Bosnia and Herzegovina

Clean air, fresh water, food, pollination, fibers, medicine and so much more that nature gives us every day... for free.

Livanjsko polje
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Forestry

Distribution of income

In cooperation with IKEA and through forest certification (FSC) WWF is trying to reduce illegal cutting and promote responsible forest management to support sustainable development in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Can more natural resources in Bosnia and Herzegovina used in a sustainable way?

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53% of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina is covered by forests and forest land.

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Jobs

Jobs in Nature Protection

Unemployment rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 47 percent, with more than 511 thousand registered unemployed persons. Apart from economic one, jobs in protected areas also offer many social benefits, s, namely education opportunities for the local population which encourages better attitude towards nature.

Employment possibilities largely depend on protected area management practices. Are the protected areas ready to employ modern management approaches?

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300

300 people are employed in protected areas (177 people in the Republic of Srpska and 132 in FBiH).

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Water

Income from water use

About 45 percent of electric energy in Bosnia and Herzegovina is produced in hydropower plants. Each year hydropower plants in the country produce on average electric energy valued at EUR 350 million. However, the benefits of hydropower production for the local community are but a few, especially over the long-term.

Are local communities aware of the benefits of ecosystem services provided by water and marsh areas, as well as with the potential for their utilisation? How does the money from reimbursements flow back to protected areas and local communities?

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9200 m3

Bosnia and Herzegovina with more than 9,200 m3 of water per capita in the richest country of drinking water in the region and among the ten richest countries in Europe.

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Tourism

The number of visitors

The tourism sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina is still in its initial development phase, and profit from tourism is far below the average of neighbouring countries. However, potential growth in tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a big opportunity for economic recovery in the country in a sustainable way.

How to solve the obvious shortcomings in the tourism offer and infrastructure in protected areas?

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2% share of tourism in GDP in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Local development

Driver of success

Una National Park is one of the drivers of economic development in the region. In the cooperation with local tourist service providers, visits to the park are doubling every year.

Where do the opportunities for economic growth in protected and surrounding areas lie?

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16x

16 fold increase of number of visitors since the Una National Park was founded in 2008.

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Rivers

Natural Flow

Analysis of rivers under threat of unsustainable hydropower development has shown that 60 percent of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s rivers are still intact (2.632 km), and are rich in biodiversity. At the same time, there is an increasing demand for using the rivers for electric energy production, which very often have extremely negative consequences for the natural values of the river as well as usual way of using space and natural resources.

How to ensure that investors build and manage hydropower plants in accordance with globally recognized guidelines for the sustainable development of hydropower? How to ensure that the government declare the areas in which the construction of hydropower plants is not allowed.

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1800

Sutjeska National park which is under the threat of hydropower development has more plant species (1800) than the entire Poland.