BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA IN THE CONTEXT OF REGIONAL AND GLOBAL COOPERATION FOR CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE OF BIODIVERSITY

UDK: 574:502(497.6) With the geographical position and climate conditions it has, Bosnia and Herzegovinais a countryof unique life forms and biodiversity. The flora, fauna and fungi of Bosnia and Herzegovina are among the most diverse in Europe, and the high level of endemism and relict species provide for the country’s significance at the global biodiversity level (UNCBD, 2019). Since 2002, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a party to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), has been following global trends of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Followingthe Convention, among others, six national reports were developed, as well as the Strategy and Action Plan for Protection of Biological Diversity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (NBSAP) by 2020. These documents seek to ensure that protection and sustainable use of biodiversity become inevitable principles when relevant sectoral policies, strategies and legislation at all governmental levels of Bosnia and Herzegovina are being developed. In 2013, the Bosnian-Herzegovina Clearing House Mechanism (CHM) portal for sharing information on biodiversity was established within the global network CBD CHM. As a member country of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Bosnia and Herzegovina actively represents and advocates for the interests of Eastern Europe. Bosnia and Herzegovina has made significant contribution to the preparation of a Regional and Sub-Regional Assessment for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for Europe and Central Asia, which was adopted at the Sixth Plenary Session of IPBES (Medellin, Colombia, March 2018). In the context of regional and global cooperation, Bosnia and Herzegovina significantly contributes  to the organization of the workshop and the preparation of an Eastern European Action Document on Pollinators, Food Security and Rural Development, within BES-Net Trialogue. Bosnia and Herzegovina reaffirmed its commitment to the status of pollinators by accessing to the global Coalition of the Willing on Pollinators at the 6th IPBES Plenary Session.