More necessary than the sun by Matteo Trevisan

The Banovići coal mine, owned b...Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Banovići coal mine, owned by the RMU Banovici company. The mine is one of the largest in the Balkans and supplies the country's power generation and industrial plants, but also exports its material abroad. The mine has an estimated annual production of 1.5 million tonnes of coal and ranks fifth in Europe. Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023. Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

“More Necessary than the Sun” is a photographic journey into the environmental and human toll of extreme pollution in the Central Balkans. Begun in 2022, the project captures the alarming impact of outdated coal plants, vast lignite mines, and weak oversight, which have led to some of Europe’s highest pollution levels.

Although the EU is advancing ambitious climate policies, including a proposed 2035 ban on petrol and diesel vehicles, such efforts stop at its borders, leaving these regions and their vulnerable communities exposed to unchecked pollution. Through this series, the project confronts viewers with the stark consequences of environmental exploitation often fueled by foreign corporations in what is seen as neo-colonialism.

The WHO reports that 90% of people worldwide breathe polluted air, with pollution levels in the Balkans up to five times the EU’s recommended limits due to coal- reliant industries and inadequate oversight. Pollution in the Balkans stems largely fromoutdated power plants and mining industries run by foreign companies. Corruption and lax regulations have enabled unchecked environmental damage, with no transparency on pollution-linked diseases affecting local populations.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has led to energy shortages across Europe, promptingsome countries to return to coal, a choice that exacerbates pollution within the EU and beyond in regions still heavily dependent on coal- fired energy.

Two wolves at the 'Bingo&#...3. Tuzla Bosnia and Herzegovina

Two wolves at the 'Bingo' zoo in Tuzla, a few hundred metres from the thermal power plant (TPP) owned by the state-owned Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine (EBiH).  Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina, October 2023. Tuzla Bosnia and Herzegovina

Some local farmers near the vil...ski Most Bosnia and Herzegovina

Some local farmers near the village of Fajtovci take a break while threshing the fields. Before the arrival of winter, they prepare to process fodder and store it for the animals. Local farmers complain that dairy farms in the area do not want to buy their milk because the animals drink water and eat fodder contaminated by the mine.  Fajtovci (Sanski Most), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023. Sanski Most Bosnia and Herzegovina

Each miner is given a personal ...Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

Each miner is given a personal number plate, which he must hand in to the technical office before going underground to receive his personal torch.  Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023. Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

The shift supervisor calls the ...Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

The shift supervisor calls the miners to roll before going underground at Banovići mine. The mine employs more than 2000 people, including miners, technicians and administrative staff.  Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023. Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

A detail of industrial waste fr...3 Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

A detail of industrial waste from the ArcelorMittal steel plant collected in the Rača landfill. According to Bosnia and Herzegovina's environmental regulations, these materials should be stored in special facilities to prevent dust from spreading into the air or polluting groundwater. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023 Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

View of the city of Zenica and ...22. Zenica Bosnia and Hergozina

View of the city of Zenica and the stadium of the Čelik football team, which means 'Steel' in Bosnian, founded in 1945. In the background is the steel factory owned by the ArcelorMittal company. According to data from the Hydrometeorological Institute of the Federation of BiH, in 2019 Zenica had the most polluted air in the Federation of B&H and the high concentrations of sulphur dioxide and dust were particularly pronounced. The metallurgical factory, which produces energy by burning coal, is, according to the association Eko Forum, the dominant source of SO2 and dust emissions in Zenica. Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022. Zenica Bosnia and Hergozina

Alma Alić, in the village of Te.... Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

Alma Alić, in the village of Tetovo. "I came to Tetovo 43 years ago after getting married, at that time many people worked in factories, now there are very few left. Today the situation is terrible, within a 300 metre radius of my house everyone has cancer". Alma has stomach cancer and was recently operated on. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022. Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

A swan at the 'Konjički kl.... Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

A swan at the 'Konjički klub SMET' animal rescue centre on Smetovi Mountain, outside the industrial city of Zenica. The private facility is home to many species rescued from all over Bosnia and brought to the sanctuary, where they live thanks to the help of private individuals and associations. The family that runs it left the city of Zenica because it was too polluted to live there and decided to move to the mountains surrounding the city.  Smetovi (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023. Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

