At the northeastern edge of Sarajevo International Airport lies a 0.8hectare plot once used as grounds to train firefighters. However, this grassy patch is not as idle as it seems. Tests of the sandy-loam soil have revealed alarmingly high levels of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), forever chemicals with long-lasting toxic effects, risking contamination of two nearby waterways, a protected natural area, and a groundwater source thats an important water supply for the region.
While alarming, the results also spurred this areas designation as one of three pilot sites under the South-East European Platform to Beat Pollution (SEEPP), an initiative led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and funded by Italy to tackle contamination hotspots across the Western Balkans.
Following the end of the communist era, industry that was publicly owned in the Balkan region was either abandoned or sold at a low cost to investors with little regard for environmental protection. The fallout persists. Air pollution from coalfired power plants, old vehicles and heating systems contribute to roughly 30,000 premature deaths in the Western Balkans each year. Forty-five per cent of regional water bodies fail basic chemical standards, and more than 100 identified sites of potential soil contamination biodiversity and threaten food security.
Recognizing that pollutants traverse air, land and waterways into the Adriatic Sea, Italy sees SEEPP as a way to safeguard human and planetary health not only in the Western Balkans, but also in its own country and beyond.
Because pollution is a transboundary threat, no single country can tackle it alone, said Alessandro Guerri, Director General of Italys Directorate General for European and International Affairs and Sustainable Finance. Through our work with UNEP, we can not only improve environmental quality and health, but also foster good cooperation and development in the region. At the same time, we are looking ahead, and continue to work towards more circular, safer economies.
Born from a 2018 Ministerial Conference in Belgrade, SEEPP became operational in January2019 with financial support from Italys Ministry of Environment and Energy Security. Through policy dialogues, technical workshops and pilot-site investigations, it nurtures collaboration across stakeholders to prevent and monitor pollution, exchange best practices, and ultimately create roadmaps for remediation. Anchored in the tenets of UNEPs global work on chemicals and pollution, and in resonance with the Global Framework on Chemicals that calls for the prevention of pollution at the source, SEEPP's efforts on pollution feed into broader goals to shift toward a circular economy and the sound management of chemicals and waste.
The pilot sites selected by a ranking methodology that weighs environmental vulnerability, contaminant type, humanhealth risk and technical feasibility serve as demonstration projects for how to analyse and handle contaminated areas. Between March and May 2025, eight candidate sites were scored, and the site at Sarajevo Airport was selected alongside two others where former industry had left toxic remains: a sheep dip in Bosnia and Herzegovina and a leather and textiles plant in Serbia.
Just 75meters from the Reetnica River in Republika Srpska, the Sokolac sheep dip once held baths laced with DDT and other persistent organic pesticides, used to protect sheep from parasites. Small household gardens dot the perimeter, and lingering pesticide residues threaten soil, surface water and local food webs. Here, the pilot will test soil remediation techniques and communitydriven monitoring to safeguard human health.
At the former Koa leather and textiles plant, decades of tanning and fur processing have left soils and waters tainted with pesticide residues, chromium salts, heavy metals, dangerous chemicals, asbestos and used oils. Unprocessed wastewater discharged from the factory formed a 50-square-metre lagoon, endangering surface and groundwater sources. SEEPPs intervention will design sitespecific cleanup options and align them with EU industrialwaste standards.
In June2025, SEEPPs first Project Steering Committee convened in Belgrade to approve the three pilot sites and refine technical assistance plans. In October2025, a study visit to Rome allowed Western Balkan experts to learn wastesite remediation strategies firsthand, while a planned agreement between UNEP and the UN Development Programme will confirm technical support and joint resource mobilization. As its current funding cycle expires in 2026, SEEPP is also crafting transition plans to ensure continuity.
Funding remains the largest challenge. While SEEPP lays the groundwork for site remediation, the costs to implement these plans goes beyond the budget of SEEPP and frequently national budgets, too. The possibility of attaining further financing through external loans is not an option countries often want to take.
Nevertheless, progress is being made. Across Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, there is now an uptick in rapidresponse technical assistance on PFAS, pesticide and heavymetal hotspots. Data portals and cross-border workshops continue to enhance regional cooperation, and local standards are being increasingly aligned with EU chemical management directives. Countries in the Western Balkans are also beginning to advance more preventative approaches. SEEPP-hosted policy dialogues increasingly focus on safer alternatives, improved waste management and alignment with EU chemicals legislation to reduce future risks. By integrating prevention into their strategies, governments aim not only to address existing contamination but also to strengthen resilience against new pollution threats.
As SEEPP expands beyond its initial three sites, Italy and UNEP hope to prove that cooperative efforts on pollution can bring benefits that transcend borders and prove that tackling historical contamination can also become a springboard toward a healthier, more sustainable future.
By combining policy work with on-the-ground action, we are demonstrating that shared commitment and scientific rigor can chart a course toward a cleaner, safer Western Balkans and planet, said Arnold Kreilhuber, Director of UNEPs Europe Office.
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