The River Pliva, including the Great and Small Pliva Lakes, could soon officially be declared a Protected Landscape. This would place Jajce among the first municipalities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to make use of the opportunity provided by the Federal Law on Nature Protection, which allows local communities, with the approval of the relevant ministry, to protect specific natural areas.
What raises concern, however, is the fact that activities taking place in the upper course of the Pliva River, which falls under the jurisdiction of Republika Srpska, such as geological explorations and permits for the construction of small hydropower plants, are beyond their influence. The River Pliva, one of the few rivers in Bosnia and Herzegovina whose entire 32-kilometre course has the capacity to form tufa, is considered a natural rarity not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina but across Europe. Along its lower course, including the Small and Great Pliva Lakes, the river flows through Jajce, and at its confluence with the Vrbas it creates one of the ten most beautiful waterfalls in Europe.
In addition to its biological diversity, the fact that the residents of Jajce rely on the Pliva as a source of drinking water is another key reason for initiating the procedure to declare the area a Protected Landscape.
“We consume this water, and it is extremely important for us to protect this area in some way. Accordingly, our public agency launched this initiative, it was accepted by policymakers, and the process is moving in that direction,” said Josip Topić, Chairman of the Jajce Municipal Council (HDZ Bosnia and Herzegovina).
“We also have a national monument in the upper area that will certainly be incorporated into this new decision, and the biodiversity and diversity of animal species, including fish and birds, is incredible,” emphasized Edin Hozan, Mayor of Jajce (SDA).
“In its preliminary research, the expert assessment identified 11 endemic species, 16 forest habitats, and more than 120 bird species that come here, reside here, or pass through, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of all bird species recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” explained Dragan Glavaš, Head of the Tourism Development Sector at the Jajce Public Agency.
What particularly concerns the local authorities are the processes taking place in the upper course of the Pliva River, over which they have no influence, but which could not only complicate the completion of the procedure to declare this natural asset a Protected Landscape, but also pose potential health risks. For this reason, based on conclusions adopted by the Municipal Council, they requested official responses.
“We sent inquiries to addresses in Republika Srpska, first to the Municipality of Jezero, expecting that they, as our neighboring municipality, would respond to our questions and inform us accordingly, as well as to the competent ministries that issued the permits. However, we never received any response,” stated Hozan.
“The River Pliva is a shared resource, in my view a resource of the entire state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of administrative boundary lines, and we all must take responsibility for it. Our neighbors in Jezero and Šipovo must also take care of it,” added Topić.
After the renewed activation of geological explorations, the contractor assured local authorities at one of the meetings that there was no reason for concern. However, following recently confirmed health problems among residents of Vareš, caution prevails. Aware that they have no jurisdiction in municipalities of the other entity, with which they are connected, among other things, by the Pliva River itself, local officials say they will seek support from higher levels of government in these processes.
