Animal husbandry, especially sheep, has been very important in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the last times it has experienced a major crisis, deepened by the war and the transition to a market-oriented economy. But is it worth conserving an ancestral land use that entails much of the local culture and knowledge? This study analyzes the case of the Eastern Herzegovina region, revising the benefits that pastoralism, a.k.a. Extensive herding, has for local communities from a social, an environmental and an economic perspective. Bosnia and Herzegovina has exceptional conditions making it one of the best candidates in order to become an example for sustainable development associated with pastoralism, a land use that occupies one third of all emerged landmasses.

 

This study was conducted in the frame of the project Ecodevelopment in rural areas of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. This project, financed by the Spanish Agency of International Development Cooperation (AECID), and implemented by the Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF), is integrated into the scope of the Balkan Vulture Action Plan. It has been active in the area for three years, implementing measures that link rural development with griffon vulture conservation. Its main local partners in the project are the ornithological society "Nase Ptice" from Sarajevo, the youth club "Novi Val" from Blagaj and the organization "Southern Blue Sky" from Trebinje.

 

Authors: Manzano, P.; Velagic Habul, E.; Causevic, Z.; Hadziabdic, S. (2009)