1st National Workshop - University of Banja Luka

On March 20, 2026, the Faculty of Forestry of the University of Banja Luka hosted the First National Workshop of the international Interreg Danube project “Strategies for Conservation of Narrow-leaved Ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) in the Danube Basin (SCAN-DANUBE)”. The workshop was intended for stakeholders involved in issues related to narrow-leaved ash. Participants included representatives of associated partners: the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Srpska, Public Forestry Enterprise “Šume Republike Srpske” a.d. Sokolac, Public Institution “Vode Republike Srpske”, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage, Forest Management Company “Hercegbosanske šume”, representatives of the nongovernmental sector (Centre for Environment, Omladinska snaga Novi Grad) and, managers of protected areas (Park prirode Una), as well as students and teaching staff from secondary education. During the workshop, five presentations were delivered, covering results and data collected during the first year of project implementation. In the opening session, Prof. Dr. Branislav Cvjetković, the local project coordinator for Bosnia and Herzegovina, introduced the stakeholders to the project’s objectives and activities through the presentation titled “About the INTERREG SCAN-DANUBE Project”.

The following members of the project team delivered presentations: Prof. Dr. Vladimir Stupar – “Taxonomy, Ecology and Distribution of Narrow-leaved Ash”, MSc Srđan Bilić and Prof. Dr. Vojislav Dukić – “Forest Management of Narrow-leaved Ash in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, Prof. Dr. Zoran Stanivuković and MSc Ranko Vasiljević – “Diseases of Narrow-leaved Ash and the Condition of Its Stands”, Prof. Dr. Milan Mataruga and Prof. Dr. Branislav Cvjetković – “Seed and Planting Material Production in the Function of Narrow-leaved Ash Conservation” The workshop was also attended by a representative of the project’s lead partner, Prof. Dr. Libor Jankovský, Dean of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology at Mendel University in Brno (Czech Republic), who presented the situation of narrow-leaved ash in the Czech Republic through the lecture “Strategies for the Conservation of Fraxinus angustifolia in the Czech Republic”. Following the presentations, a discussion session was held in which stakeholders actively participated by asking questions and exchanging experiences regarding conservation possibilities, existing diseases, the impact of abiotic factors, challenges in forest management of this species, and prospects for seed and planting material production. It was concluded that it is necessary to develop appropriate guidelines for sustainable cultivation and management of narrow-leaved ash forests and to communicate them to all relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, the need for more active involvement of private forest owners in information-sharing and decision-making processes was emphasized, given that the majority of areas with narrow-leaved ash are privately owned. The question of seed and seedlings production was emphasized as a problem for natural and artificial regeneration. One of the tasks is to provide guideline for sustainable seed production. Also, question of protected areas and funding them was raised. The representative of ministry answered to find other solutions for funding protected areas.

Some question regarding possibility to protect the species were set. It will be discussed through the realization of other deliverables in A 2.2 The representative of the lead partner, Prof. Dr. Libor Jankovský, expressed particular interest in the discussion outcomes and workshop conclusions. A summary of these was presented at the next project meeting, scheduled for March 24, 2026, in Pavlov (Czech Republic), enabling a comparison of forestry practices between the Czech Republic and Bosnia and Herzegovina.