Igor Zekanović
Department of Geography, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Srpska
DOI:
UDC: [911.2:630]:[911.3:32](497.6)
Published: August 2026
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Keywords: Natural potentials, Republic of Srpska, “Geopolitics of Resources,” forest potential, geopolitical valorisation.
Abstract:
The Republic of Srpska, given its diverse natural and geographical conditions and units, possesses significant natural potentials, which represent an important segment in assessing its geopolitical position through the lens of the “Geopolitics of Resources. Forest resources represent one of the key natural and strategic potentials of the Republic of Srpska, which implies that forests have exceptional geopolitical significance, and therefore the establishment of a protection system and their monitoring carries not only ecological and economic premises. The subject of research in this paper will focus on the articulation, analysis, and role of forest potential in the geopolitical valorisation of the Republic of Srpska. Additionally, the research will focus on identifying the connections and interactions between different categories of the given space – geopolitical, ecological, and economic. The study is planned to be conducted using a research methodology based on historical, functional, and structural and functional methodological approaches, as well as using general methods (analysis, synthesis, concretization, generalization) and specific methods consistent with geographical research (comparative, spatial analysis), along with appropriate data processing techniques (statistical, cartographic, graphical, GIS analysis). The results and objective of the research will indicate that the rational management of forest potential in the context of geopolitical valorisation represents one of the future guidelines for enhancing the regional and development identity of the Republic of Srpska not only in an economic sense, but also as a guideline for political and geographical stability.
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