Transhumance in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The movements of livestock to summer pastures in the mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina have an ancient history. Although many of the herders are Muslim Slavs, the Rumanian-speaking Vlahs played a great part in the past in the development of sheepherding in the region, and their influence can still be traced. The transhumance of sheep continues from southern Herzegovina, and in particular from the Podvelezje, to summer pastures on Mount Bjelasnica, but local transhumance from the Bosnian side of the mountain is decreasing as alternative opportunities for employment and improvement of agriculture are reducing the need for sheepherding as a major economic activity. The continuation of sheepherding in the region, and in Yugoslavia in general, is linked to the possibilities for improving the quality of sheep products and to the development of better communications in mountain areas.