How to explore a European Paradise - Neretva Science Week | A Visual Recap

Neretva Science Week 2023 took place from May 30th to June 7th. A team of 70 scientists from 17 countries were accompanied by journalists, photographers, activists, and artists. Altogether, around 100 people gathered in the small town Ulog, to contribute to the conservation of the Neretva River system. Scientists explored different areas on and around the river and its tributaries, to get a deeper understanding of specific habitats, point to threatened places and integrate across terrestrial and aquatic habitats. A diverse palette of fauna specialists studied fish, aquatic macroinvertebrates, birds, amphibians, reptiles, large mammals, bats, subterranean fauna, soil invertebrates, dragonflies, spiders, aquatic beetles, moths, butterflies, grasshoppers and crickets. The extraordinarily diverse flora of Upper Neretva was explored by a strong team of botanists, dendrochronologists and specialists for mosses and fungi. Finally, a socio-cultural team studied the social values of the Neretva, what the river means to locals and also to scientists: they explored the motivation and drivers behind our conservation efforts. Links: Preliminary Report 2022 https://www.balkanrivers.net/en/studi... https://www.balkanrivers.net/en/neret... --------------------------------------- THE NERETVA RIVER... is a 230 km long river flowing through Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia before its confluence with the Adriatic Sea. While larger parts of the river network are already reservoirs, the upper “Gornja Neretva” and its tributaries can still be considered free-flowing. Here, the river constitutes the heart of a karstic valley widely regarded as a natural heritage of regional significance. This part of the river is threatened with the construction of at least 25 new dams. In addition, the Nevesinjsko Polje, part of the hydrological catchment of the Neretva River, is under threat of the big Upper Horizon project, that would dam and divert the water of Zalomka River entering various sinkholes, the largest of them being the famous Biograd ponor . This project threatens unknown underground hydrological systems and well known karstic springs and would have severe negative effects on the Buna, Bunica and Bregava Rivers. Now is a critical moment to collect data to provide evidence of what is at risk if hydropower development continues in this area, and thereby increase public visibility of these valuable ecosystems. -------------------------------------- Special Thanks to http://www.mhs.org/ Filmed & Edited by Joshua. D. Lim Caving footage provided by Ester Premate