IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY PRESERVATION FOR SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Biodiversity plays a critical role in the sustainable development and is essential for the human well-being, livelihoods and cultural heritage of people. A number of autochthonous cultivars and landraces of many crops, grasses, legumes are still grown in the Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite the dominance of improved cultivars and hybrids. Autochthonous cultivars and genotypes are important in order to ensuring genetic variability, which is essential for the food production in the future. The most important commercial and agronomic traits within the groups of autochthonous genotypes should be evaluated and put in the information database, which will also serve as a source of valuable data for the future breeding programs. This paper shows the present situation regarding the preservation of agricultural biodiversity in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the possibilities for the sustainable food production and rural development.