"This is colonization,&quo...rbia, February 2025. Bor Serbia

"This is colonization," are the words of Jovic, who is pictured observing a landslide within his fruit tree land, which he believes was caused by the irregular operations of the underground mine owned by the Chinese group Zijin Mining, which extracts gold and copper from the earth. Jovic is a farmer and is in a lawsuit with the Chinese company because his agricultural land was expropriated without his permission. Slatina (Bor), Serbia, February 2025. Bor Serbia

Ruins of the village of Hade, a...ovo, January 2025 Obiliq Kosovo

Ruins of the village of Hade, abandoned due to the expansion of the coal mine owned by the company KEK. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified Kosovo as one of the countries with the highest levels of air pollution in Europe, with concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 exceeding the safety limits established by the EU. Hade (Obiliq), Kosovo, January 2025 Obiliq Kosovo

An old family photo inside a ho...erbia, December 2024 Bor Serbia

An old family photo inside a house in Krivelj, near the copper and gold mines owned by the Chinese company Zijin Mining. "Soon we will have to leave our home, we decided to sell it to the Chinese company. We will move far from here." For the locals, leaving their homes means losing the ties to their family past. This family has lived in these houses for generations, and the forced move is a time of great sadness for them. Krivelj (Bor), Serbia, December 2024 Bor Serbia

Two professional athletes from ..., August 2024. Požarevac Serbia

Two professional athletes from the arm wrestling school in Požarevac train. Serbia ranked as Europe’s 5th most polluted country out of 37 European countries and regions, according to IQAir’s 2019 World Air Quality Report, with an average PM2.5 concentration weighted by population of 23.3 μg/m³. Požarevac, Serbia, August 2024. Požarevac Serbia

Workers at the Banovići coal mi...Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

Workers at the Banovići coal mine carry out tests on a machine used to dig the ground and extract the coal. Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023. -- Operai della miniera di carbone di Banovići eseguono dei test su una macchina utilizzata per scavare il terreno ed estrarre il carbone. Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia-Erzegovina, marzo 2023. Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

"One day, we’ll have a min...erbia, December 2025 Bor Serbia

"One day, we’ll have a mine under our house," Miodrag, a farmer from the village of Slatina, stands in front of his agricultural land that has been expropriated by the Chinese company Zijin Mining. Miodrag is in a lawsuit with the company because he believes the land was unfairly expropriated. He and his family depended mostly on this agricultural activity, and now his land has been reduced to a few hectares. Slatina (Bor), Serbia, December 2025 Bor Serbia

The pipes used to transport was...3. Tuzla Bosnia and Herzegovina

The pipes used to transport waste material from the thermal power plant (TPP), owned by the state-owned Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine (EBiH), into the Jezero Dva reservoir. There are no official studies on the correlation between the plant's activity and public health. The only known research to date is the one sponsored by the Centre for Ecology and Energy (NGO), conducted by Professor Nurka Pranjic from the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tuzla. The study found a statistically significant association between negative health impacts and long-term exposure to heavy metals dispersed in the vicinity of the thermal power plant and landfills. Bukinje (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023. Tuzla Bosnia and Herzegovina

A miner inside one of the build...Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

A miner inside one of the buildings of the Banovići coal mine, where about 2000 people work. The average salary of a miner in Bosnia and Herzegovina is around 400 euro per month. Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2022. Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

View of the village of Tetovo, .... Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

View of the village of Tetovo, bordering the steel mill owned by ArcelorMittal. In 2004, the local steel mill in Zenica was acquired by the multinational steel company ArcelorMittal. The Zenica steel mill was first opened in the late 19th century and during Tito's rule it was one of the largest plants in the former Yugoslavia. Workers were recruited from all over the former Yugoslavia and even from further afield. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022. Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

A stray dog walks in front of a...23 Zenica Bosnia and Hergezoina

A stray dog walks in front of a basketball court in the village of Tetovo, bordering the steel factory of the ArcelorMittal company. According to the Human Right Watch report, Bosnia and Herzegovina has the fifth highest incidence of air pollution deaths globally and lung disease rates are among the highest in the world. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023 Zenica Bosnia and Hergezoina

