The level of forest exploitation in protected areas of Republic of Srpska

Abstract

According to World Conservation Monitoring Centre, there are 21 protected areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Main part of these protected areas lie within Republic of Srpska. Among these protected areas there are two national parks, two parks of magnifi cent landscapes, two nature reserves, three virgin forests and other. Under the EU criteria minimum of protected area in one country is 5% of its total area. As our country is still far below this percentage, protected areas will be selected in near future. Exploitation of forests resources are allowed within certain categories of protected areas. Exploitation of forest resources in protected zones is a very complex activity, mainly due to the obligation to conserve the characteristics they were selected by, as a protected area. We have to have in mind that protected areas mainly depend on bussiness profit made by forest resources exploitation. This paper presents results obtained by the reasearch work on the exploitation level of protected areas in RS