4 March 2008 | While the country keeps struggling to recover from the Yugoslavian wars in the 1990s, attracting tourists has become a priority for Bosnia & Herzegovina in the recent years.
But hundreds of thousands of un-defused landmines turn one of its main attractions – wild nature tracking through the countryside – into a dangerous endeavour.

Yesterday the Serbian newspaper Danas reported that over 600,000 mines remain active, buried all around the territory of the country. The Croatian-Muslim federation has adopted a strategy to clear them by 2019, spending about 175 million euros a year on the enterprise.

But however long the remaining period of 11 years may look, some experts suggest it is too optimistic. According to the UN-funded Electronic Mine Information Network more than 11,000 locations in Bosnia and Herzegovina are affected by mines, and it will “be decades before landmines and explosive remnants of war can be fully removed from the country.”

The situation threatens the locals in the first place, especially those who depend on their land for a livelihood.

It also seriously impedes the development of the tourist industry in the country.

Bosnia’s wild nature and stunning landscapes of pristine mountains have an enormous potential for eco-tourism, more than any other Balkan country perhaps.

But not as long as the landmines are there.

Read more about Bosnia and Herzegovina on BalkanTravellers.com