Mirsad Selimović, at his home i.... Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mirsad Selimović, at his home in the village of Tetovo. A former worker at the ArceloMittal steel factory, he has been fighting laryngeal cancer for 15 years. In front of him are all the medicines he is forced to use. When the wind is strong and the dust from the factory gets too high in the air, he is forced to spend his days indoors. He blames his illness on the pollution caused by the still factory; his wife also suffers from heart problems. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022. Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Muslim cemetery in Tetovo, ...3 Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Muslim cemetery in Tetovo, behind ArcelorMittal's steel factory. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report published in June 2019, in 19 Balkan cities, including Zenica, air pollution causes one in five premature deaths. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023 Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

A woman prays inside the Orthod.... Tuzla Bosonia and Herzegovina

A woman prays inside the Orthodox Church in Lipnica, a village close to the Thermal Power Plant (TPP), owned by the state-owned Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine (EBiH). The air pollution in the industrial town, has been above legally allowed limits on 12 out of 20 consecutive days, according to joint measurements performed by CEE Bankwatch Network and the Tuzla-based environmental group Center for Ecology and Energy. Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023. Tuzla Bosonia and Herzegovina

A villager from Tetovo shows th...23 Tuzla Bosnia and Herzegovina

A villager from Tetovo shows the residue that dust has left above his greenhouse. An ordinance of the local authorities has banned the citizens of Tetovo from eating eggs and leafy vegetables because the air and soil are too polluted. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023 Tuzla Bosnia and Herzegovina

A miner inside the Banovići coa...Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

A miner inside the Banovići coal mine. According to the head of the miners' trade unions, the mine has coal for another 40 years, but will most likely have to close in 15 years to comply with agreements made with the European Union. Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023. Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

A 6-year-old girl from the vill...eptember 2024. Smederevo Serbia

A 6-year-old girl from the village of Vranovo, suffering from leukemia. She and her family live just a few dozen meters from the Smederevo Steel Plant, and according to her family, her illness is due to the pollution caused by the plant. SO₂ emissions from the NERP coal plants are a major problem in Serbia. In 2023, they emitted 5.4 times as much SO₂ as allowed under the NERP ceiling. Vranovo (Smederevo), Serbia, September 2024. Smederevo Serbia

An 'iron picker' insi.... Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

An 'iron picker' inside the Rača landfill. This man, together with his son, lives by collecting ferrous waste that comes from the factory and is then sold back to the factory. This work is paid very little and is very dangerous because it exposes these people to contact with waste materials that are deposited in the ground without any treatment; the dust spreads in the air and can pollute groundwater. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022. Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

An X-ray of the lungs of a woma...bia, September 2024. Bor Serbia

An X-ray of the lungs of a woman from Krivelj, a village in northern Serbia near the town of Bor, who died of lung cancer at a young age. According to the family, who wished to remain anonymous, the cause was pollution from mining activities in the area adjacent to the village. The Bor area is considered one of the most polluted cities in Serbia, and air quality tests have found traces of sulfur dioxide, arsenic, iron, nickel, and cadmium, all of which severely affect air quality and the health of local residents. In 2018, China's Zijin Mining Group acquired 63 percent of the mining company’s land, while the remaining owners are unknown. Krivelj (Bor), Serbia, September 2024. Bor Serbia

Izet Barcic, in the village of ...3. Tuzla Bosnia and Herzegovina

Izet Barcic, in the village of Bukinje; he lives with his wife a few hundred metres from the Tuzla thermal power station. "I feel lucky to still be alive. They operated four times and removed my lung. Before the operation I weighed 120 kilos, I felt very strong. Afterwards I weighed only 40. This plant is killing us all and I hope one day to be able to leave this place". Bukinje (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023. Tuzla Bosnia and Herzegovina

Edita, inside her house in the .... Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

Edita, inside her house in the village of Tetovo, a few dozen metres from the steelworks owned by the ArcerloMittal company. "The young people here want to leave, they have lost confidence and only the elderly are left to fight. I wonder why we don't have the same rights as those who live in London. Why is it not like in Europe?" Edita is a member of the EkoForum association and has been involved with the community in the village of Tetovo for several years. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022. Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

A resident of Zenica sweeps her...3 Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

