A Clean River Miljacka
At the heart of the Future Sarajevo we all want and need
When we asked Sarajevo City Mind Lab members how they envisage Sarajevo in 2030, some said more green spaces, some said clean air, some said more streets without cars, more bicycles…. and there was one interesting thing that was in common for most of those visions. When we closed our eyes and imagined how would Sarajevo look like in 2030, we could clearly see a clean River Miljacka and people gathered around it, flourishing new businesses, places to have coffee and ‘’ćejf’’…
So, how far are we from this vision?
Instead of a beautiful clean fresh blue and green Miljacka, today we have a smelly dirty brown and full of trash Miljacka.
Back in 2010 someone already dared to dream and started the project ‘’Clear River Miljacka.’’ Sarajevo Economic Regional Development Agency, the City of Sarajevo and many other relevant stakeholders and experts gathered to see what is needed to make this dream come true. After years of hard work, thorough analysis, meetings and workshops; the end result in 2011 was a detailed plan containing 274 project proposals, all contributing to the regeneration of the river, with a total value of about 970 million KM (approximately 500 mil EUR).
There were some attempts to implement activities from the study. For example, the Environmental Protection Fund, which is focused on improving the quality of waters and protection of natural resources, also worked on implementation of Clean River Miljacka. But still, not much has changed since, apart from the fact that the study is now outdated and needs to be revised and updated. Eventually, after hitting the wall of ‘’whose-competencies-is-what’’ and similar issues, everyone just gave up, and the documents ended up at the bottom of the drawer, collecting dust for the past years.
Driven by the mission to make our Sarajevo one of the best places to live, work and visit, we want to take the dust off these plans, and give them another chance to create part of the future Sarajevo of our vision.
Is it radical transformation?
It is for sure.
Is it scary?
Tackling all governance levels in Sarajevo while dealing with these issues is scary enough. But what is scary for Sarajevo people who survived all kinds of scary.
Is it exciting?
Close your eyes and see your picture of a clean River Miljacka. Getting there should excite every single person who ever visited or lives in Sarajevo.
Every city has a collective narrative about that place — there can be numerous ones, but there is always a common & general one. This narrative can be positive or negative, and it changes over time — so, if we can generate new narratives of change, we have a power to make a lot of change. What if we make our narrative around the Miljacka river?
What if we say that our mission is to provide the citizens of Sarajevo the space around Miljacka where they can swim, fish, sit, walk, work, enjoy different events or simply a cup of coffee, by summer 2025?
Is it doable?
When we all join forces and create synergy, everything is doable. We proved that so many times.
If we can fix the river we can solve anything. The river has seen hard times and hard history. It could now be the symbol of our new future.
So what are we waiting for?
Are you in?
To team up with us on this mission, please contact: Nermina Suljević nermina.suljevic@sarajevo.ba
