Baeoura neretvaensis

Today is April 22, Earth Day, and on this occasion, we symbolically announce that our planet has recently officially become richer for a new species named after the Neretva River, where it was discovered: Baeoura neretvaensis. During the Science Week, or research of the upper course of the Neretva, in which over 50 scientists participated in 2022, over 1,300 species were discovered. Among them are eight new species for science, and the first one to be confirmed so far is Baeoura neretvaensis, which is an insect from the order Diptera. The confirmation for the other seven is still pending.

Baeoura neretvaensis

That is a species that occurs in very clean and untouched areas of the Neretva River and in some other locations in the wider Western Balkans. The genus Baeoura is considered rare in the Western Palaearctic, with its distribution mainly limited to the Mediterranean region. Each species has an important role in the ecosystem in which it occurs, even if we do not yet know what that role is. However, it is important to preserve their biodiversity for the good and proper functioning of freshwater ecosystems,” emphasized Marija Ivković, a professor at the Department of Biology, University of Zagreb, who was part of the team of scientists who discovered this species.

Baeoura neretvaensis

The Science Week was organized by the Center for Environment in partnership with the international organizations Riverwatch and Euronatur, during which 24 new species were discovered in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the exceptional water quality was determined, which falls into the I category of quality. The goal of the research is the future protection of this area.

“The future protected area ‘Neretva’ is located in the southeastern part of Republika Srpska, in the municipalities of Kalinovik and Gacko, in the upper watershed of the Neretva River, whose value is confirmed by the discovery of a new species. We expect the RS government to declare the ‘Neretva’ protected area, taking into account all the mentioned facts, which will also be the largest protected area in RS. We will certainly continue with our research, and this year we will organize another Science Week on Neretva, which will be held from May 30 to June 7,” said Vladimir Topic, coordinator of the Science Week on Neretva on behalf of the Center for Environment.

Through 24 years of work, the Center for Environment has organized numerous scientific research projects, which were mainly related to rivers, such as the Sana, Sava, Sutjeska, Hrčavka, Neretva, and its tributaries Buna, Bunica, Bregava, and Trebižat, but also forest areas such as Kozara.

“Through the research of beetles in the National Park Kozara in 2018, the expert Iva Miljević discovered 44 new species for this area. In the National Park Sutjeska, mycologists Nedim Jukić and Nihad Omerović found the fungus Peziza polarispinosa, which was then recorded for the first time in the territory of BiH. The species Petrorhagia dubia, found by expert Đorđije Milanović on the Bregava River during the research we conducted in 2020, is the first finding for the flora of BiH. There are many such examples where scientific research is organized by the civil sector and provides incredible results that are important for science and the conservation of species and their habitats,” emphasized Nataša Crnković, coordinator of the Biodiversity and Protected Areas program at the Center for Environment.

The living world, flora, fauna, and fungi of planet Earth make our planet alive. Let’s preserve every species, new and old, let’s protect the planet every day, not just today!

There is no ongoing projects in "Our space" programme at the moment.

Besides projects defined by programmes, Center for environment is actively working on other topics in the field of environment and on networking with other organizations at the regional and international level. In the section "Other Projects" we are presenting projects which are not related to the specific program.

Ongoing project and activities Completed projects and activities

There is no ongoing projects in "Our space" programme at the moment.

Besides projects defined by programmes, Center for environment is actively working on other topics in the field of environment and on networking with other organizations at the regional and international level. In the section "Other Projects" we are presenting projects which are not related to the specific program.

Ongoing project and activities Completed projects and activities

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