A resident of Zenica sweeps her terrace from the black dust that has settled there. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report published in June 2019, there are almost five thousand premature deaths in Bosnia and Herzegovina in urban agglomerations, where it is estimated that people can lose up to 1.3 years of life due to bad weather conditions. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023 Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

A young boy inside his home, wh.... Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

A young boy inside his home, which will rise a few dozen metres from the Zenica steel factory. He, his two brothers and his parents live in a difficult economic condition and cannot afford to leave their home to find one in a less polluted area. His father says they can never drink coffee in the garden because it fills up with black dust within minutes. The boy suffers from chronic respiratory problems. Tetovo (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2022. Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

A woman from Obiliq with her gr...ovo, January 2025 Obiliq Kosovo

A woman from Obiliq with her grandson in the old part of town. After the death of her husband, the family decided to move to Pristina and now only visits occasionally. He passed away at sixty-one, from cancer that took him within thirteen months. "It’s strange, we didn’t understand why," says his daughter. "He was a fit man, a black belt in judo. I believe the stress from work brought it on." In the neighborhood, several people have died or are suffering from cancer, and half of the houses are abandoned. Obiliq, Kosovo, January 2025 Obiliq Kosovo

A horse breeder in front of the...ovo, January 2025 Obiliq Kosovo

A horse breeder in front of the Kosovo-A thermal power plant. He claims that in the country, everyone dies early; by the age of fifty, people develop lung cancer due to pollution, and for him, there is no solution. "This is how things are here: you live as best as you can because, in the end, you die young." Obiliq, Kosovo, January 2025 Obiliq Kosovo

Iva, 15 years old, portrayed in... December 2024 Lazarevac Serbia

Iva, 15 years old, portrayed in front of the Lazarevac coal mine. "My life in Lazarevac is like everyone else's. In Lazarevac we have the bishop's theater, galleries, and a lot of other institutions. Being a teenager in Lazarevac is quite interesting." The Lazarevac mine represents the largest mining complex in Serbia, RB Kolubara (Rudarski Basen Kolubara), and is the largest division of the state-owned power utility company, Electric Power Industry of Serbia (Elektroprivreda Srbije - EPS). Lignite mining in the RB Kolubara has caused significant air, soil, and water pollution in the region, severely affecting human health. TE Kolubara in Veliki Crljeni, Lazarevac, occupies the third place pollutant in Europe by particulate matter (PM10) emissions, with 3,255 emitted tonnes. Lazarevac, Serbia, December 2024 Lazarevac Serbia

View of the Banovići mine, owne...Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

View of the Banovići mine, owned by RMU Banovici. The mine is one of the largest in the Balkans and supplies the country's power generation and industrial plants, as well as exporting its material abroad. The mine has an estimated annual production of 1.5 million tonnes of coal and ranks fifth in Europe.  Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 2023. Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

A late 19th-century photograph ...bia, September 2024. Bor Serbia

A late 19th-century photograph inside a house in the village of Krivelj, located just a few hundred meters from the copper and gold mine owned by the Chinese Zijin Group. The village is slowly disappearing, with entire houses destroyed by the mine’s expansion. The residents, who have no alternative since the government has not planned for the village’s relocation, are forced to sell their homes to the Chinese company, losing their roots and the houses their families built centuries ago. Krivelj (Bor), Serbia, September 2024. Bor Serbia

The Zivkovic family inside thei...erbia, February 2025 Bor Serbia

The Zivkovic family inside their home in the village of Slatina. The family has faced several years of economic hardship because their main source of livelihood is agriculture, but in recent years, their land has been expropriated for the expansion of the mining operations of the Chinese company Zijin Mining. Now, their son, recently of legal age, works as a driver in the mine. Like many others in the area, who can't find other jobs, he is forced to turn to the Chinese company. Slatina (Bor), Serbia, February 2025 Bor Serbia

Musicians inside the traditiona.... Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

Musicians inside the traditional dance and choir school *Kulturno Umjetničko Društvo "Željezara"* in Zenica. The school was established by steel mill workers in the 1970s and continues to operate today, but it is now accessible to people outside the factory workforce. Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2024. Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

Hotel Zlača, built by Tito for ...Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

