LEBRŠNIK – A NEW NATURE PARK IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA?

Republika Srpska will work this year on drafting management plans for two existing nature parks, Tara and Prača, as well as on the potential declaration of a new protected area, it was announced at a meeting held today in Banja Luka.

PHOTO: Perspektiva.ba

The meeting was attended by Duško Solomun, Assistant Minister for Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology, and Lejla Šuman from the Environmental Resource Center. Šuman is the coordinator of the project “FUTURE – A Path Towards the Development of a Greener Society and Sustainable Civil Society Organizations in the Field of Environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

According to the Ministry, discussions focused on the implementation of project activities planned for 2026, which include the preparation of management plans for two protected areas in Republika Srpska and two in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In Republika Srpska, management plans will be developed for the Tara and Prača nature parks. The project will also include training programs for rangers and inspectors working in protected areas, enabling them to take professional certification exams. In addition, study visits to protected areas will be organized to encourage knowledge and experience exchange.

Support is also planned for the preparation of a protection study aimed at declaring a new protected area in Republika Srpska.

Assistant Minister Duško Solomun stated that the Ministry, in cooperation with the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural-Historical and Natural Heritage, has proposed that the new protected area be designated as Lebršnik Nature Park. The initiative for declaring a protected area in the municipality of Gacko was launched in 2023 and would include the Lebršnik mountain massif, Klinje Lake, and the southern slopes of the Volujak mountain range.

The project is funded by the Government of Sweden, with a total value of 3.79 million convertible marks (KM), and is scheduled to run until October 2028.

The meeting in Banja Luka was also attended by Zineta Mujaković from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.