Rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country rich in water resources, yet the insufficient maintenance and water management strategies have slowly deteriorated their quality.

The entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina possesses two main river basins: The Sava River basin (with 75,7% of the total water surface area), and the Adriatic Sea Basin (24,3% of the total water surface area).

The Sava river basin and its tributaries belong to the bigger Danube river basin (district), and the tributaries include Una, the very river which flows through my hometown, as well as the rivers: Vrbas, Bosna and Drina.

The Adriatic Sea Basin consists mainly of the river Neretva, and its notable tributaries: Bregava and Buna.

All of the watercourses should've reached a „Good Ecological Status" by 2015, with a small exception of the water bodies of the Bosna river.

Currently, around 65 % of the population is connected to public water utilities (the EU average is 90%). The drinking water is mostly satisfactory in urban areas, but problems arise in the rural areas where most of the additionally vulnerable citizens live.

Currently, many international water management projects and strategies are being developed for overcoming these boundaries and increasing the freshwater supply for a greater number of citizens, as well as improving the overall quality of water.

Approximately USD 335,000 have been allocated for the co-financiation of these projects, and water loss has decreased by 30-50% in partner municipalities.[1]

The river Una has a special meaning for me, as mentioned above.

 Upstream, it is mostly considered a real mountain river with a notable green-blue color that features many travertine waterfalls and cascades, such as the ones in Martin Brod, Štrbački Buk, Dvoslap or Troslap.

One of the most characteristic and interesting life forms present in its waters are bryophytes (mosses that retain precipitated calcium, thereby allowing the formation and linking of travertines).

Una possesses notable aquatic species, such as stream trouts, graylings, chubs and minnows.

The upper course is inhabited by 15 species of fish, and 10 recorded species of amphibians (large newt, black salamander and olm).

The most important species are the stream trout, considered to be a relatively rare species throughout Europe, and grayling, a species very vulnerable to contamination (thus it is also  becoming rarer).

The following pictures show the river Una in the borders of the National Park Una, which I have made myself during a school trip to the National Park.