Abstract:Half of Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BH) population lives in rural areas. Agricultural production is a backbone of the rural economy and generates significant economic value for the country. BH is highly vulnerable to climate change, which poses a significant development challenge given the climate-sensitivity of the agricultural sector, the share of agriculture in the total economy, the number of people employed in the sector, and the closely related socio-economic issues of food security. BH has experienced serious incidences of extreme weather events over the past two decades, causing severe economic losses. Based on available data and currently available climate projections, exposure to threats from climate change will continue to increase. The review paper presents the current state of the BH agricultural sector and the impact of potential climate change on agricultural systems. It proposes policy options to optimize opportunities and mitigate consequences of possible climate change in the agricultural sector. Development of policy and research capacity should include harmonisation and centralisation of domestic agricultural policies, carrying out a vulnerability assessment and strengthening the public and private extension systems. Further technological development should include improvements in weather and climate information systems, crop development, irrigation and water management.

A total concentration of six studied heavy metals Arsenic (As), Lead (Pb), Chromium(Cr), Mercury (Hg) Cadmium (Cd) and Copper (Cu) were measured in soil across distances from TAZAMA pipeline in transects which have incidences of oil spillage and those which have no history of oil spillage. All studied heavy metals were detected in the study area. As, Pb and Cr were detected in both transects, that is, with oils spills and those with no history of oil spillage to a distance of 0-35 m from the edge of the pipeline, with higher mean concentration in transects with oil spillage compared to those with none. From 50-200 m away from the pipeline these four metals were detected in transects with oil spillage only. Hg and Cd were detected in transects with history of oil spillage only. Cu was detected in all transects and at all ranges of distance. Concentration of studied heavy metals decreased with increased distance from the edge of the pipeline in both transects to all directions. The decrease was statistically significant in transects with oil spillage and insignificant with transects of no history of oil spillage.