International petition aims to save BiH's Cave Vjetrenica

26/11/2008

International organisations are raising the alarm over Bosnia and Herzegovina's Cave Vjetrenica -- a natural monument and candidate for UNESCO's World Heritage List -- because of the threat to its natural resources and unique fauna.

By Envesa Hodzic-Kovac for Southeast European Times in Sarajevo – 26/11/08

Cave Vjetrenica contains spacious corridors and chambers, with numerous lakes and waterfalls and both year-round and seasonal streams. [File]

An international petition is under way to preserve Cave Vjetrenica from nearby economic development. The initiative began with the involvement of the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Speleological Association "Vjetrenica-Popovo polje", the International Society for Subterranean Biology (SIBIOS), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the World Commission on Protected Areas-Task Force on Caves and Karst.

Cave Vjetrenica -- or the Wind Cave -- situated in the karst landscape of the south-Dinaric Alps, is the largest cave system in BiH and is considered the most biodiverse subterranean cave in the world. The cave entrance is near the village of Zavala (Ravno municipality) in southern Herzegovina. The cave's known length is 6km, including a 2.5km-long main tunnel, although geologists speculate that Vjetrenica may stretch another 10-15km to the Adriatic Sea.

Only 20 caves in the world have more than 20 animal species. Vjetrenica is famous for its cave life, including 85 types of troglobites (cave dwellers) and stygobites (aquatic cave dwellers), a total rivalled only by Postojna Cave in Slovenia and considerably surpassing that of Mammoth Cave in the US state of Kentucky, a World Heritage List cave.

Vjetrenica contains spacious corridors and chambers, housing numerous lakes and waterfalls and both year-round and seasonal streams. The longest lake, Veliko Jezero (the Great Lake), is 180m long. The cave abounds in stalactites, flowstone, draperies and cascades. Paleontologists have found the remains of eight fossilised animals in Vjetrenica to date.

In 1950, Vjetrenica gained protection as a monument of nature as well as a listing in the Emerald Network of Areas of Special Conservation Interest. The National Commission for UNESCO of BiH has recommended its inclusion twice (2004 and 2007) on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

''The future of Vjetrenica in Popovo Polje valley is seriously threatened. We would like to warn BiH authorities that the country is likely to lose one of its most precious and world renowned natural heritage gems,'' said Boris Sket, the president of SIBIOS, and Elery Hamilton-Smith, the IUCN Task Force chairman, in a letter addressed to the mayor of Ravno on July 30th.

The international petition urges BiH authorities to meet their international obligations to protect nature in BiH. It also asks them to halt industrial activities in the Vjetrenica vicinity, such as quarrying, water pumping within the cave and application of chemicals on the cave's surface.

The petitioners additionally want authorities to consult with qualified institutions before launching any tourism ventures in the cave's vicinity, in order to preserve this highly sensitive and unique ecosystem.