Dinaric Alps (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

The main forest types in the broader area of the pilot site are mixed uneven-aged forests of beech and fir with the spruce Abieti-Fagetum dinaricum, which are the most valuable from an ecological and economic point of view.

The high level of protection and conservation - with no human interference - of the ecologically important Virgin/old-growth forest – Ravna Vala,  contrasts with other regularly managed forests of the same type and structure nearby.

Local communities emphasize the economic significance of utilizing natural and spatial resources, particularly in tourism and nature conservation. Key identified economic sectors include:

• Agriculture
• Tourism (winter and rural)
• Production of healthy food
• Collection and processing of medicinal plants, mushrooms and forest fruits

There are education facilities established by UNSA FoF, hotels, a ski center, an apartment complex, and catering and retail businesses. Several local villages with traditional ways of living are located in the broader area.

The virgin and old forest of Ravna Vala is an area of ecological importance without past human interference. Since 1971, the BiH forest management approach in this area has focused on the maintenance and reconstruction of natural forests, resulting in multi-aged and mixed forests composed of local tree species with dominant natural regeneration. For this purpose, group-tree selective tree cutting has been applied as the management approach for the test site since 1948.

The project's goal is to check the sustainability, especially for biodiversity, of the system's current practices, using the forest department state indicators in the virgin forest and comparing the results with those in the nearby forests managed by the forest department. With this objective, sample plots - with very similar orography -will be selected, permanently marked, and tested in the virgin forests and the managed forests.

By implementing the strategy, several positive outcomes are anticipated:

The strategy will assess whether the management regime used on the site so far can maintain the sustainability of the forest ecosystem and biodiversity protection, particularly what practices or changes are needed.

Rules of performance determine the forest management methods for various activities. When proved necessary, the strategy will propose amendments to the legal regulations and procedures in practice to establish a truly sustainable system, giving particular importance to biodiversity preservation. The developed monitoring methodology will define where, how, when, and which data to record and the sustainability indicators to assess.

The strategy will be used as a guidance for further development of the national forest policy principles, based on the concept of sustainable forest management, in order to change general public perception of the forestry sector in BiH.

The strategy will examine the role of forest management practices in the light of adaptation to climate change of forest ecosystems. The current system is largely based on the assumption of successful natural forest regeneration. In case of significant and rapid climate changes, this will first be seen in the difficulties of natural regeneration and increased health problems of certain tree species. In that case, it will be necessary to evaluate certain decisions and activities in the existing forest management system to answer these challenges.

Specifically, as a test site, the project aims to answer these major questions for the Dinarc Alps pilot site:

1. How different governance/management regimes (close to nature forest management in regularly/actively managed forest Vs. total protection in virgin forest) influence the biodiversity status in the same type of forests?
2. Whether the applied management approach in specific type of forests (beech and fir forests with spruce) can maintain the sustainability of the forest ecosystem, and provide a variety of ecosystem services, including biodiversity protection?
3. What are the effects of climate changes on the resilience of forest ecosystems in bordering area between the Mediterranean and Alpine/Continental climates?
4. To what extent the approach of the Index of Biodiversity Potential (IBP) can be applied on a pilot site (Dinaric Alps) and extended in BiH forestry sector/forest management practice?

University of Sarajevo – Faculty of Forestry

• Mail:  info@sfsa.unsa.ba 
• Website:  https://www.sfsa.unsa.ba/web/ 

Contact person:

• Prof. dr. Mersudin Avdibegovic
• Mail:  mavdibegovic@gmail.com