CONSIDERATION OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN THE SANICA RIVER VALLEY (NORTHWEST BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA)
Ahmed Džaferagić
Lejla Žunić
DOI: 10.35666/25662880.2025.11.163
UDC: 338.48:502(497.6-16)
Abstract: In recent years, Bosnia and Herzegovina has experienced a significant increase in the number of tourists. Many of the main tourist attractions are associated with rivers, particularly those in karst areas characterized by waterfalls and cascades. In tourism promotion, rivers are often presented as unique, untouched, and wild environments. However, increasing environmental degradation has been observed, primarily as a result of uncoordinated spatial planning, hydrotechnical interventions, and weak institutional control in river corridors that are simultaneously promoted as tourist attractions. On many rivers, despite representing primary tourism resources, riverbanks and riverbeds have been severely degraded within a relatively short period. This issue is especially evident along rivers such as the Una and Pliva, where environmental activists have initiated actions aimed at their protection, although other watercourses have also experienced significant degradation. This paper focuses on the Sanica River, located in the municipalities of Ključ and Sanski Most, whose course has been exposed to strong anthropogenic pressure in recent years. In certain sections, large retaining walls and embankments have been constructed, weekend houses built, artificial dams erected, trees removed, and illegal waste disposal sites formed. The aim of this paper is to highlight the consequences of uncoordinated spatial management and inconsistent environmental policies, as well as their implications for tourism development and the degradation of major tourist attractions. The purpose is to encourage all relevant stakeholders and institutions to take greater responsibility for environmental protection and to promote a more balanced and sustainable development of tourism. The research methodology includes remote sensing and repeat photography, among other methods. The first part of the paper provides an overview of previous research and outlines the specific characteristics of the Sanica River, while the second part focuses on tourism development and environmental degradation.
Keywords: tourism development, environmental degradation, karst, tufa, Sanica River, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Full text