Republika Srpska can be proud because it is one of the few countries in Europe that has three rainforest reserves on large areas, the head of the Department for Natural Heritage at the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage Dragan Kovačević told SRNA.
Kovačević stressed that the importance of the Perućica, Lom and Janj rainforests could be seen in the fact that natural processes took place in them completely without human influence.
“Each species, habitat, each member has its own importance and contributes to the natural balance of rainforest reserves. Republika Srpska preserved these three natural laboratories, left them completely to nature and kept it to the wider scientific and professional public to follow, study and draw conclusions,” Kovačević mentioned.
He believes that those small remnants of primeval forests in these areas will always have the answer to where and how a man makes mistakes.
“On the other hand, we have left enough space to preserve the original forest genetic resources,” Kovačević said.
According to his opinion, Republika Srpska can be proud of the fact that in July 2021, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, at its meeting in China, declared the strict nature reserve of the Janj rainforest near Šipovo a natural asset of world importance.
“Therefore, this rainforest reserve became the first natural asset from Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to get on the UNESCO World Heritage List, after the area of the Old Bridge and the Old Town of Mostar, the Mehmed Pasha Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad and Stećak – medieval tombstones that are listed as a cultural good”, noted Kovačević.
Janj Rainforest, he added, for which a protection zone of 295 hectares has been designated, is included in the expansion of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe”, together with sites from the Czech Republic, France, North Macedonia, Poland and Switzerland.
Kovačević also stated that in addition to the rainforest, Republika Srpska also owned part of the largest, grandest and most beautiful canyon in Europe.
“The Tara River Canyon separates us from Montenegro, so we own only the right bank. Also known as `Tear of Europe` this canyon is the longest in Europe, and at the world level, it comes right behind the Grand Canyon,” said Kovačević.
He stated that this canyon was more than 80 kilometers long with an average depth of 1,073 meters, the deepest point is 1,333 meters near Obzir, and that the view from the viewpoint Zlatni bor or Dulin brijeg leaves a lasting impression.
Source: srna.rs