Neretva River valley implements measures against seawater intrusion

Agricultural authorities in the Neretva River valley and Hutovo Blato Nature Park are implementing new measures to combat the increasing intrusion of seawater caused by climate change and prolonged droughts. Mario Jurica, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management of the Herzeg-Bosnia Federation (HNŽ), noted that while seawater intrusion cannot be prevented, efforts are focused on building resilience through new crop varieties and alternative cultivation methods.

As part of the MoWaCLIM project, monitoring stations and probes have been installed to track water quality. These sensors measure salinity, temperature, electrical conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, and oxides. To assist farmers, the 'Hydro Agro Cloud' platform has been launched, providing salinity updates every 15 minutes to help determine optimal irrigation timing.

Preliminary results from hydrological stations in the Aluvij Čapljina and Aluvij Hutovo Blato areas indicate that while salinity is present in Čapljina, it is not yet at a critical level, and no salinity-related damage has been detected in the Hutovo Blato area so far.