Primeval forests are one of the most valuable and most sensitive ecosystems on Earth. They absorb large amounts of rainfall, serve as a crucial regulatory core of global climate and biogeochemical processes, and provide a home to a vast number of plant and animal species. Although we most often associate them with tropical regions, primeval forests also exist in temperate areas, including Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is among the few European countries that still have preserved primeval forests and forests of high conservation value – areas where humans have never significantly intervened.
In the territory of the Federation of BiH, there are nine primeval forests, and to highlight their richness and importance, the Forest and Mountain Protected Areas (FEA) published an educational brochure titled Guardians of Biodiversity – Exploring the Primeval Forests of the Federation of BiH and Raising Awareness of the Importance of Their Protection. The project was co-financed by the Environmental Protection Fund of the Federation of BiH.
Lejla Hukić, project coordinator at FEA, emphasized that through this brochure, they want to bring primeval and high conservation value forests closer to the wider public, aiming at a better understanding of how important they are, not only for nature but also for our lives, health, and future.
– The primeval forests in Bosnia and Herzegovina are among the few that have remained almost untouched in Europe, and their preservation is a shared responsibility of us all. In them, nature lives at its own pace, without human influence, and it is precisely in this untouched balance that their priceless value lies. Through education and awareness-raising, we want to encourage people to recognize this value and to contribute to their protection through their actions, says Hukić.
IN FOCUS:
- The Forests of Serbia – Guardians of Water, Soil, Life, and the Future
- Bihać – When Tourism Development Goes Hand in Hand With Care for Nature
- A Family Mission in the Service of Sustainability
Complexes such as Ravna Vala, Bobija, Mačen Do, or Crni Vrh prove that nature can survive untouched, but only if we protect it. Their formal designation as protected areas would not only mean the fulfillment of international obligations but also represent an investment in the long-term security, health, and economic development of the country.
According to FEA, all remaining primeval forest complexes in the Federation of BiH could be formally protected through a new forestry law by being placed in the highest international protection category – IUCN Category Ia (Strict Nature Reserve).
– Such a status would mean that these areas are recognized as Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECM), which would include their surface in the total coverage of protected areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this way, our country would significantly contribute to meeting national and international biodiversity protection goals, particularly those defined by European and global strategies, FEA stated.
The mountain forests of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially those within the Dinaric mountain system, are distinguished by their high naturalness and the preservation of their ecosystems. Unlike much of Central and Western Europe, where forest ecosystems have been largely altered by human activity, BiH’s primeval and high conservation value forests represent an exceptional comparative advantage. Therefore, as the organization stresses, their preservation means protecting one of the last proofs of what European nature looked like before industrialization and mass logging.
The Importance of Primeval Forests
Primeval forests produce about 20 percent of the oxygen we breathe and play a key role in the fight against climate change. They store large amounts of carbon dioxide in their trunks, leaves, and roots, while at the same time absorbing solar radiation and helping regulate temperature. The Amazon rainforest, for example, stores around 48 billion tons of carbon. Primeval forests are home to more than half of the world’s plant and animal species. On an area of just 10 km², up to 1,500 species of flowering plants can be found, along with hundreds of other organisms. The Amazon ecosystem, which covers 6.7 million km², contains about 40 percent of the remaining primeval forests, 25 percent of terrestrial biodiversity, and the highest number of freshwater fish species in the world.
Primeval forests also provide resources and jobs for local populations, especially where other opportunities are limited. It is estimated that services such as carbon storage, water regulation, and eco-tourism are worth over 400 million dollars annually for communities in the Brazilian Amazon.
Prepared by Jasna Dragojević
