SARAJEVO, June 23 (FENA) – The FBiH Ministry of Environment and Tourism announced that at its latest regular session, the Municipal Council of Jajce adopted a decision declaring the natural values of ‘Pliva’ a protected landscape, marking an important step in preserving one of the most valuable natural and cultural landscapes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Ministry stated that the initiative to declare the Pliva Lakes a protected area was launched in early 2025 in coordination between the FBiH Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Ministry of Spatial Planning of the Central Bosnia Canton, with support from Edin Hozan, Mayor of Jajce, and the Public Institution ‘Agency for Cultural-Historical and Natural Heritage and Development of Tourism Potential of the City of Jajce’.

The FBiH Ministry of Environment and Tourism supported the process and allocated 80,000 KM for the preparation of the expert study. Following a public tender, a consortium consisting of FEA – Forestry and Environment Initiative, the Center for Energy, Environment and Resources CENER 21, and ENOVA d.o.o. Sarajevo was selected to prepare the study.

Experts from multiple natural science fields contributed to drafting the study, providing a comprehensive professional analysis of the area’s natural values and environmental conditions.

FBiH Minister of Environment and Tourism Nasiha Pozder emphasized that protecting natural areas remains one of the Ministry’s key priorities.

”The declaration of the protected landscape ‘Pliva’ is another important step in a series of actions we are taking to protect natural areas in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. From Posavina, through Livno and Kruge, Zvijezda Mountain, the areas of Buna and Bunica, the Trebižat River and Kravica Waterfall, to the generational project to protect Prenj Mountain, we are clearly demonstrating that the Ministry of Environment and Tourism’s focus is the protection of our most valuable natural areas. The Ministry will continue supporting future activities to ensure adequate protection and sustainable management of these areas—for tourism, the economy, expert stewardship, and in the interest of local communities, nature, and future generations,” Minister Pozder said.