Climbing towards change
Standing atop Klekovača mountain in Drvar municipality, one can only wonder if a lifetime would be enough for an individual to visit all the mountains, rivers, lakes, caves and waterfalls of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). There are over a hundred mountains and their magnificent peaks call to be visited.
The northwest part of BiH is home to some of the country’s most striking natural wonders. The area is also home to a relatively new network of mountaineers promoting outdoor recreation and environmental protection.
The informal group “Mountaineers without Prejudice” includes mountaineering associations from Drvar, Bosansko Grahovo, Bosanski Petrovac, Sanski Most, Bosanska Krupa, Cazin and Prijedor. The group joined forces to promote their home region and its eco-tourism potential, across administrative and ethnic lines. The OSCE Mission to BiH recognized the value and importance of their initiative from the start, and supported expanding the co-operation between mountaineering societies in northwest BiH, also promoting the group, the region, and nature conservation. Since 2019, numerous activities have been organized to arrange, clean and mark hiking trails in the Una-Sana Canton and Canton 10. The Mission also helped organize trainings by experienced mountain rescue service instructors on the theory and tactics of search and rescue, orientation and cartography.
In 2022, the Mission, alongside the Municipality of Sanski Most, supported the Mountaineers without Prejudice in opening their own co-ordination office in Sanski Most. With their new office space, the Mountaineers have been able to better organize their activities, are able to meet more regularly, and have strengthened their long-term sustainability as a group.
“This dynamic and creative network of mountaineers teaches us to appreciate and preserve nature, respect each other and spread good deeds to leave a better place for the next generations,” explains Amira Šabić, from the Mountaineer Ecological Association (MEA) “Kanjon” in Sanski Most. “We are connected through friendship and love for nature,” she continues, reminiscing with a big smile that there were no better lunch breaks than those they organized in the middle of the forest, surrounded by evergreen trees and the serene sound of slow running creeks.
Aleksa Vidović, member of “Ognjište” MEA from Bosansko Grahovo highlighted the impact the Mountaineers without Prejudice had on the community, and the importance of living together. “Mountaineering is the healthiest thing, both mentally and physically, and is the right way to understand how similar we are, to see how, regardless of belonging to different religious communities, we strive for the same goals, cultivate the same loves, and that the shared notion of the mountains revives the love between us.”
He says that his local community is certainly richer and has recruited new nature lovers. “Useful things were also done through the Mountaineers without Prejudice projects. I think that the participation of my local community in this project is a clear sign to all nature lovers to visit the municipality of Bosansko Grahovo, to get to know its natural beauties without any second thought. This project is proof of our hospitality for all lovers of the outdoors, and our desire for joint activities in the future,” concludes Vidović.
Edina Družić, national legal officer of the Mission’s Field Office in Drvar, finds the experience and collaboration with people from different age, gender, social and ethnic backgrounds in northwest BiH truly rewarding. “I am inspired by the power and unity of these people. Together, everything is possible. Supporting the Mountaineers without Prejudice in their activities and witnessing their unity and their noble cause is a driving force for me to continue to do everything that is in my power to promote their story,” she added. Edina points out how working with them brings hope that with common passions and interests can unite the people of BiH, and at the same time promote its extraordinary beauty.
It is important to protect the environment every day. This model shows how bringing together communities across the country and region can set grounds for environmentally savvy tourism development. The Mission will continue to promote positive examples of local communities making changes for the better, and that the power of will and unity is stronger than the challenge of division.
Link to the movie: Planinari bez predrasuda - YouTube