Joint Programme Coordinator will serve as the Secretary during the Steering Committee meetings.

Administrative Agent

Administrative Agent: Funding for the Joint Programme/Multi Donor Trust Fund utilizes a pass-through funding mechanism. Under this modality, Participating UN Organizations agree to channel funds for the Joint Programme through the Administrative Agent. The Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office) of the UNDP serves as the Administrative Agent (AA) of the Joint Programme. The AA is responsible for concluding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Participating UN Organizations  and Standard Administrative Arrangements (SAAs) with donor(s), as well as for the receipt, administration, and management of contributions from donors; disbursement of funds to the Participating UN Organizations; and consolidation of financial reports produced by each of the Participating UN Organizations and Participating Non-UN Organizations and provision of these reports to the Steering Committee for onward submission to the donor(s).

Decision-Making Process

The Joint Programme Steering Committee will be the group responsible for making, by consensus, management decisions for the Programme when guidance is required by the joint Programme Coordinator, including recommendation for approval of Programme plans and revisions.

[1] The new FBiH Programme for DPR has been prepared; however, due to limited implementation of the previous Programme, it has not been adopted.