Just month after the Ozren Mountain acquired the status of the protected area of nature, the locals of Ozreni settlements between Doboj and Maglaj are facing the opening of the new quarry near their houses, fourth to a move only ten kilometers.
The bitter local population decided to organize a public tribune on Thursday, 10. July 2025. year, dedicated to the harmful consequences of the announced exploitation of the technical stone in the rule. The tribune will be held right at the location of the planned quarry, Orline, after the Ministry of Energy and Mining of the Republika Srpska announced a public invitation to the concession in this area, which is located in the entitle line in the Rijeka River Valley.
Paradoxically, a public call for a concession was announced less than a month after the city assembly of Doboj declared an Ozren protected area of nature. The decision is explicitly stated by any activity and activities that would represent a factor in compromising and damaging the protected area of this mountain. Since the city of Doboj did not advertise the public call for the concession, the local population decided to inform and warn the competent, but also the general public about the number of illegitivities associated with the planned exploitation.
Although the Law on Concessions of the Republika Srpska prescribes mandatory public consultations with the inhabitants of the area where the concession is planned, they have never been held. According to the locals, under the pronunciation of geological research conducted in the past period, there was illegal exploitation of stone in this area, as evidenced by a large amount of materials, and as they claim companies from both entities. Although citizens have protested several times and invited police and the competent inspection, according to the available minutes, the inspection did not adequately identified the real situation on the field.
Immediately after the announcement of the public invitation, the Association of Legally and Transparent Disposal in BiH, which brings together a number of civil society organizations and the informal group of citizens from the entire country, challenged the concession procedure for opening quarry in the river. The Alliance has requested BiH’s ombudsmiths an urgent reaction because exploitation is planned in contradiction with the decision of the BiH Constitutional Court and the provisions of the Provisional Prohibition of State Property. It is a concession that would last for 30 years, which is why the local population is adopted for the consequences for the environment, sources of drinking and mineral water, forest ecosystems and everyday life could be huge and long-term.
The organizers of the public forum emphasize that there are already negative experiences with existing environment in the environment, where the previous exploitation led to the destruction of local roads, air pollution and community safety due to permanent noise, detonations and enhanced cargo vehicles. They especially point to traffic safety problems, because heavy trucks transporting the stone passing by numerous households, threatening children, pedestrians and other traffic participants.
The opening of another quarry, warn the tribune organizers, would further deteriorate existing problems, and especially increased the risk of air pollution by floating dust and loss of source, including the widely known river Kiseljak. The new quarry could lead to a drastic deterioration of the quality of life and serious endangering health not only in the Doboj settlements of rivers, Paklenica and the abductment, but also in Mogla Moševac and Kosovo. It is a densely populated area on both sides of the River Bosnia, in the area of local communities Doboj and Maglaj, where thousands of inhabitants live.
The locals of Doboj and Maglaese settlements near the planned quarry calls from both entities to attend the tribunities of the symbolic name, in order to inform the planned exploitation, agreed that the Ozren Mountain must remain a protected area of nature on both sides of the entity line.