Hotel Zlača, built by Tito for the employees of the Banovići mine. Famous throughout Tuzla County, it is located in the middle of a forest and has become a starting point for hikers visiting the mountains surrounding the town of Banovići.  Banovići (Tuzla), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023. Banovići Bosnia and Herzegovina

“Air pollution knows no borders and is still an invisible killer in Europe. A significant amount of pollution from the Western Balkans travels into the EU. Pollution from the Western Balkans adds to the already poor air quality in the EU countries, making it harder especially for the adjacent EU neighbours to meet air quality standards.
It is high time that EU policy-makers step up efforts to clean up the air and decarbonise the power sector in the Southeastern European region”

Vlatka Matkovic Puljic, Senior Health and Energy Officer at HEAL

The last bakery and one of the ...December 2024. Lazarevac Serbia

The last bakery and one of the two remaining shops in the village of Vreoci. The village is slowly disappearing due to the expansion of the RB "Kolubara" coal mine, which surrounds it. The shop, opened 40 years ago, is now run by the owner’s son, who is waiting for the inevitable moment when he will have to close it. The village once had 3,000 residents, but now only a few families remain, unwilling to sell their homes. Vreoci (Lazarevac), Serbia, December 2024. Lazarevac Serbia

A former miner from the Kostola...eptember 2024. Požarevac Serbia

A former miner from the Kostolac mine holds a painting depicting horses fleeing an industrial landscape. In 2023, Serbia’s NERP coal plants were again the highest SO₂ emitters in absolute terms, with 296,011 tonnes, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina with 181,807 tonnes. Serbia’s NERP plant SO₂ emissions increased compared to 2022, while Bosnia and Herzegovina’s stayed almost the same. Požarevac, Serbia, September 2024. Požarevac Serbia

A horse inside a farm just a fe...ski Most Bosnia and Herzegovina

A horse inside a farm just a few meters from the coal mine owned by the company "LAGER" d.o.o. According to the "Centre for Environment" in Banja Luka, the mine is operating without complying with environmental regulations, causing serious damage to the environment and the local comminuties. Fajtovci (Sanski Most), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023. Sanski Most Bosnia and Herzegovina

A lady in her yard looks at the...September 2024 Smederevo Serbia

A lady in her yard looks at the Smederevo Steel Plant, owned by the Chinese group HBIS. Radinac has become known as the "red village" because everything is permanently covered by a layer of red dust. In 2023, the total SO₂ emissions from plants included in the National Emission Reduction Plans (NERPs) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia were 5.7 times higher than the allowed limits – higher than in 2022 and only slightly lower than the annual emissions from 2018-2020, when they were six times higher than the allowed limits. Radinac (Smederevo), Serbia, September 2024 Smederevo Serbia

View of the Kosovo-A thermal po... December 2024 Obrenovac Serbia

View of the Kosovo-A thermal power plant from the village of Urovci. The Nikola Tesla A and Nikola Tesla B power plants in Obrenovac are recognized as the third and sixth largest sources of SO2 pollution in Europe, emitting 109,000 and 57,100 tonnes, respectively. The Nikola Tesla A is also the fourth largest source of particulate matter (PM10) pollution in Europe. Urovci (Obrenovac), Serbia, December 2024 Obrenovac Serbia

"This is not the end of th...erbia, February 2025 Bor Serbia

"This is not the end of the world, but from here, you can see it," are the words of Aladin Zekypy, pictured with his two children, ages 10 and 7, inside his home, which is just a few dozen meters from the open-pit mine in Bor. He dreams of one day being able to afford to find a healthier place for his family. Bor, Serbia, February 2025 Bor Serbia

Željko is a worker at the under...erbia, February 2025 Bor Serbia

Željko is a worker at the underground gold and copper mine owned by the Chinese company Zijin Mining. In April 2023, he suffered a serious workplace accident when a large rock fell from the ceiling, injuring him severely. He has since lost 40% of the mobility in his arm. He had worked in the mine since 2012, before the Chinese arrived in 2018, but he claims that since their arrival, safety regulations have decreased and there are more accidents. He is currently in a lawsuit with the company. Bor, Serbia, February 2025 Bor Serbia

A funeral cross inside one of t...erbia, February 2025 Bor Serbia

A funeral cross inside one of the morgues in the town of Bor. A pilot study conducted in the town of Bor assessed the population’s exposure to industrial pollution in order to describe the health profile of the residents. "For all malignant cancers, except skin cancers, there is a significantly higher risk of cancer incidence, both in men and women. This pattern is observed for specific cancer locations, including colon and rectum, pancreas, kidney, bladder, thyroid, lymphoid tissues, Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, and mesothelioma. A significantly higher risk of lung cancer incidence has been recorded in both men and women in Bor," according to a report from the Batut Public Health Institute. Bor, Serbia, February 2025 Bor Serbia

Miodrag, a farmer from the vill...erbia, December 2025 Bor Serbia

Miodrag, a farmer from the village of Slatina, hunting near the land occupied by the Chinese mining company Zijin Mining. Miodrag is in a lawsuit with the company because he believes the land was unfairly expropriated. He and his family depended mostly on this agricultural activity, and now his land has been reduced to a few hectares. Additionally, he claims that hunting has become impossible due to the constant noise from the mine. "I can feel my house shake from the explosions." Slatina (Bor), Serbia, December 2025 Bor Serbia

A villager in Gorice is about t...ski Most Bosnia and Herzegovina

A villager in Gorice is about to milk a cow in the evening. Local farmers complain that dairy farms in the area do not want to buy their milk because the animals drink water and eat feed contaminated by the mine.  Gorice (Sanski Most), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023. -- Sanski Most Bosnia and Herzegovina

A farmer in the village of Bist... Lukavac Bosnia and Herzegovina

A farmer in the village of Bistarac Gornji, behind her the Global Ispat Koksna Industrija Lukavac (GIKIL) coking plant. The coke battery was built between 1945 and 1959, with facilities for the production of coke oven by-products and electricity, followed by chemicals (fertilisers, maleic anhydride). In January 2003 it became KIL (Koksna industrija Lukavac) and in November 2003 it became GIKIL with the participation of Global Steel Holdings Limited (formerly Global Infrastructure Holdings Limited), whose former chairman is Promod Mittal, an Indian businessman suspected of organised crime in connection with GIKIL.  Bistarac Gornji (Lukavac), Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2023. Lukavac Bosnia and Herzegovina

Night view of the city of Zenic...4 Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

Night view of the city of Zenica, considered one of the most polluted cities in the Balkans. The municipality advised the population living near the steel plant, owned by the Indian group ArcelorMittal, not to eat vegetables grown on the surface and to prefer those that grow underground. Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2024 Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

Jasna, with her daughter Katari...erbia, February 2025 Bor Serbia

Jasna, with her daughter Katarina, inside their home in the village of Krivelj. The village of Krivelj is slowly disappearing due to the expansion of the mine, but both Jasna and her entire family are active in trying to preserve their home, which has belonged to their family since the 1800s, and to preserve the village. "I don’t want to live anywhere else, this is home. I remember when I was a child, I used to play with my friends on a hill not far from here, but now that hill doesn’t exist anymore. My children may not even get to see this village because it might disappear forever," says Katarina. Krivelj (Bor), Serbia, February 2025 Bor Serbia

The Saveza Izvidaca refuge, on .... Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Saveza Izvidaca refuge, on Mount Smetovi, is one of the most popular places for the citizens of Zenica, who usually spend weekends here to enjoy the cleaner air. Smetovi (Zenica), Bosnia and Herzegovina, August 2019. Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina

An X-ray of the lungs of a woman from Krivelj, a village in northern Serbia near the town of Bor, who died of lung cancer at a young age. According to the family, who wished to remain anonymous, the cause was pollution from mining activities in the area adjacent to the village. Krivelj (Bor), Serbia, September 2024. Bor Serbia

A local boy swims in Radinački ...eptember 2024. Smederevo Serbia

A local boy swims in Radinački Lake, with the Smederevo Steel Plant, owned by the Chinese HBIS Group, in the background. In 2023, total SO₂ emissions from plants included in the National Emissions Reduction Plans (NERPs) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia were 5.7 times as high as allowed – higher than in 2022 and only slightly lower than the annual emissions from 2018 to 2020, when they were six times as high as allowed. Radinac (Smederevo), Serbia, September 2024. Smederevo Serbia

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